Find your diamond
Find your jewelry
shape
carat
color
clarity

Help with Color Please

M

mdmc

Shiny_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jan 27, 2010
Messages
209
In the next few weeks I will be upgrading my engagement ring from a .33 to a 1.2. The stone I have now is graded G-H EGL. On the new stone I am sure I can go up in color. I guess I am looking for opinions on the difference between an I and a J stone. I don't think I am particularly color sensitive. I am torn because I want the biggest stone I can get for my money ($6000 for the stone alone) but don't want a yellow stone either. What do you all think?
 
you've got to see them in person, in a lots of different lighting. Also, are you getting a GIA cert this time rather than a EGL? Because Ive heard EGL can be 2-3 colors off the same color grade in GIA. So your current stone could actually already b a GIA J. I would really recommend seeing them in person though. Only you know if it will bother you. Also, consider getting one with some flour. Flour can mask some color as well.

If you are color sensitive i would for sure not reccomend a EGL J though
 
Yes I plan on getting a GIA cert this time. I have also convinced my hubby to let me buy it from a vender here on Pricescope. The diamond I have now looks very white and I do know about the difference in grading. I was hoping to get some input from others who have I and J colored stones. By the way I m getting a RB.
 
HI! Here's a reference. I believe this is according to GIA. If you're going EGL you'll want to consider one or two letters to the right. For instance an F colored GIA stone will likely be a G or H colored EGL stone. There are, however, some cases as in mine where EGL (USA) and GIA both agreed that the stone is the same color. You'll want to be careful with EGL Isreal, International, Hong Kong because they grade a lot more differently. So I also suggest seeing the stones in person or having pictures taken of them for comparison. Video would be better.

color-grading-d-j.jpg
 
What a lucky duck thats a big upgrade :D

I do not have an i or a j... but everyone i hear that has them loves them... have you considered even lower? Theres a BGD blue in your price range that 1.3 L.... I cant give you first hand experience but I hear people say you wont see the color in an I and everyone that posts here with J's seem to think they are a great compromise for size. (same with many K's on here")

Good luck!

Edited to correct myself :oops:
 
Yes I think fluorescence would be fine with me but still want the stone to face up white as possible. Not sure how high I can go with fluorescence and still have a white looking stone. Do most B&M have stones with fluorescence ?
 
hmmm..... depends how good the store is i think. I went to a mall store and they didnt even have a black light for me to look at my own. They looked at me like I was an idiot :nono:

But If you have a very reputable B&M store in town I would bet so. If you arent in any rush you could just order the stone from JA or a place with a good return pol. Get it in all the different lighting situations and see how you feel. Maybe go to lowes and stick it in that paint area that has the "florescent lighting, soft lighting, natural sunlight" light box

i would say look at J threads on here, but those are not as helpful as we would like because depending on the white balance of the camera and your monitor it can be misleading .
 
"I" color in a round will face up white but you may see a slight tint from the side. With J, I can definitely see light yellow. I acquired that tint sensitivity over the years. Until I found PS and started to study my diamonds, I couldn't see tint in the I diamond. G or H is white enough for me, if I want white in the 1-1.25 ct range. When I look at larger diamonds, maybe I need a F or a G.

I don't particularly care for J and K, but I like the light yellow of L and M.

In the sticky for helpful threads, there should be links to a couple of threads of I or J in platinum that have a compilation of PS engagement rings, including a few K diamonds.

Only a low % of diamonds have fluor. Most vendors probably won't have any except by chance.
 
Good Old Gold has a video where Jon lines up colors from D to K or lower, and compares them to each other and to the D color.
 
Off to look at the Sticky's!
 
04diamond<3|1356283920|3338574 said:
HI! Here's a reference. I believe this is according to GIA. If you're going EGL you'll want to consider one or two letters to the right. For instance an F colored GIA stone will likely be a G or H colored EGL stone. There are, however, some cases as in mine where EGL (USA) and GIA both agreed that the stone is the same color. You'll want to be careful with EGL Isreal, International, Hong Kong because they grade a lot more differently. So I also suggest seeing the stones in person or having pictures taken of them for comparison. Video would be better.

color-grading-d-j.jpg
Click to expand...

Great pic but unless I'm misinterpreting the text, I think you got it backwards. If you're looking for a whiter stone, you should look for colors closer to D in EGL-graded stones than in GIA-Graded stones. An EGL G-H may be graded by GIA as I-J or even warmer, so if you want a "true" (GIA) I-J, you need to be looking at EGL G-H or higher. It also depends on which EGL lab did the grading (EGL-USA is the most reliable).

For instance, the stone you have now may in fact be a GIA I-J. I'm not sure what you mean by go "up" in color - do you mean closer to D or closer to Z? Usually when people say "up" or "higher" with regard to color, they mean closer to D, but then you mentioned I-J.

