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I - color (GIA) - help me understand

H

heysch

Rough_Rock
Joined
Sep 22, 2010
Messages
9
Hello, I appreciate any insight in advance (and apologize if my question is naive).

I learned last night that my boyfriend has a larger stone than I expected on hold (1.52 ct). It is a GIA certified stone, and is SI1, i color.

I've done plenty of homework on the 4c's and my initial thoughts were I didn't want lower than h in color, in fear that it would look too yellow.I'm concerned about the "I". Is that going to look real yellow in a 1.52 carat stone?

From a cost perspective, I think upgrading color would mean losing carat size. (And I really like the carat size!)

Can anyone give me feedback on this fear? Any thoughts appreciated.

Thanks so much.
 
If it is a well cut stone you should not be dissapointed with an I.
 
How can I tell if it is a well cut stone? Is that what I need the depth and table %s for?

THANKS!
 
Also the pavilion and crown angles help. And the cut grade they gave the stone is informative.

A GIA I color will look fine to most people unless you have a strong preconceived notion about diamond color. It will not look yellow, just softer white than a colorless stone. Warmer is some lighting. I own a J and no one has ever in real life made even one little comment about its color, except to be surprised if I tell them its actual label.
 
I have an I and I can't see any color in it at all (I have a 2.5). I picked an I for my best friend to give to his wife as an upgrade and it looks really fantabulous as well. To me a little more size was worth going down one more notch in color.

Betty McBlingerton.JPG
 
Unless you're super super sensitive to colour, then an I colour shouldn't look yellow. Does it have fluorescence? That might help to eliminate any yellow. Here's my I (GIA) with strong blue fluor. It never looks yellow!

Diamond Pear6_1-1.JPG
 
We have an H and I can see the yellow when the stone is viewed from the side in certain lighting.
I often wish it had less color.
 
Some shapes (princess, cushion, EC, etc) show color more than others (RB's in particular come to mind). What shape are you looking at?

And Kenny is right -- the way stones are graded for color is they're turned face down on a white background (think of a 90-degree V pocket) and examined under florescent lighting. So if you're going to see any color, it will be from an angle, probably in the office -- but most of the time, you'll be looking at it face-up (like in the pictures above). Even under flourescent lighting, it should face-up pretty white if it's been cut well.

Why don't you see the loose diamond in a temp setting and decide if you like it? Before he purchases it? Is that an option? You'll feel a lot better!
 
Ask you bf to let you see it before he proposes. It is the only way to be sure.
 
you mentioned that you learned last night...did your BF explicitly tell you or does he think that you don't know? If he thinks you don't know, then a good idea might be to go to jewelry stores in person, look at different colors (away from the jewelry store spotlighting) and see if it matters to you.
 
Thank you all SO VERY MUCH for your responses! What a tremendous resource this is, I wish I had found it sooner!

He gave me the option to go see it tonight before he makes the final purchase. And while that might hinder the "surprise" factor a little bit, I think it is a better idea to see it and know that its right for us.

It's a round brilliant, and I don't know anything about the cut dimensions, so that's another thing I'd like to learn more about.

What proportions do I want to look for ?

THANK YOU AGAIN!
 
If you're going to look at it tonight, just use your eyes and see if it's white enough, sparkly enough, and whether you like it. Turn on the overhead lights, turn off the overhead lights, look at it in direct lighting, indirect lighting -- every lighting situation you can think of -- and make sure that you love it. IMO, the numbers and angles thing is secondary to how it actually looks to you (the end consumer).

1.52 in a RB is pretty big (IMO) and RBs show less color than other shapes -- so overall, he's getting an A+ !!

If it's supposed to be a H&A stone, ask to use their H&A viewer to check for the symmetry and separation of the hearts and arrows.

Also, on the surprise thing -- diamonds look totally different when they're set, so it will still be a surprise. :appl:
 
If you're going to look at it tonight, just use your eyes and see if it's white enough, sparkly enough, and whether you like it. Turn on the overhead lights, turn off the overhead lights, look at it in direct lighting, indirect lighting -- every lighting situation you can think of -- and make sure that you love it. IMO, the numbers and angles thing is secondary to how it actually looks to you (the end consumer).
Click to expand...

Everything he said! If you have the opportunity to go and see it in person, it will make all the difference. It will all depend how color-sensitive you are.

Let us know what happens!
 
MarkBroumand said:
Everything he said!
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Er -- slight threadjack -- Antelope is a girl. Thanks.
 
I cant see any yellow at all in my I, heck I compare it to my 5 stone which are F colored diamonds and I find it hard to tell the difference, maybe the I has a little softer color, but yellow, nope, none....and I have seen a yellow stone, my Mom has a K and I can see the yellow from the side... :wink2:
 
Ok, we got back from the store a short while ago, and I wanted to follow up here and tell you helpful folks what happened.

I FELL IN LOVE with that diamond. It is perfect in every way to me. We looked at it in different lights, up, down, etc.. and I just absolutely love it.

Thank you all for your great advice to take him up on the offer and go see it. My mind is completely set at ease. I am so excited, it's the perfect ring for me.

THANK YOU ALL SO VERY MUCH!!!
 
:appl:
 
That is soooo exciting! I am so glad you love it! I would take an I color stone, in a heartbeat. 1.52 is a very substantial size. I think your FF did a fantastic job! Congratulations! I don't suppose you took any pictures of your new baby? :appl:
 
awesome!!! :) :) can't wait to see the finished ring
 
love on sight :appl:
 
hearts-arrows_girl said:
I don't suppose you took any pictures of your new baby? :appl:
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Oh believe me I wanted to take a picture SO BADLY! But the opportunity to do it wasn't there. Guess I have to wait a little while. I'll definitely come back here and post pics!!

Thanks again to you all - you're awesome.
 
I'm looking forward to seeing your new ring when you get it!
 
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