L, M, N, O and warmer!

[2Artists]

I love this thread. What a fun read. Warmer diamonds match my coloring the best but I have been having trouble finding out info on them. Thank you for the great info!

Mrs.2Artists

 

[mausketeer]

mausketeer

Here''s some info about GIA Color Grading.

--Yellow Color--to be deemed "fancy yellow" color starts beyond Z in the normal color range (D-Z). K-L-M are considered Faint Yellow, but they are not fancies. Same for N-R (Very Light Yellow) and S-Z (Light Yellow).

--Browns are a bit different. Brown diamonds (within D-Z) darker than K color get a word modifier. Faint Brown for K - M, Very Light Brown for N - R, Light Brown for S - Z.

--Greys with color equal to or greater than K are graded in the fancy color system, as Faint Grey, Light Grey etc. with no letter grade.

--All other colors are graded in the fancy color system depending on hue and intensity.

Coati
G.G., A.J.P.

Thanks so much for all that Coati.  The thing I''m still unclear on though is (gosh, I hope I''m not being a pain with all these questions!)......  Let''s say I find a diamond that meets my specs (1.5+ carat square cushion.  VS clarity.  Well cut, good proportions etc) and it''s say an M through Z grade, will I have to SEE a photo of the stone to tell what colour it is?  Or can the GIA report tell me it''s brown (I''m basically looking for a champagne TONE without the pricetag.  I have also found it hard to even FIND a champagne stone at all.  However, I HAVE seen several stones matching my specs in the M-Z range and I''m thinking that''s the route I should go rather than persuing a champagne diamond IF the stones end up being more brown than yellow).  How open to "please show me all stones that fall within this range that are brownish in colour" would the vendors be that sell stones in these grades?

Thanks in advance - sorry for the multiple questions!!!

- Jodie -

 

[Rockdiamond]

Hi Everyone,
Stones in the range between L, own to Y-Z are not all that easy to find- either on the market, or on websites.
We carry diamonds in every color grade- from D all the way to Y-Z ( in the alphabet range) and into Fancy Light, Fancy , Intense and Vivid.
I feel that people who draw a line at Fancy Light Yellow - assuming that Fancy Light Yellow is a "Fancy Color" and Y-Z is not- are doing a disservice to the lighter yellows.

Anyone looking at it will see it as a "Fancy Color"- it's clearly yellow.
Even stones in the S-T, and U-V range show enough yellow to be recognizable as a colored diamond.



Jodie, Yes- you will have to see photos of the diamond to have even the slightest idea of how it's going to look in person.

In terms of brown- we've had stones graded "L, Faint Brown" by GIA.
If the stone had the more "normal" yellow tint, GIA would have just called it K.


Brown diamonds are way less expensive than most other colors- but that does not mean they are are common- in fact, it's quite difficult to find really nice looking brown diamonds.


snuggles- you asked about stones smaller than .50 in H&A...
Generally speaking, round diamonds are not all that great as fancy colors. You may find faint yellows- and even deeper colored ones- but generally they don't have the nice warm "Canary" Yellow that people like. Deeper colored natural yellows look orangy in rounds.



When we're talking about well cut radiant, Cushion, oval and princess cuts- Light or deeper yellow diamonds can have amazing sparkle. Just like any other color, cut is really important- but it's still a case by case basis.

Someone asked about pink- even the slightest inkling of pink will cause GIA to skip the letter grade entirely.
We just saw a "Faint Pink" diamond - as graded by GIA.
You could have sworn it was an H- the pink was nearly invisible.

John's post was excellent- but we have a slightly different experience.
For one thing, it's really not possible to say waht GIA will give stones in this range.
With a G color, many dealers and cutters will be able to judge the color, no problem. Maybe it gets an H, but they won't be far off.
I've submitted stones that I was sure were Y-Z, only to get U-V. And, the other way as well. These grades are very tough to gauge
SO- the cutter needs to simply cut for the best cut, while using the bottom of the stone to focus the color best they can. At least the ones we love.
There's really no way to get a stone from Y-Z to intense yellow through cutting

 

[coatimundi_org]

Date: 1/8/2009 2:49:26 PM
Author: mausketeer

mausketeer

Here''s some info about GIA Color Grading.

