Yellow Gold Setting, Diamond face up white?

[ThunderFan]

Hello,

I'm currently rock & setting shopping. My girlfriend really wants a yellow gold solitaire ring w/ yellow gold prongs (i'm likely going to go w/ a 6 prong tiffany style setting, and i'm rock shopping in the 2ct g-h color, vs2-si1, gia excellent cut range). I get mixed reviews from each professional that I ask. Many say that a well cut diamond will face up white and only absorb a small amount of the yellow color from the setting, others say I'm crazy for even considering it, and that the diamond will soak up the yellow and have a much larger effect than i'm anticipating.

I've read a few of the posts on here covering this topic but even they have a mixed opinion. Please let me know if anyone is an expert on the matter, and also if anyone has pictures that would show one way or another, that would be great to see.

Cheers!

 

[msop04]

Hello,

I'm currently rock & setting shopping. My girlfriend really wants a yellow gold solitaire ring w/ yellow gold prongs (i'm likely going to go w/ a 6 prong tiffany style setting, and i'm rock shopping in the 2ct g-h color, vs2-si1, gia excellent cut range). I get mixed reviews from each professional that I ask. Many say that a well cut diamond will face up white and only absorb a small amount of the yellow color from the setting, others say I'm crazy for even considering it, and that the diamond will soak up the yellow and have a much larger effect than i'm anticipating.

I've read a few of the posts on here covering this topic but even they have a mixed opinion. Please let me know if anyone is an expert on the matter, and also if anyone has pictures that would show one way or another, that would be great to see.

Cheers!

A diamond will reflect the colors around it, so setting in a color other than white metal may cause it to show the color of the metal. I would hate to spend a lot of money on a colorless stone such as a G/H only to set it in gold prongs, but that is me.

Would she consider YG band with prongs of white metal?

 

[Andelain]

I have a D set in a YG semi-bezel, and it faces up super white. It's an 84 pt ACA.

 

[miracle467]

HAH! I am having kind of a similar issue.

Here is a link to look at. To be honest if you are getting a simple setting, most of the readings i have done say go with a K color diamond w maybe slight fluorescent.

Here is one website: http://www.diamonds.pro/truth-about/diamond-color/

 

[Andelain]

I don't agree with that at all. A whited diamond will pop a lot more against yellow gold.

My avatar has 3 F's in YG.

 

[miracle467]

Here is another website that kind of shows a comparison of a white gold and yellow gold with a J color diamond. I am not saying that a D wouldn't look whiter I am just saying for saving money, the yellow in the diamond, according to some of these experts, is absorbed in the yellow gold so it doesn't look as yellow, so I think a G-H would be fine.

http://www.lumeradiamonds.com/diamond-education/diamond-color

 

[Andelain]

Here is another website that kind of shows a comparison of a white gold and yellow gold with a J color diamond. I am not saying that a D wouldn't look whiter I am just saying for saving money, the yellow in the diamond, according to some of these experts, is absorbed in the yellow gold so it doesn't look as yellow, so I think a G-H would be fine.

http://www.lumeradiamonds.com/diamond-education/diamond-color

Of course you'll save a chunk of $$$ by going down in color, but the diamond's color isn't absorbed into the stone. It's just whiter than the gold, so a little tint isn't as noticeable. Going down to a K like you said before loses some of that contrast, that's why I don't agree with what you said. I have stones ranging from D to N in YG.

 

[msop04]

I don't agree with that at all. A whited diamond will pop a lot more against yellow gold.

My avatar has 3 F's in YG.

You also have a <1 ct D color, so that baby would pop against anything!! I agree that if the OP gets a stone in the D-G range, all is well, but when you get to I and lower, I think the YG would enhance the tint.

