shape
carat
color
clarity

The most underrated colour grade

Niel|1394411294|3630728 said:
Rhea|1394410823|3630720 said:
K. My mother had a family ring appraised by a PS appraiser that I swore was white white who named it as a K. We were sitting in his office and the appraiser had some time so helpfully explained and showed up how he came to that determination. I was shocked and surprised but it all made sense. I really couldn't see the colour when it was set and I'd happily buy and own a K. I have earrings which are L and M and I can see the colour in them. It doesn't bother me at all, but compared to my mother's K they are noticeably more coloured. K is still very white to my eyes.

I have a K. Its not that i can't tell the difference between it and a G, or an I, because of course i can. But to call it yellow would be inaccurate, in my mind.

Ive said it a million times I'm sure, but it often comes off as a soft bone color. Not stark white, but still essentially neutral when it comes to color.

It changes in many different lighting situations, as i know all diamonds do, but the changes are interesting. Making the stone almost moody.

Totally agree. I have a K color asscher. Granted, it isn't large (1 carat), so it won't show color like a 3 carat stone. But I swear there is no yellow in the stone! Like you, I would never think it is perfectly white. When it does show color, to my eyes, it comes off as darker highlights of the step facets in certain lights.

I have a hard time with color though. I think I'm pretty sensitive to yellow in a stone, but not as much to creamier shades. And I actually prefer a stone have a creamy coloring than to be white.
 
I love my K EC which should show more color and does at times but its more seldom than often.

So my vote would be K from my limited experience.
 
arkieb1|1394434522|3630880 said:
I think H is an under-rated colour people either cheap out and go for an I or a J or they want the mind clean thing of buying a purer F or a G.

Wow. :shock: That came across a little rude. Maybe I misunderstood... :confused:

I have a J, and my DH certainly didn't cheap out -- that's like saying that someone cheaped out by only getting a 0.5 ct." :nono:
 
missy|1394459927|3630980 said:
I think this question is impossible to answer objectively. It depends on the person's color preference and the individual stone in question. Not all cuts with the same color and lab grade face up the same color. You have to see each stone in person to make that decision.

Well said Missy, amen :D! This thread is proof of what you're saying and it's why I try to be so careful when people ask for color advice before buying a stone. It's just so subjective.
 
msop04|1394487423|3631272 said:
arkieb1|1394434522|3630880 said:
I think H is an under-rated colour people either cheap out and go for an I or a J or they want the mind clean thing of buying a purer F or a G.

Wow. :shock: That came across a little rude. Maybe I misunderstood... :confused:

I have a J, and my DH certainly didn't cheap out -- that's like saying that someone cheaped out by only getting a 0.5 ct." :nono:

I have a J and an L so sorry I didn't mean it to be rude, people who buy modern brilliants that are trying to save money do seem to go for I, J, and Ks over Hs to save $$$$$ or alternatively they can't stand lower to mid colours and go for an F or a G. I have noticed all the bargain hunters including myself tend to go for I or Js to get larger stones rather than Hs and I seem to be seeing less H coloured stones on here lately. My statement mocked myself as well so please don't take it personally. I notice generally there is a trend for bigger sized mid coloured old cuts and some modern cuts at the moment, whereas 5 to 10 years ago people in general and people who don't know much about diamonds tend to want much whiter stones..... and that is a general observation not an insult
 
When I was newer to diamonds I used to care a lot about diamond color and felt more stongly about having a near colorless stone. Now I don't care as much, especially since I like unique and unusual diamonds over MRBs these days. For MRBs, sure, near colorless is my preference because those cuts are all about the BLAMMO factor for me and that is emphasized by a whiter tone to the white light. But for old cuts, which are my preference these days, cuts that you don't see every day around these parts -- any color goes for me. I like em all! The more tinted the better because most people don;t understand the appeal so they are less pricey and you can get a bigger rock.

Right now I am coveting a brown stone with an orange or pinker tint. Something rare and strange looking.
 
