Find your diamond
Find your jewelry
shape
carat
color
clarity

Originally wanted G, now looking at I: am I settling?

Status
Not open for further replies. Please create a new topic or request for this thread to be opened.
puravida

puravida

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Nov 4, 2008
Messages
166
After I came across PS and learned tonnes about diamonds (thank you PS!) I had decided that I wanted a RB, G, SI1 stone, just bigger than 1 ct.

Then I found a stones that I loved at BGD and found that if I dropped to H colour, I could get a larger stone. After asking Lesley at GBD about it and getting some feedback on the forum I felt really comfortable with an H, knowing that with such a great cut the stone would face up very white.

There is an H stone I was considering but after doing some calcuating BF and I realize its a tad over the budget. (Well he says its ok, but I dont'' want himt o spend over a certain amount.) So now I''m thinking that instead of H, I should maybe consider I to maintain the same size but drop the price a bit.

I guess after I got it in my mind that I wanted a certain size, its been hard to change my mind since. So to maintain the ct weight, I''m considering looking at I stones.

I guess I have to decide what my priority it: colour or size.

Problem is, its hard to find well cut stones at local B&Ms to actually see if I''d like an I. So I''d be buying from an online vendor sight unseen.....and if the I was too coloured for my taste, what then?

Should I just stick to H and accept a smaller size? Or have no fear about a BGD H&A I stone looking very white?

I should probably go with my gut but I''m not sure what feeling is stronger....the voice telling me to not go lower than H; or the voice telling me that I will be just fine.

Anyone have references for PS-ers who have I stones?

If it makes a difference, I''m considering the BGD Grace setting (its a solitaire) in platinum.

What to do??
33.gif
 
I think you will be happy with the I color. If not, then you can take advantage of the return period and upgrade color at that time! Just take the diamond for a good "test drive" in the first couple of days. You will know pretty quickly how you feel!
 
What are the sizes of the stones you are considering? I''m in the same boat myself, figuring what''s the lowest color I''d accept to get the largest sized diamond within my budget.
 
I think you''ll be very happy with the I, and as Dreamer points out you can always do a color upgrade down the road
2.gif
 
If you went with a non-HA stone, you should be able to get the H or G.
 

I''m looking at sizes of 1 ct and slightly larger.


After seeing the BGD H&A stones, its really hard to pull myself away from them and get a non H&A stone. I''ve fallen in love with the cut and patterning!

 
If it were me, I would stay with G or H color, SI1 eye-clean, the largest possible cut, and wait a little until I save up enough money for a larger diamond. Although the option of an upgarde is nice, I do not want to count on it when I get a diamond and setting, because upgrading means possible change of setting which can mean significant cost and waste. Hate to worry about what to do with the spare settting.
 
Look through show me the ring, and these PS threads that I list, below. I think there were a couple of great I color RBs recently posted. I is a narrow band of color, but I is where most people start seeing tint. If I were buying an I color RB, I would probably opt for medium to strong blue fluor. I can see tint in G and H now, and I never used to notice it.
I:
https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/i-color-stones-in-platinum.9689/
https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/is-there-thread-for-i-color-stones.39886/

edit: https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/my-scott-kay-setting-had-the-heidi-montag-special.135051/ is I color
https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/mark-morrell-petite-torchiere.133795/ is G color
 
Normally I wouldn''t go lower than an H for an e-ring because I can start to see the tint in an I from the side under the right conditions. If you don''t mind one day noticing a slight hint of color, it may be the perfect choice for you. If it''s a mind clean thing, I''d stick to a G.

Also, if it''s going in yellow gold, I think an I is acceptable. The difference between the metal color and the stone won''t be apparent from the side.
 
How color sensitive are you...?
I have an H, and it''s soooo well cut that I don''t see much of a tint- just a nice steely color.
I also have an L, and that has a very antique tint to it!
Would I wear the L every day...? Probably not; sometimes I can be a bit conscious about the tint when I see all the other whiter e-rings.
Would I drop down to an I if it meant a bigger size? Heck yeah!
If it''s well cut, and ACCURATELY graded! it should have much of a viable tint to it. Maul store stones are notoriously inaccurately graded on color and aren''t the best cut... or clarity for that matter.
 
I am betting with a well cut BGD you won''t be able to see the difference in color. Get the bigger stone.
 
What kind of size difference are we talking about going from G to I?

One thing I have learned is that you should buy what you want. If that is really and truly a 1ct G color then you should wait and save and get that. Otherwise in a way the money you spend on the smaller or more tinted diamond is wasted because you don''t enjoy it 100%. *Unless* you are comfortable ungrading for sure, then don''t risk something you might not like.
 
Personally, I''d go under the 1 ct mark to around .90 to get a G stone unless I had an opportunity to compare the two colors in person.
 