 

[msop04]

Here is another website that kind of shows a comparison of a white gold and yellow gold with a J color diamond. I am not saying that a D wouldn't look whiter I am just saying for saving money, the yellow in the diamond, according to some of these experts, is absorbed in the yellow gold so it doesn't look as yellow, so I think a G-H would be fine.

http://www.lumeradiamonds.com/diamond-education/diamond-color

Of course you'll save a chunk of $$$ by going down in color, but the diamond's color isn't absorbed into the stone. It's just whiter than the gold, so a little tint isn't as noticeable. Going down to a K like you said before loses some of that contrast, that's why I don't agree with what you said. I have stones ranging from D to N in YG.

This is a good point... the contrast makes it less noticeable. I guess it really depends on the color the OP decides to go down to.
I will say that a J the size of mine (with equal specs) looked noticeably more tinted in YG than mine does in WG.

 

[arkieb1]

I have G and H coloured diamonds in yellow gold bands and provided the stone you are looking at has no funky undertones and is not EGL graded it should contrast ie not look more yellow in yellow gold. Low Is, Js and Ks are where stones start to show a really noticeable tint for me (this is different for everyone) and depending upon the undertones or underlying body hue yellow gold can both hide/mask colour in some diamonds, or in some cases make I,J, K and lowered coloured stones look more tinted, it really depends on the stone.

 

[ThunderFan]

Welp - not exactly what I was hoping for - more differences of opinion. Would anyone be willing to post some pictures of their diamonds set in YG?

Thanks so much for the responses.

 

[Andelain]

Ask and Ye shall receive.....

[/quote]

 

[msop04]

I have G and H coloured diamonds in yellow gold bands and provided the stone you are looking at has no funky undertones and is not EGL graded it should contrast ie not look more yellow in yellow gold. Low Is, Js and Ks are where stones start to show a really noticeable tint for me (this is different for everyone) and depending upon the undertones or underlying body hue yellow gold can both hide/mask colour in some diamonds, or in some cases make I,J, K and lowered coloured stones look more tinted, it really depends on the stone.

This is really true...

Arkie, do either of your G or H stones have yellow gold prongs as well? If so, I'd love to see how that affects the color.

 

[KenD]

.92 ct / I / VS1 / HCA 1.8

 

[TC1987]

I don't think that a good G or H is going to pick up yellow tint from yellow gold. But years ago I was told that YG prongs are softer metal and more likely to bend. I had CZs set in all YG settings and yes, I did easily bend those prongs.

 

[SB621]

Pending on hue of the diamond it should pop against the yellow gold. I have an F 2ct that has been set in WG, PLAT, RG and YG (my diamond gets around ), and it looks icey white in WG/ PLAT, but it pops more in YG due to contrast. In RG it can look greyish.

So as long as the diamond doesn't have any darkness or some weird brown hue then YG should be fine.

 

[proto]

What do the trade people have to say on the topic?

In partiuclar I would be interested to hear comments from (in no partiuclar order):

Rhino
Garry H
Wink
Paul S
Karl K
Serg

plus any others I cant think of from the top of my head

 

[SB621]

Here is a neat picture to show how metal can change diamond color, at least to my eyes. I'm unsure of the diamond color, but I think the WG cuff looks white (with a hint of warmth), the RG has a grey tint, and the YG pops despite picking up a slightly yellow tinge as well. I'm guessing the color is J/K but could be way off as I'm not particularly color sensitive.

 

[Garry H (Cut Nut)]

What do the trade people have to say on the topic?

In partiuclar I would be interested to hear comments from (in no partiuclar order):

Rhino
Garry H
Wink
Paul S
Karl K
Serg

plus any others I cant think of from the top of my head

The facts like so many things to do with diamonds and human vision are counter intuitive.
Yellowish diamonds look whiter in yellow gold settings and whiter diamonds with a slight tint look yellower in white metal settings.
The only diamonds that look yellower in yellow gold are those with extreme leakage - more so then most very bad cut rounds - more like bad fancy shapes.

The border line for what is yellowish is not color grade relevant because out color grading system is not relevant to the real world.
In a 1ct well cut round i would suggest an H/I border is yellowish (say F/G for +5ct) - so set below I in yellow = looks whiter.
Set I in white and it faces up J/K. 1ct G faces up a bit like H.

