Need help choosing a yellow diamond!

[Vogue]

Hi guys! I was excited to find these boards and I've loved learning about diamonds and gemstones. I finally had a question that I figured was worthy of making an account

My ring size is 4.5 and I have fairly long fingers. I want to get a yellow diamond ring in a white gold halo setting with a double shank that has paves on it. I also want a center stone that won't disappear on my finger.

I have found 3 stones that I'm mulling over.

0.9 ct fancy intense cushion cut: https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-di...cushion-cut/0.90-carat-si1-clarity-sku-647670

0.79 ct fancy intense cushion cut: https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-di...ushion-cut/0.79-carat-vs2-clarity-sku-2284553

0.52 ct fancy vivid pear cut: http://www.leibish.com/yellow-diamonds/fancy-vivid-yellow-pear-26562

What do y'all think? Would the 0.79 ct stone at James Allen look noticeably smaller than the 0.9 ct one with half a millimeter difference? I do like its color better. Ditto the long, thin pear that has fantastic color. But I have to admit size matters!

I'd also be interested to hear your opinions on the stones in general, apart from the size. I'm really having a hard time choosing. It's a nice problem to have...

 

[pinkjewel]

Hi Vogue and welcome to PS.

I don't like the first diamond at all. The color is quite pale for a yellow graded fancy intense, the cut is not good, and I don't like the dark inclusion-it's also quite deep so face up size is small.

The second diamond is much better. Color looks good, cut is better and good clarity.

But my favorite is the pear. I think the long slender pear would look lovely on your long slim finger!! I would, however, ask them if it is eye clean, as it does have a bit going on and Leibish doesn't specify that it's eye clean.

I didn't check Diamonds by Lauren's site to see what David has available, but he frequently has pretty yellow diamonds,too.

 

[heididdl]

My vote is for number 2

 

[Vogue]

My vote is for number 2

Thanks! Is there a reason you prefer it to the pear? I've already crossed #1 off the list

Thanks for the Diamonds by Lauren rec. I checked the site, and the description for this one is pretty tempting, though it's toward the upper end of my price range: http://www.diamondsbylauren.com/ind...tense-yellow-i1-cushion-cut-diamond-gia-r7163

 

[Niel]

I like the pear but it's a tad small. The way you describe your fingers and the style you want I'd want an oval or a mq to balance out the split shank (I think you're describing)

 

[Vogue]

I was thinking the ring would look something like this:



So the pear would be too small? I'd like to avoid this situation, and I hoped a halo would help with that:



(Note: absolutely nothing wrong with this look, I actually love its beautiful simplicity, it's just not what I'm going for right now.)

If there's no way around it and the pear is just flat out going to look like a dot on my hand, then I'll go for Stone #2, which seems to be the same size as the 1.1 ct from DBL and a lot cheaper. It's pretty, too.

Edit: I almost forgot. A guy from Leibish did contact me and say the pear stone was eye clean: "It's in America, but it's SI, so yes, it's eye clean."

"Um, if you can't see it in person, how do you know?" I asked.

"Because I'm a gemologist and I'm looking at the video," he said [A/N: the same video I saw!] "and with that color, unless there's a black spot, it's going to be fine. Definitely eye clean."

So...that happened. I figured out that the stone is multi-listed on different sites, including Brian Gavin, where it costs over $1,000 more. I guess that means Leibish has never seen it in person, so I'd be going on faith. James Allen's videos are definitely better.

 

[Vogue]

I found this picture on Diamonds By Lauren of a 0.46 ct pear cut diamond in a halo setting. I guess this is what I mean about size. If the stone looked about this large on my finger, it'd be fine. I'm linking to the photo, since it's so big and I don't want to break anybody's tables or slow down their browser. But of course the pear diamond in my OP is longer and thinner than this one, so that might make a difference.

Photo: [[**edited by moderator, please upload pics to forum directly per our policies**]

 

[tyty333]

Is this one yellow enough for you? Its kind of like a Moval like Grace sells...its big and looks like it is reflecting light nicely. If
you put a gold cup under it it will show more color. I think its a pretty stone but may not be yellow enough for you.

https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/fancy-color/yellow/oval-cut/1.00-carat-si2-clarity-sku-1999276

 

[Vogue]

Is this one yellow enough for you? Its kind of like a Moval like Grace sells...its big and looks like it is reflecting light nicely. If
you put a gold cup under it it will show more color. I think its a pretty stone but may not be yellow enough for you.

https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/fancy-color/yellow/oval-cut/1.00-carat-si2-clarity-sku-1999276

It is pretty, but I'd like something a little yellower, yes. I'm not quite sure that one's actually classified as being a fancy color? GIA says the color range is "S to T" which makes me think it technically falls within the range of colorless diamonds. It's got lovely sparkle, though!