--Yellow Color--to be deemed ''fancy yellow'' color starts beyond Z in the normal color range (D-Z). K-L-M are considered Faint Yellow, but they are not fancies. Same for N-R (Very Light Yellow) and S-Z (Light Yellow).

--Browns are a bit different. Brown diamonds (within D-Z) darker than K color get a word modifier. Faint Brown for K - M, Very Light Brown for N - R, Light Brown for S - Z.

--Greys with color equal to or greater than K are graded in the fancy color system, as Faint Grey, Light Grey etc. with no letter grade.

--All other colors are graded in the fancy color system depending on hue and intensity.

Coati

G.G., A.J.P.


Thanks so much for all that Coati. The thing I''m still unclear on though is (gosh, I hope I''m not being a pain with all these questions!)...... Let''s say I find a diamond that meets my specs (1.5+ carat square cushion. VS clarity. Well cut, good proportions etc) and it''s say an M through Z grade, will I have to SEE a photo of the stone to tell what colour it is? Or can the GIA report tell me it''s brown (I''m basically looking for a champagne TONE without the pricetag. I have also found it hard to even FIND a champagne stone at all. However, I HAVE seen several stones matching my specs in the M-Z range and I''m thinking that''s the route I should go rather than persuing a champagne diamond IF the stones end up being more brown than yellow). How open to ''please show me all stones that fall within this range that are brownish in colour'' would the vendors be that sell stones in these grades?


Thanks in advance - sorry for the multiple questions!!!


- Jodie -

I''d think you''d want to see it. I wouldn''t buy a fancy or faint, very light, or light brown without seeing it first. If you want a specific hue in a specific size and cut, your best bet is to call reputable vendors and have them search for you--they have the access.

 

[coatimundi_org]

Date: 1/8/2009 4:02:58 PM
Author: Rockdiamond
Hi Everyone,

Stones in the range between L, own to Y-Z are not all that easy to find- either on the market, or on websites.

We carry diamonds in every color grade- from D all the way to Y-Z ( in the alphabet range) and into Fancy Light, Fancy , Intense and Vivid.

I feel that people who draw a line at Fancy Light Yellow - assuming that Fancy Light Yellow is a 'Fancy Color' and Y-Z is not- are doing a disservice to the lighter yellows.

Here's a diamond graded Y-Z by GIA

http://diamondsbylauren.com/images/08/01/r2392a.JPG

Hi David,
Is diamondsbylauren your store?

 

[Rockdiamond]

Indeed it is!

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 1/8/2009 4:16:20 PM
Author: Rockdiamond
Indeed it is!

Hi David!! Good to see you!

 

[Rockdiamond]

Thank you Lorelei!

 

[mausketeer]

QUOTE: I''d think you''d want to see it. I wouldn''t buy a fancy or faint, very light, or light brown without seeing it first. If you want a specific hue in a specific size and cut, your best bet is to call reputable vendors and have them search for you--they have the access.

Coati
G.G., A.J.P.

Oh yes, I would definitely want to see it before I decided on one - I just meant, could I perhaps narrow down the field to the ones I''d be interested in FIRST (based on colour) before I ask the vendor to bother with a photograph of a particular stone (I''ve found 5 or 6 contenders but if they''re yellow then I know I''m not interested right off the bat). I''m in Canada so unfortunately, I pretty much have to pick one and if I like it, have it sent to me - wouldn''t be able to do that more than once as far as hassle and cost goes (if I had some good photographs that would be fine by me - I don''t expect to find one here in person anywhere). There is nothing in Vancouver that I have seen so far that even RECOGNIZES that diamonds come in any colour other than clear (unless I go to Tiffany''s or Birks and buy a fancy for $50,000 - and that''s not happening!)