Agree about I. Plenty white most time. Even better with fluor :P
 
arkieb1|1394514544|3631551 said:
msop04|1394487423|3631272 said:
arkieb1|1394434522|3630880 said:
I think H is an under-rated colour people either cheap out and go for an I or a J or they want the mind clean thing of buying a purer F or a G.

Wow. :shock: That came across a little rude. Maybe I misunderstood... :confused:

I have a J, and my DH certainly didn't cheap out -- that's like saying that someone cheaped out by only getting a 0.5 ct." :nono:

I have a J and an L so sorry I didn't mean it to be rude, people who buy modern brilliants that are trying to save money do seem to go for I, J, and Ks over Hs to save $$$$$ or alternatively they can't stand lower to mid colours and go for an F or a G. I have noticed all the bargain hunters including myself tend to go for I or Js to get larger stones rather than Hs and I seem to be seeing less H coloured stones on here lately. My statement mocked myself as well so please don't take it personally. I notice generally there is a trend for bigger sized mid coloured old cuts and some modern cuts at the moment, whereas 5 to 10 years ago people in general and people who don't know much about diamonds tend to want much whiter stones..... and that is a general observation not an insult

I agree that ppl are buying lower colors in exchange for larger stones, but to say this is "cheaping out" really isn't fair or even true the majority of the time. It seems that most people are spending the same amount of money that they had budgeted to begin with… They are just buying a larger stone and a color that they are cool with. :))

Edited for typos.
 
Dreamer, your post is so interesting, I'm loving all of the perspectives we're seeing on this thread!!! Specifically your feelings about MRBs and preferring higher colors. We always read that with well cut (and of course, ideal cut) MRBs, people "can go lower" because they face up so white, so it's refreshing to get another perspective. Just another point of view, love it.
 
I have a G MRB 1.63 carats and a 1.33 K AVC.. I cannot tell the difference.. I love my AVC.. (my MRB which is out being reset again or I'd put up a pix)..

:wavey:

Mayk|1394485690|3631256 said:
I love my K EC which should show more color and does at times but its more seldom than often.

So my vote would be K from my limited experience.
 
MSOP04 - I agree that ppl are buying lower colors in exchange for larger stones, but to say this is "cheaping out" really isn't fair or even true the majority of the time. It seems that most people are spending the same amount of money that they had budgeted to begin with… They are just buying a larger stone and a color that they are cool with. :))


You're right maybe my tongue in cheek terminology of "cheaping out" should be replaced by bargain hunting for larger stones. There was a quite heated thread on here a while ago about people buying lower colour diamonds some people loved them, some not so much and if they would get whiter stones if they were cheaper or the same price. I come from the school of people that believe of course most people (not necessarily the prosumers on here but the average person) would go for the whiter stone with the same cut if they were cheaper. Old cuts are a different kettle of fish because more than half the time you can't even find decent ones in high colours any more anyway and if you do they are super expensive.

I know in my own case I do see it is cheaping out (and this was never meant in the derogatory way you seem to be taking it) because it was a balance of the size of the stones or the cut of the stones I went for + the price, as the things I considered first or higher up the wishlist and the colour was way down the list, which is something that has continued to bug me if I am being truthful. So, if I had a better budget I personally would always go for a better colour so in my case (and I suspect with a lot of people) it is cheaping out/or being more price sensitive, restricted by budget (or whatever you want to call it which is more polite/politically correct than my description) when factoring in colour (over say size, colour and clarity) to some degree. Some people do go for colour over size, others clarity over anything else, as Kenny likes to say people vary.
 
to my way of thinking its prioritizing. You come with the same budget but can get different things depending on what C they find the highest priority.

Like buying a home. You can get a big house in the country or a small one in the city. Does that mean a country house is better because its bigger? or a city house is better because its more convenient?

Is a .5 ct d better than a 1 ct L because its whiter? Or the L because its bigger?
 