I have an I with strong blue fluoresence from Crafted by Infinity. I love it. It is not as icy white as the D-F colors. It is more of a soft white, which I prefer. I also owned a J Crafted by Infinity diamond, which was a little darker than my I in some lights, but not all lights.

In a well-cut stone like a BGD, I am sure the I will be lovely. That said, color is definitely a personal preference and how you perceive color -- how sensitive you are to color varies from person to person. The lower you go in color (and I've gone as low as an M!) the more the stone's color will change depending on the lighting. Some people love this phenomenon; others don't.

BGD has a great return policy - would it be possible for you to get the I stone (the larger size would be tempting, I agree) and live with it awhile, making sure you look at it in:
Bright sunlight
Diffused sunlight (under a tree, e.g.)
Incandescent light (a lamp on your desk or next to your couch, e.g.)
Fluorescent light (like office light)
Spotlighting

This may help you determine how much color changeability this particular I has.
 
Puravida, I just went through this myself. I got a G SI1 2 ct and I thought it didn''t look big enough for my larger finger size. I worried about going down to an I colour but would have to in order to still stay within my budget and get a 2.5 ct. I ended up getting the bigger I SI1 and I am sooo happy! I can''t see the colour now that I have it. It is a GIA triple excellent and scored a 1.8 on the HCA. It isn''t H&A but is well cut. I bought it from James Allen but saw that BGD had it listed on their website as one of his recommended diamonds after I got it home. Also, I just took it to an independent appraiser yesterday (one recommended here on PS) and she thought it looked more like a G! Which is funny because I took the original 2ct. G to her and she said it was more like an H! Anyway, you need to decide for yourself but for me the size won out and I think that the I colour is not even noticable. And from everything I have heard about BGD you will get a beautiful diamond no matter what. I was actaully really excited when I found my diamond listed on his website as a recommended one by him.

I had a thread about it earlier but I can''t find it. It actually had pictures of the 2ct G SI1, which was a great cut, beside the 2.5 ct I SI1.

Hope this helps and good luck.
 
Sounds like I''d be safer to stick with an H. I can''t really say if I''m colour sensitive or not bc when I try to go view stones in local B&Ms, they don''t seem to have really well cut stones to allow me to properly compare colours.

I''m definately okay going from G to H. Its the jump from H to I that has me a bit worried. Maybe that''s a sign that I should go wtih my gut.

The size would be the same whether I got H or I, its just that the I would be more affordable. With the H, we''d have to go over budget a bit. Or I could go down ~0.1-0.2 cts and get somethings that is definately in the budget. Its just that after staring at a certain sized stone for so long, I''ve convinced myself that that''s what I''d like. A lot of that I blame on PS! Pre-PS, I wanted nothing bigger than a carat. But now with PS and seeing everybody''s gorgeous and HUGE stones, its left me wanting a fair sized on for myself.

I checked out the various threads of I and G coloured stones. THough its hard to tell in a photo over the internet what the colour would look like in person. Some of the photos of I stones look so icy white in the pics but I wonder if I''d be more colour sensitive if viewing the stone in person, and especially from the side.

The setting I''m considering is the BGD Grace setting, so it''ll leave the pavillion open for viewing form the side.
 
I consider myself to be color sensitive and originally started out wanting an F-G colored diamond. I wanted to maintain a certain carat weight which meant I had to sacrifice on both color and clarity. I went down to an I, SI2 (eye clean). The stone is a brilliant, well cut GIA triple excellent, hearts and arrows. To my surprise it faces up very white. I never thought I would go down to an I....never say never.
 
I have an I color, 1.5ct from BGD in their tiffany knife edge setting. I may not be color sensitive because I do not see any tint, even from the sides. When I was first looking at diamonds, the salesperson said, "you will not always notice color or clarity, but you will always notice size". Of course, there are limits to that statement, but it stuck with me. Plus, after seeing so many beautiful "lower" colored diamonds on this forum, I knew that I would be happy with a "lower" color and a larger stone. That being said, it is a very personal choice, so splitting the difference with an H may be a good compromise.

And, if you get it and don''t like it, you can always return it. Kind of pain, but well worth it in the end if you get exactly what you want.
 
Ended up going with the 1.215 ct H, SI1 :)
 
Settling?
Define settling.

Unless we are Bill Gates we all settle for something less than a 5000-carat perfectly-cut D flawless diamond.

Try to go out to see diamonds in person to find your own person clarity and color comfort zone.
My comfort zones don't matter.
 
Status
Not open for further replies. Please create a new topic or request for this thread to be opened.
GET 3 FREE HCA RESULTS JOIN THE FORUM. ASK FOR HELP
Jewelry Blog
PriceScope-Concierge-Ad
Find prime cuts.
Top