 

[proto]

Thank you Garry

For comparisons sake, assuming you had a 1 carat diamond with good cut (minimal blatant leakage), what colour setting would you use for the following colour grades to obtain the whitest faceup colour? My understanding is as below

D - any
E - any
F - any
G - any (if this faces up H in WG, should this go in YG???)
H - any (if this faces up lower in WG, should this go in YG???)
I - YG
J - YG
K and below - YG

Notwithstanding your comments, I had understood that diamonds can appear to have the colour of a surrounding room or reflect the colour of the diamond wearer's clothes. Does this not translate into a reflection of the setting into the diamond, or is the effect so minimal to be undetectable to the human eye?

 

[TC1987]

You can 't go by those rules, especially with warmer diamonds, because diamonds are individuals. Garry already pointed out that there are different rules for large diamonds than small ones, because greater mass concentrates the color. The warmer tones are also somewhat chameleon in nature and the same stone can change a bit with the lighting. Also keep in mind that body tint is always there when you look at the stone from the side, unless you choose a setting like a very deep bezel or some type of halo that hides the profile view. If you are good at discerning tint, you will also see it when you view the diamond at an angle.

Personally, I think the "problem" stones are the I with no fluorescence, K, and J. And even with those, the undertone of the diamond (gray, brown, green, yellow, other?) can dictate whether the diamond looks "better" (not necessarily whiter) in a particular metal color. If you want "white" then I'd say cut off your search at H or at worst, an I with medium or strong blue fluorescence. I have an H, and I used to have a GIA-graded G. I don't think either one looked yellower when set in a Tiffany type with a YG shank and white prongs. I doubt that yellow prongs in that style of setting would have more influence than the shank. The shank is much more noticeable than the prongs, especially if the prongs are filed down into fine claws.

L and M and lower, in my opinion are fine in either white or yellow metal, because they are light yellow. Both L and M can face up very white in many lighting conditions. Once you hit N and lower, they are yellow.

 

[ThunderFan]

Thanks so much for all the reply's. Im sure i'll have more posts soon with more questions.

Cheers,

 

[AprilBaby]

I have a yg setting with yg prongs and I love the contrast of the white (H) diamond to the gold. And in 34 years I have had prongs redone once.

 

[TC1987]

[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/myth-or-not-yellow-gold-makes-a-white-diamond-look-yellow.193462/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/myth-or-not-yellow-gold-makes-a-white-diamond-look-yellow.193462/[/URL]

There's a G in that thread with yellow prongs + yellow shank. And David of Diamonds by Lauren discusses the effects of YG and rose gold on stones. He also says you can get different results with 2 stones of the same color.


here, [URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/does-yellow-gold-band-change-diamond-color.175482/,,,,']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/does-yellow-gold-band-change-diamond-color.175482/,,,,,,[/URL], Denver Appraiser says:

... Most round diamond from H to D color look quite similar when they are set. Few people could easily discriminate the slight color differences face up in any color set of prongs. A few people could, no doubt and some stones, such as vrey thinly cut ones, may leak color right to your eye from the metal beneath them.

custom by Whiteflash http://www.pricescope.com/gallery/round/vatche-yellow-gold-soliatire-engagement-ring-whiteflash-32270-f

 

[purplesparklies]

I have an L with strong blue fluorescence that is in a rose gold setting. Not only that, but it is in a rose gold bezel setting. It was previously set in platinum and then white gold. I much prefer it in the current setting. I think it fits my stone perfectly. Definitely does not add any yellow tint to my eye.

 

[Garry H (Cut Nut)]

I have an L with strong blue fluorescence that is in a rose gold setting. Not only that, but it is in a rose gold bezel setting. It was previously set in platinum and then white gold. I much prefer it in the current setting. I think it fits my stone perfectly. Definitely does not add any yellow tint to my eye.

The gold (even rose) takes away color, thats possibly one of the reasons you prefer it to platinum PS