Colorless or near colorless diamond set in 18 K yellow gold?

[lmurden]

Hi,

I have read that a colorless diamond should only be set in white gold or platinum and a near colorless diamond should be set in 18K yellow gold. Is this true? Will the diamond really pick-up the color of the setting even if the prong is platinum?

My boyfriend says that the budget will be $5,000 I know by buying online I can get a solitaire engagement ring from 3/4 carat to 1 carat. I know for sure that I want 18k yellow gold setting and want to get VS2 clarity or better but choosing the color is what I''m stuck on. Of course the cut will be Ideal but definitely not Hearts & Arrows (I don''t care about that).

Overall I want quality, but then again I don''t want to waste money on something that I can''t see.
I do have diamond earrings and a solitaire pendant that is a I color SI clarity and I love them but think that I should get a better color. I just can''t make up mind.

Thanks

 

[cflutist]

My opinion is that it is your choice as far as ring metal is concerned. For colorless diamonds, as long as the head is platinum or white gold you should be fine. Platinum is hot right now (the Platinum Guild is doing a great job promoting that metal), but 10 - 15 years ago, yellow gold was popular. I had a 2.05 D-VS2 oval, and now a 3.01 F-SI1 pear, both of which were set in yellow gold with platinum heads. I thought they looked just fine and prefered the yellow gold because of my skin tone (in fact in my culture there is a lot of 24K jewelry). Check out the tread by websailor to see what an F looks like in yellow gold.

 

[chrono]

cflutist,
As I am also a person who has almost all 24kt and 22kt yellow gold, how does 18kt YG compare to them? Is the colour difference noticeable? I'm thinking of an 18kt YG band with a PT head for my ring. I'm also getting a 18kt YG setting for my pendant. Will the 18kt YG look whitish/pale next to the other 24kt YG that I am wearing?
Chrono

 

[cflutist]

18K is close as far as color, but not as "yellow" as 24K. 18K is 75% gold (18/24), so that means that 25% is the alloy metals. I wouldn't worry about getting it all to match. I would enjoy each piece separately. I do know some who have 24K wedding bands, but the metal is too soft for that and they end up getting "deformed" from normal wear.

 

[lmurden]

Thanks. All of my jewelry is yellow gold and I too have dark skin so I prefer yellow gold against my skin.

 

[lmurden]

I don't think so. Remember that the polish has a lot to do with how the yellow gold looks. I have a 14k gold necklace and it is so shimmery. The rest of the my chains are 18k gold and they are really pretty. Go to a jewelry store and compare.

 

[chrono]

I'd hate to bother you again, cflutist, but can you post a picture of 18kt YG next to 14kt YG next to 24ct YG all in the same picture? I know I am asking for a lot so if it's too much trouble, just forget it. Also, you can PM me if you don't want the whole world to see it.
Thanks.

 

[cflutist]

chrono, sorry don't have a picture for you. Best thing would be is to do like lmurden said and go into a jewlery store to look.

 

[cflutist]

lmurden, I am sorry, I didn't answer your question completely. Diamond color/clarity selection is a personal choice. I prefer to stay in the colorless range if possible. On the clarity side, I would choose SI1 or better since at that grade and above you should not be able to see the inclusions with the naked eye. On SI2 stones, you may be able to see them from the pavillion side. If you dropped from VS2 to SI1 you could go higher on the color and/or get a larger stone. I have or have owned a 1.47 F-VS1 MQ, 2.05 D-VS2 OV, and now a 3.01 F-SI1. Without a 10x loupe (which I now use more to get splinters out of my finger than to look at diamonds) the VS1, VS2 and SI1 looked the same to me. With the VS1 stone, it was difficult to see the inclusions with the 10x loupe even though I had the plot map in front of me. During my GIA Diamond Grading classes, I really had trouble spotting the inclusions in the VVS stones ... sometimes actually missing them completely.

In summary, my opinion of best value and quality for the money is F-SI1 (F to stay in the colorless range, and SI1 to get an clean stone to the naked eye). In fact when I was shopping for the oval, I actually wanted an F-SI1 but they didn't have that combination, so I ended up with the D-VS2 and having to pay $3,000 more at the time.

 

[lmurden]

Thanks for you in-depth response. I know for sure that I don't want to have any regrets. When I decide and get the ring I will let everybody know. Thanks again.

 

[valeria101]

This is one interesting thread! No white metal for once...

If I read it right, the initial Q was something along the line: "what diamonds look like in yellow gold ?". There are obviously no rules for matching D/F with white metal and the "near colorless" with yelllow. But there is one good excuse for it: the color of the metal does reflect through and onto the stone - especially closed settings hide very well the color of the diamond. High prongs - if anyone makes them of yellow gold in the first place - would make little change on what the tint of ywllow looks like in the diamond itself, but a low setting with more metal next to the stone or a yellow gold bezel would "waste" the whiteness of a D/F diamond. This surely works for smaller diamonds.

Given that yellow gold prongs are used to mark the color of fancy yellow diamonds, they surely lend their tint to colorless diamonds too.

If you do get to shop around and see what these color grades look like, you may want to see to what degree diamonds reflect the colors of objects nearby. Not just yellow, of course, but anything. You will obviously not get a... blue setting, but you can try different color backgrounds. It's fun

And you may find THIS ring a reasonable example, even if pictures may not help much judging such faint color shades

 

[JimDiamond]

I agree with Valeria. If you prefer yellow gold, why pay extra for a higher color diamond than you need or would ever be able to tell the difference in the setting. For a gold setting I would consider a diamond in the G-I range. Use the money you save to buy more carat size or just save the money.

 

[chrono]

Or you can do what I'm doing. You can set your diamond in a white gold or platinum basket/head and have the shank/band in yellow gold. You'll get the best of both worlds: a diamond that will not pick up the yellow colour of the YG but still have a lovely yellow gold band.

If you pick a very well cut diamond, an I colour or even a J will face up very white in a platinum head.

 

[lmurden]

Hi All,

My colorless or near colorless question is null in void at this point! Since my last post, unfortunately, my boyfriend who is in the Navy Reserves found out that he will be deployed to go to Iraq!

He Leaves August 1st and since we aren't married we have had to scramble.

With all that said, Monday my boyfriend will order my ring so that he can get it by Friday. We really think it's best for him to get the ring before he leaves and not have the ring sent to me by mail. Since our circumstance have changed our budget is now $3500

instead of $5000 so color isn't a factor, it's now about getting the largest Ideal cut round diamond for the right price and by Friday. I just wanted to update you all. Thanks again for all of your replies.