 

[Rockdiamond]

Hi All
Vogue- congratulations – yellow diamond, how exciting!
As a general rule, not speaking about any specific Diamond: florescence in a light yellow diamond will generally wash the color totally when you're looking at the stone in normal room lighting.
Videos that are taken using the current technology can not adequately capture this phenomenon.

About a yellow cup under the diamond- also generally speaking –in my experience, blocking the pavilion of the diamond entirely will have negative effects on the light performance of a diamond.

 

[pinkjewel]

I was thinking the ring would look something like this:



So the pear would be too small? I'd like to avoid this situation, and I hoped a halo would help with that:



(Note: absolutely nothing wrong with this look, I actually love its beautiful simplicity, it's just not what I'm going for right now.)

If there's no way around it and the pear is just flat out going to look like a dot on my hand, then I'll go for Stone #2, which seems to be the same size as the 1.1 ct from DBL and a lot cheaper. It's pretty, too.

Edit: I almost forgot. A guy from Leibish did contact me and say the pear stone was eye clean: "It's in America, but it's SI, so yes, it's eye clean."

"Um, if you can't see it in person, how do you know?" I asked.

"Because I'm a gemologist and I'm looking at the video," he said [A/N: the same video I saw!] "and with that color, unless there's a black spot, it's going to be fine. Definitely eye clean."

So...that happened. I figured out that the stone is multi-listed on different sites, including Brian Gavin, where it costs over $1,000 more. I guess that means Leibish has never seen it in person, so I'd be going on faith. James Allen's videos are definitely better.

Vogue, the diamonds on Leibish belong to Leibish and other retailers sell their diamonds. The yellow pear is probably at their New York office. As far as size the pear is going to look larger on your finger than the others. The length of the pear is 7.6mm, then add your halo. If you use 1.2 or 1.3 mm ,melee you are going to add 2.5 to 3mm to that. If you want to see how the size looks on your finger find a ruler that measures in mm. Cut the shape out and place on your finger. Even though the cushion is a larger carat size it will look smaller on your finger.

 

[Vogue]

Hi All
Vogue- congratulations – yellow diamond, how exciting!
As a general rule, not speaking about any specific Diamond: florescence in a light yellow diamond will generally wash the color totally when you're looking at the stone in normal room lighting.
Videos that are taken using the current technology can not adequately capture this phenomenon.

About a yellow cup under the diamond- also generally speaking –in my experience, blocking the pavilion of the diamond entirely will have negative effects on the light performance of a diamond.

Thank you! Is fluorescence in a more intensely colored diamond (like Fancy Intense or Fancy Vivid) as likely to have a washing-out effect? I don't plan on getting a really pale diamond anyway. Noam at Naturally Colored says that he will try and find me something that suits my tastes and budget, but suggested that higher fluorescence might be a way of lowering the diamond cost. If that's a big problem, then I don't want him to waste his time searching.

Pinkjewel, thanks for clearing it up on Leibish. Honestly, I think the whole diamond market is almost as interesting as the diamonds themselves. Also thank you for the advice on the size. I don't have a ruler handy, but I keep one in my office, so I'll check it at work tomorrow and see if I like how it looks

 

[pinkjewel]

Fluorescence is kind of tricky in FCDs. My experience is more with pink diamonds. But I've seen strong blue fluorescence drain color from a diamond and leave it rather dull looking, but on the other hand, I have a pink diamond with strong blue fluorescence that looks rather magical in sunlight with purple sparks literally leaping from it. Since David has worked with so many yellow diamonds, if he says it normally will drain color from a yellow diamond I'd take his advice and avoid it.

 

[Rockdiamond]

Thanks PJ- assessing fluorescence is tricky in yellow diamonds. As I mentioned, the current crop of cameras are using lighting sources that won't "activate" the fluorescence. Consequently a stone that may look very yellow in a rotating video may not look nearly as yellow when viewed in normal room or natural lighting. When we get to intense and vivid it's even trickier- the stones cost a lot more, and the effect can be magnified, or not. There certainly are cases of MB or even SB Intense and Vivid Yellow diamonds that look great in any lighting. And others that do not.

Also as a general note: There's been a lot of changes in the diamond business. I would not say it's safe to assume ownership of diamonds that vendors do not possess ( even sometimes when a diamond is in the possession of a seller, they don;t own it).
About locations: many companies based outside the US have affiliations here in the US, but do not have an official US presence. There's a big difference.