I also agree with TC1987 that I too have become more color-sensitive over time. I can now see tint in my I princess from the side (and in certain lighting environments, from the top as well) that I couldn't for the life of me discern when we first bought it in 2007. In fact, it's a point of contention in our marriage because I want to upgrade to higher color and he doesn't want me to! Also, larger stones will show more color than smaller stones. So I would suggest getting a whiter or at least as white stone for your upgrade if you don't want to see any tint. If I were going to upgrade, I'd stick with GIA/AGS F-G, but that's only because an upgrade from I to H seems kinda pointless if that's all I were upgrading (I don't want a larger stone). H would be fine if I were buying a stone today. Hope that helps!
 
Yes what I meant was going to an I or J colored stone. I am leaning towards an I because I don't think I will upgrade again. I will definitely go with EGL certified this time. It is hard to tell the color difference on the computer. Where I live I have gone to local jewelers but they seem to have a fewer GIA stones to compare color. Most have EGL.
 
In a earlier post you said you were definitely going GIA?
 
I also hope you meant you will be going with GIA through an online vendor! I color is generally where tint begins. I can see it face up in a low I color and I can see it in J color. I would think if you are happy with the color of your current EGL stone, you'd probably be fine with GiA I color. However, with a $6k budget and a size of 1.2 cts., I am thinking you will have to be in J color and maybe SI2.
 
diamondseeker2006|1356299078|3338698 said:
I also hope you meant you will be going with GIA through an online vendor! I color is generally where tint begins. I can see it face up in a low I color and I can see it in J color. I would think if you are happy with the color of your current EGL stone, you'd probably be fine with GiA I color. However, with a $6k budget and a size of 1.2 cts., I am thinking you will have to be in J color and maybe SI2.
Click to expand...


I was talking about being able to see the difference between an I and a J stone. If I only look at EGL well I won't really know what color I m looking at. I have persuaded my hubby to go with an online vender. I have been looking and have in fact found a few I color SI1 1.20 with aHCA under 2 for around $6000. Don't want to say where yet as I hope they will still be there when I am ready. :appl:
 
mdmc|1356291001|3338632 said:
Yes what I meant was going to an I or J colored stone. I am leaning towards an I because I don't think I will upgrade again. I will definitely go with EGL certified this time. It is hard to tell the color difference on the computer. Where I live I have gone to local jewelers but they seem to have a fewer GIA stones to compare color. Most have EGL.
Click to expand...
:appl: :appl:
Upgrading is such a blast & I'm SO EXCITED for you. Since you're asking for opinions from folks w/ I-J stones, I wanted to chime in. And since DH & I just completed an upgrade I really want to be helpful to you, so I'm gonna shoot straight but please receive this in the spirit it's given. Also, let me be clear that while I love the icy whites it's purely a matter of taste (like choc vs strawberry). A lot of people prefer warmer diamonds & I've spent many a time DROOLING over their jaw-droppingly GORGEOUS stones (just take a look at "Show me the bling" to see for yourself).

Okay, back to your project. Here's the thing, you mention that you don't think you'll upgrade again so you really want to get maximum mileage out of this new diamond. The fact that you're asking about color & tint means that, on some level, you care about how your stone will appear & you mention that you don't want it to look yellow so you really need to be careful. A few months ago I was EXACTLY where you are, so I totally get it. My original stone was an "I", so I started my upgrade looking for the "biggest rock possible at the lowest color I could tolerate". The problem that I kept running into was that no matter what other folks said about colors below F, if there was a tint to be found, I'd find it & it drove me nuts. I felt that given the amount of money DH was spending on this gift, worrying about "tint" was no way to start off a relationship with my new upgrade ... I wanted to ABSOLUTELY LOVE it & I'm sure you want that too.

Just like a previous poster, I didn't notice any tint in my ring 16 yrs ago, but as I learned more about diamonds & spent more time in jewelry stores over the years, the color of the stone became obvious to me & it began to bug me. I also began to realize that while I may not have noticed any tint when looking straight down at my ring, others around me who were viewing it from every angle known to man were very likely able to see it. I know that I can now see the tint in the erings of others (1ct & over), so for those around you who are color sensitive, the tint in an I or J stone is fairly apparent.

That said ... you've come to the right place for the info you need to make an awesome choice! When it comes to a knockout stone, CUT really is king so given your concerns, if you get a high performing stone (ideal, excellent, great HCA scores, etc) & keep the color at G (or "high" H) or higher w/ GIA cert & you'll be fine. Meanwhile, search this site for "color comparison" threads & take a look at the educational videos on YouTube by "DiamondInfoMan" (just run a search) for tons of stones analyzed side by side. Sorry for the LONG post, you just reminded me of myself not long ago so I wanted to reach out & help. Whatever you decide, please remember to HAVE FUN & let us know how things are going. :twirl:
 
Thanks once again for all the help. Since it will be a couple more weeks before we decide I will keep looking. I will probably post ones I find here to get all your expert opinions.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
GET 3 FREE HCA RESULTS JOIN THE FORUM. ASK FOR HELP
Jewelry Blog
PriceScope-Concierge-Ad
Find prime cuts.
Top