ACA Face up off white?

[mwfp]

Hi everyone,

I've always read that a diamond with an ideal cut should face up as white as a DEF diamond. Is that true?

I ask because I have in my hand a H and a F. When viewing from face up, the F is noticeably cooler/bluish. The H on the other hand, is a little darker.

The H is an ACA, H&A. The F does not have fluorescence.

Thoughts?

 

[Gypsy]

Are you viewing them side by side?

How and where are you viewing them?

 

[mwfp]

I am viewing them both in hand, side by side with same light source just from my naked eye. Kind of puzzled at this point.

 

[Gypsy]

What's the cut on the F?

 

[mwfp]

Cut might be Excellent or VG. Oh, the H is a RB, the F might be a Princess or Radiant. (No longer have it in my possession).

 

[Gypsy]

Um what?

The F is a princess or radiant but you don't have it in your possession, but you are comparing them side by side?

I'm sorry I am confused. If you don't have it in your possession how are you comparing them side by side.

 

[Gypsy]

[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/darkness-in-ideal-cut-diamonds-revisited.150108/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/darkness-in-ideal-cut-diamonds-revisited.150108/[/URL] Ideal cut diamond have Achilles heals. This link explains some of that.

And Radiants/princesses reflect light very differently.

I had my asscher F next to my ideal G's RB in my old ring and they behaved very differently in lights. Sometimes they looked the same. Sometimes they looked complete opposites the G out whiting my F. And sometimes it sometimes the F out whited my G's.

 

[mwfp]

My apologies--I had them in hand, side by side, but I had to give the F back to the owner

 

[Gypsy]

OK. That makes sense.

 

[Daisyoz]

I think a G in ideal cut might face up as an F or E. Mine faces up beautifully white. But it is unlikely a H will face up as white as F or E, assuming they are all RB. The lighting condition and environment also have a large effect.

That said, one time I was shown a G (ideal, excellent cut) next to an I (very good cut GIA) and strangely the I looked whiter while the G was much sparklier, livelier and throws off lots of colorful flashes. The I looked just like a white dull rock. The jeweler was using the two stones to show me how an excellent cut makes a difference to the diamond's beauty.

 

[Gypsy]

I think a G in ideal cut might face up as an F or E. Mine faces up beautifully white. But it is unlikely a H will face up as white as F or E, assuming they are all RB.

Not unlikely at all. I've seen H's face up as white as F's. Several times.

 

[Karl_K]

I think a G in ideal cut might face up as an F or E. Mine faces up beautifully white. But it is unlikely a H will face up as white as F or E, assuming they are all RB.

Not unlikely at all. I've seen H's face up as white as F's. Several times.

In some lighting an L can face up as white as an F.
That is one reason why I have problem with the whole faces up as concept.
Separating the effects of lighting and the effects of material color even in near identical stones is very lighting dependent as well as the color perception of the viewer. Take 2 different cutting patterns and it becomes even harder.

 

[TC1987]

Only a D , E , or F can face up as a D , E , or F when you get right down to it. If all diamonds were colorless, they'd all face up as D, correct? But they are not all D colorless. So, whether or not YOU notice the tint difference between an alleged D and H depends upon the cut quality, the depth and mass of the two stones (deeper or larger will concentrate a tint more), your personal ability to differentiate between subtle nuances of colors, the lighting, whether or not you are looking perpendicular to the table or at a slight angle, how accurately both of the stones' colors were graded, and also any body tint either stone may have such as gray, brown, yellow, pink, green. And probably some other reasons that I haven't thought of yet, haha.

But if you are quite color-sensitive and have a good attention to detail, you can probably see the difference. And the H should look "darker" because it is the more tinted stone.

 

[Roxy]

Only a D , E , or F can face up as a D , E , or F when you get right down to it. If all diamonds were colorless, they'd all face up as D, correct? But they are not all D colorless. So, whether or not YOU notice the tint difference between an alleged D and H depends upon the cut quality, the depth and mass of the two stones (deeper or larger will concentrate a tint more), your personal ability to differentiate between subtle nuances of colors, the lighting, whether or not you are looking perpendicular to the table or at a slight angle, how accurately both of the stones' colors were graded, and also any body tint either stone may have such as gray, brown, yellow, pink, green. And probably some other reasons that I haven't thought of yet, haha.

But if you are quite color-sensitive and have a good attention to detail, you can probably see the difference. And the H should look "darker" because it is the more tinted stone.

This is interesting and what I've found in real life, but I could never have expressed it with the clarity that you have, so I want to thank you for your post.

Most of the time when I'm looking at my diamond it's at an angle or through the side, I'm very rarely looking at it straight on (or "face up"). The same is true when I notice other's rings, it's always at an angle while they're doing something (signing something, handing me something, eating something, etc) so I'm rarely seeing their stone "face up". I've often wondered why folks focus on that aspect (unless you're looking at a pendant or maybe earrings that are somewhat stationary).

I really like the analogy that compares the colors of white diamonds to the colors of white paint, it helped me to understand the differences a little better and removes the aspect of "judging" one color against another.