 

[DAF]

Fluorescence in FCD is tricky - the GIA cert on the DBL stone doesn't specify the color of the fluorescence. What if it's yellow fluorescence? It would enhance in sunlight, no? In a well-colored stone, I don't think faint fluorescence would affect it much. I once looked at a FLY EC in David's office that had medium blue fluorescence, and it had a pretty strong green tone to it in natural light. Ask him what color the fluorescence is.

 

[Rockdiamond]

Fluorescence in FCD is tricky - the GIA cert on the DBL stone doesn't specify the color of the fluorescence. What if it's yellow fluorescence? It would enhance in sunlight, no? In a well-colored stone, I don't think faint fluorescence would affect it much. I once looked at a FLY EC in David's office that had medium blue fluorescence, and it had a pretty strong green tone to it in natural light. Ask him what color the fluorescence is.

Hi Daf!!
Good point about faint.
1) GIA won't quantify "Faint" with a color.
2) IN general, Faint fl has little effect on a yellow diamond, although if it's a borderline Medium Blue, it can- we've seen those.
3) you're correct about yellow fluorescence- it can improve the yellow color- but it's pretty rare compared to blue.


The Emerald Cut you saw- was it a big one? We had a three and a half carat EC FLY with Medium Blue a few years back.
In that case the stone was so rare due to the cut ( emeralds are super rare in FLY) that I was much more willing to accept the fluorescence.
I miss that stone- it was a beaut!

 

[Vogue]

Thanks for all the advice about fluorescence. I put down a deposit on the pear, which GIA says has none, so hopefully the color's as pure as it can get. Leibish is going to send me more photos and video so I can get a better idea of its brilliance in real lighting conditions. As I told them, the color is amazing, but if I only cared about color I'd get a nice yellow sapphire. I want the sparkle, too!

I followed Pinkjewel's advice and made a paper cutout to get a better idea of how the shape and size would look on my finger. It's just the size I was looking for, so fingers crossed that the stone is what it seems to be. I never really considered a pear shaped ring, but when I compared it to the alternatives, it seemed too good to pass up.

Re: dealers outside the US, Mali from Leibish seems to be based in Israel, but says the stone is in their NY office. I'm guessing that means they have "an official US presence"? I got the impression from this forum that they were a well-regarded vendor, so I hope I am safe in going with them...

Hopefully I will have some pictures to share with you soon!

 

[pinkjewel]

Thanks for all the advice about fluorescence. I put down a deposit on the pear, which GIA says has none, so hopefully the color's as pure as it can get. Leibish is going to send me more photos and video so I can get a better idea of its brilliance in real lighting conditions. As I told them, the color is amazing, but if I only cared about color I'd get a nice yellow sapphire. I want the sparkle, too!

I followed Pinkjewel's advice and made a paper cutout to get a better idea of how the shape and size would look on my finger. It's just the size I was looking for, so fingers crossed that the stone is what it seems to be. I never really considered a pear shaped ring, but when I compared it to the alternatives, it seemed too good to pass up.

Re: dealers outside the US, Mali from Leibish seems to be based in Israel, but says the stone is in their NY office. I'm guessing that means they have "an official US presence"? I got the impression from this forum that they were a well-regarded vendor, so I hope I am safe in going with them...

Hopefully I will have some pictures to share with you soon!

I have purchased several diamonds from Leibish (most recently a gorgeous fancy green blue!!)and they are great to deal with. I have also been to their New York office. At one time they did not have an office in the US- they had an affiliation with another company which maintained an office in New York. So unless Leibish closed their office in New York within the last year they do have an office in the US. Also, if you receive the diamond and for any reason don't like it, you can return it to the New York office within 30 days-all money refunded.

 

[Rockdiamond]

The differences may be subtle- but being a US corporation is not the same as using another vendors office. A US corporation must pay State and Federal taxes and is bound by US regulations.
This may matter little to some buyers- and many buyers are outside the US anyway. It does not mean there's anything wrong with operation outside the USA.....
But only in the interest of transparency.

 

[Vogue]

They have been great to work with--sent me both photos and videos within a few hours of me sending my request! I'd love to post the video but am not sure how to do that here. But it was enough to convince me that I'll have the sparkle I require

Here are two of the photos:





I think I'm in love.

Pinkjewel, do you have a picture of your fancy green blue? Or have you posted it in another thread? I'm afraid I'm becoming obsessed with fancy colored diamonds...