Very interesting topic. I have to agree on F, I personally find it very different from a G, a G is very white but Fs are icy white, there is a different character to them, they are a great value as compared to D-E as F is still that top white color but for less.- I really do not think Gs are underrated, I find them overrated actually because G-H are currently the most popular colors on the market and hence they are the colors that have gone up the most in the last couple of months so I would not go for these colors in most cases (though of course they are nice). But yes if anyone asked what was the most underrated I too would say a K and hence they are a very good value;I too own a K and while totally different from high whites they have character and can be quite neutral though yes I definitely notice yellow and/or brown in them quite a bit. I agree that there is no bad color at all just different colors; high white with a great cut tend to make the stone sparkle a lot more, I never ever sacrifice color or cut, I will, however, sacrifice clarity or carat weight. Clarity is a very different story; there are really good SIs around and even I1s can be very nice even though I generally tend to go for a higher clarity as well but it is a much more subjective C and it does matter whether you have a VS with black under the table or an I1 with a colorless cloud that hardly shows to the naked eye.
 
Yeah... it does seem like odd terminology to use the term "cheaping out" to describe a purchase in the many thousands! I read your explanation of your word choice Arkie, but I prefer Neil's phrasing of the issue, and its nothing to do with being PC!
 
Niel|1394713799|3633215 said:
to my way of thinking its prioritizing. You come with the same budget but can get different things depending on what C they find the highest priority.

Like buying a home. You can get a big house in the country or a small one in the city. Does that mean a country house is better because its bigger? or a city house is better because its more convenient?

Is a .5 ct d better than a 1 ct L because its whiter? Or the L because its bigger?

That really comes down to prsonal preference, for sure. I had, and got rid of, what might be the best cut stone of all my super-ideals because the L color was a turn-off for me. I traded it away for a smaller G AVR, and never looked back. The next person would probably think I was nuts.
 
Andelain|1394737377|3633411 said:
Niel|1394713799|3633215 said:
to my way of thinking its prioritizing. You come with the same budget but can get different things depending on what C they find the highest priority.

Like buying a home. You can get a big house in the country or a small one in the city. Does that mean a country house is better because its bigger? or a city house is better because its more convenient?

Is a .5 ct d better than a 1 ct L because its whiter? Or the L because its bigger?

That really comes down to prsonal preference, for sure. I had, and got rid of, what might be the best cut stone of all my super-ideals because the L color was a turn-off for me. I traded it away for a smaller G AVR, and never looked back. The next person would probably think I was nuts.
Oh I'm sure your are right about that. Personal preference. :)

But it's just... if someone spends 7k - they spend 7k, regardless of what specs they end up with.KWIM? To call one result "cheaper " than the other doesn't ring true to me.
 
Amen to that. Nothing cheap about a good diamond these days. It can be fun to troll a vendor's site and say "If I had $XXX to spend on a stone, what would I pick? It would be fun to do that as an experiment, and see what stones different people picked.
 
Andelain|1394739992|3633433 said:
Amen to that. Nothing cheap about a good diamond these days. It can be fun to troll a vendor's site and say "If I had $XXX to spend on a stone, what would I pick? It would be fun to do that as an experiment, and see what stones different people picked.
Oh my gosh we should do that. Sounds fun. I'd wanna see what colored stone people say too :naughty:
 
Niel|1394740652|3633439 said:
Andelain|1394739992|3633433 said:
Amen to that. Nothing cheap about a good diamond these days. It can be fun to troll a vendor's site and say "If I had $XXX to spend on a stone, what would I pick? It would be fun to do that as an experiment, and see what stones different people picked.
Oh my gosh we should do that. Sounds fun. I'd wanna see what colored stone people say too :naughty:

I think we should. Pick a vendor and an amount, and let's see what we all choose. Maybe even pick several stones across the range of colors and clarities and start a poll.
 