Thanks David for all the extra info!!! (I just skimmed it for now - will go back and re-read it later). You have some lovely stones I was looking at recently (some Asshers that really make my heart sing) but I am really set on a very pale champagne (ish) cushion.

Everyone who has read this - keep you eyes open will you? I will persue with some of the vendors who were offering the N-Z stones and ask them directly to sort out the brownish ones for me....... thanks so much for all the info - it does seem people are more interested in these lately, I wonder why? I hope that doesn''t make the price go up!!!

thanks again...... (sorry to hijack the thread - hope this was some of the info you were interested in too????)

- Jodie -

 

[stepcutnut]

Date: 1/8/2009 11:56:37 AM
Author: mausketeer

Date: 1/8/2009 8:59:06 AM

Author: stepcutnut

I have also purchased an N colored cushion, U-V colored EC and W-X colored radiant from Diamondsbylauren.com, David is great to work with and has some lovely lower colored/warmer stones.

Oh please post photos if you have them! I am dying to see what a UV and WX look like!!!

Hi David

Here's the W-X, a lovely shade of yellow IRL

 

[coatimundi_org]

Date: 1/8/2009 4:16:20 PM
Author: Rockdiamond
Indeed it is!

Thanks!

 

[coatimundi_org]

Date: 1/8/2009 4:36:32 PM
Author: mausketeer

QUOTE: I''d think you''d want to see it. I wouldn''t buy a fancy or faint, very light, or light brown without seeing it first. If you want a specific hue in a specific size and cut, your best bet is to call reputable vendors and have them search for you--they have the access.

Coati

G.G., A.J.P.


Oh yes, I would definitely want to see it before I decided on one - I just meant, could I perhaps narrow down the field to the ones I''d be interested in FIRST (based on colour) before I ask the vendor to bother with a photograph of a particular stone (I''ve found 5 or 6 contenders but if they''re yellow then I know I''m not interested right off the bat). I''m in Canada so unfortunately, I pretty much have to pick one and if I like it, have it sent to me - wouldn''t be able to do that more than once as far as hassle and cost goes (if I had some good photographs that would be fine by me - I don''t expect to find one here in person anywhere). There is nothing in Vancouver that I have seen so far that even RECOGNIZES that diamonds come in any colour other than clear (unless I go to Tiffany''s or Birks and buy a fancy for $50,000 - and that''s not happening!)


Thanks David for all the extra info!!! (I just skimmed it for now - will go back and re-read it later). You have some lovely stones I was looking at recently (some Asshers that really make my heart sing) but I am really set on a very pale champagne (ish) cushion.


Everyone who has read this - keep you eyes open will you? I will persue with some of the vendors who were offering the N-Z stones and ask them directly to sort out the brownish ones for me....... thanks so much for all the info - it does seem people are more interested in these lately, I wonder why? I hope that doesn''t make the price go up!!!


thanks again...... (sorry to hijack the thread - hope this was some of the info you were interested in too????)


- Jodie -

Some vendors also do video--that might help too! Good Luck!

 

[stepcutnut]

U-V

 

[mausketeer]

Date: 1/8/2009 8:29:17 PM
Author: stepcutnut
U-V

Thanks for posting those stepcutnut. They''re lovely.

Sigh..... more to obsess about - that''s all I need........

- Jodie -

 

[Rockdiamond]

Back Atya'' Stepcutnut!


I love that ring......

 

[oldmancoyote]

 

[DiamanteBlu]

That U-V ring is TDF!!! I WANT one! If I could get my mitts on an X-Z stone [yellow] I would be ecstatic!

My EC has nice warmth but still looks white in most settings. I bought it at Gleim''s in Palo Alto, CA from their estate departmant.