 

[pinkjewel]

They have been great to work with--sent me both photos and videos within a few hours of me sending my request! I'd love to post the video but am not sure how to do that here. But it was enough to convince me that I'll have the sparkle I require

Here are two of the photos:





I think I'm in love.

Pinkjewel, do you have a picture of your fancy green blue? Or have you posted it in another thread? I'm afraid I'm becoming obsessed with fancy colored diamonds...

It looks gorgeous!! I think you'll love it!

Haha- I always say FCDs are like potato chips-you can't stop with one
Here's a photo of my little fancy green blue

 

[Garry H (Cut Nut)]

GIA effectively do not grade the even-ness of of colour distribution. They have a line item but rarely ever ding even yucky stones.

I challenge anyone to find a fancy stone that is given GIA uneven - you will be amazed.
This is my own staff training grading scale. I should have put copyright on it.

 

[Vogue]

Pinkjewel--gorgeous!! Are you going to do anything with it, or keep it as a collector's item?

Garry, that is a very interesting chart. Honestly I forgot that GIA rated evenness, since I just kinda eyeballed it when I looked at pictures or videos of stones.

In the meantime, this listing is making me cry: http://www.fancycolordiamond.net/search/fancy_colored_diamond_details.cfm?id=6395P



Cut: Cushion
Carat Weight: 0.82 ct.
Color: FANCY RED
Clarity: SI2
Measurements: 6.01 x 5.42 x 3.09

This seems like the kind of thing you just don't see every day (and can't do anything about unless you're Bill Gates). Wow.

Anyway, looks like I found my rock. I'll update this thread when I've got the diamond in hand, unless people just want to hang around and talk about FCDs in the meantime

 

[DAF]

Hi, David:
I'm still in love with the setting - I think it may have been by Leon Mege. It was soooooo encrusted with diamonds it just glowed white. The yellow diamond, however was a 1.07 ct yellow stone with medium blue fluorescence - and all I kept seeing was a green diamond.

I DID once own for a very short time a yellow pear that fluoresced yellow. It was cool.

 

[pinkjewel]

Hi, David:
I'm still in love with the setting - I think it may have been by Leon Mege. It was soooooo encrusted with diamonds it just glowed white. The yellow diamond, however was a 1.07 ct yellow stone with medium blue fluorescence - and all I kept seeing was a green diamond.

I DID once own for a very short time a yellow pear that fluoresced yellow. It was cool.

Was that the yellow diamond David had that looked neon lime green?

 

[Rockdiamond]

GIA effectively do not grade the even-ness of of colour distribution. They have a line item but rarely ever ding even yucky stones.

I challenge anyone to find a fancy stone that is given GIA uneven - you will be amazed.
This is my own staff training grading scale. I should have put copyright on it.

Interesting subject Garry!
Also a cool photo- but also worth mentioning that static pictures can make the "splochy" areas look worse than they do in real life, when the diamond is in motion.
I agree that likely none of those stones would get "uneven"
Here's a Fancy Yellow which GIA graded "Uneven"



If you think about it, and emerald cut can't have an even yellow color because of disparities in facet size.

 

[Vogue]

Indeed--it still has a remarkable look to it, as the "unevenness" manages to be symmetrical. At least it seems that way in the photo. I find it really appealing

 

[Rockdiamond]

Thanks Vogue, it is a kewl one.
Natural Yellow Step cuts are rare.
About Garry's dark zone picture-


Another aspect to keep in mind- contrast.
In theory, contrast is the enemy of an even yellow color.
But it's not a one way street.
In many cases, the dark areas light up in a manner that adds life to a stone.
Truly a case by case basis

Hi, David:
I'm still in love with the setting - I think it may have been by Leon Mege. It was soooooo encrusted with diamonds it just glowed white. The yellow diamond, however was a 1.07 ct yellow stone with medium blue fluorescence - and all I kept seeing was a green diamond.

I DID once own for a very short time a yellow pear that fluoresced yellow. It was cool.

HI Daf- Leon did make two rings for us- many years back. But neither was a 1.07ct yellow.
Do you remember the shape?

PJ- I love lime green diamonds!!
We have been lucky to find a few over the years.
In almost every case fluorescence plays a HUGE role in the color your eyes perceive.

 

[chrono]

The yellow pear is gorgeous!!!

 

[Skhii]

Vogue, do keep us updated all about your yellow diamond and your ring ideas! I can't wait to hear what you think! I bet it'll be super gorgeous- the color reminds me of a wonderful sunny day. I'm also a fan of red diamonds.

Garry, thanks for sharing your color distribution chart. Did you make charts for other colors?