Andelain|1394740953|3633443 said:
Niel|1394740652|3633439 said:
Andelain|1394739992|3633433 said:
Amen to that. Nothing cheap about a good diamond these days. It can be fun to troll a vendor's site and say "If I had $XXX to spend on a stone, what would I pick? It would be fun to do that as an experiment, and see what stones different people picked.
Oh my gosh we should do that. Sounds fun. I'd wanna see what colored stone people say too :naughty:

I think we should. Pick a vendor and an amount, and let's see what we all choose. Maybe even pick several stones across the range of colors and clarities and start a poll.
Sounds like fun! Who's going to get it started? :naughty:
 
Someone who knows how to post a poll! :oops:
 
Andelain|1394740953|3633443 said:
Niel|1394740652|3633439 said:
Andelain|1394739992|3633433 said:
Amen to that. Nothing cheap about a good diamond these days. It can be fun to troll a vendor's site and say "If I had $XXX to spend on a stone, what would I pick? It would be fun to do that as an experiment, and see what stones different people picked.
Oh my gosh we should do that. Sounds fun. I'd wanna see what colored stone people say too :naughty:

I think we should. Pick a vendor and an amount, and let's see what we all choose. Maybe even pick several stones across the range of colors and clarities and start a poll.
Oh I say make it a open ended a possible. An amount that's high but still slightly limiting like 11k. And just say what would you get? I'd love to see what the normal size is, haw many colored stones and diamonds are in the mix
 
Niel|1394741799|3633452 said:
Andelain|1394740953|3633443 said:
Niel|1394740652|3633439 said:
Andelain|1394739992|3633433 said:
Amen to that. Nothing cheap about a good diamond these days. It can be fun to troll a vendor's site and say "If I had $XXX to spend on a stone, what would I pick? It would be fun to do that as an experiment, and see what stones different people picked.
Oh my gosh we should do that. Sounds fun. I'd wanna see what colored stone people say too :naughty:

I think we should. Pick a vendor and an amount, and let's see what we all choose. Maybe even pick several stones across the range of colors and clarities and start a poll.
Oh I say make it a open ended a possible. An amount that's high but still slightly limiting like 11k. And just say what would you get? I'd love to see what the normal size is, haw many colored stones and diamonds are in the mix

Maybe say you've been given a certificate good for one stone between $10k and $11k. See what we each come up with, and from where. We could do a separate one for diamonds, and for colored stones.
 
The marketplace adjusts prices of every color grade according to supply and demand.
This results in every grade from D-Z being equally underrated, overrated, correctly-rated and an identical 'value'.

I'm sorry.
I know some who like to think there are bargains out there if you can only be smart enough to buck the system.
 
kenny|1394742192|3633458 said:
The marketplace adjusts prices of every color grade according to supply and demand.
This results in every grade from D-Z being equally underrated, overrated, correctly-rated and an identical 'value'.

I'm sorry.
I know some who like to think there are bargains out there if you can only be smart enough to buck the system.
The question isn't, I don't believe, a question of if one is "better than it's priced". I don't think the OP was thinking about money at all

I think it was more inquiring I whic gets a bad reputation, but really is quite beautiful.
 
Andelain|1394742052|3633455 said:
Niel|1394741799|3633452 said:
Andelain|1394740953|3633443 said:
Niel|1394740652|3633439 said:
Andelain|1394739992|3633433 said:
Amen to that. Nothing cheap about a good diamond these days. It can be fun to troll a vendor's site and say "If I had $XXX to spend on a stone, what would I pick? It would be fun to do that as an experiment, and see what stones different people picked.
Oh my gosh we should do that. Sounds fun. I'd wanna see what colored stone people say too :naughty:

I think we should. Pick a vendor and an amount, and let's see what we all choose. Maybe even pick several stones across the range of colors and clarities and start a poll.
Oh I say make it a open ended a possible. An amount that's high but still slightly limiting like 11k. And just say what would you get? I'd love to see what the normal size is, haw many colored stones and diamonds are in the mix

Maybe say you've been given a certificate good for one stone between $10k and $11k. See what we each come up with, and from where. We could do a separate one for diamonds, and for colored stones.
I like that idea! Leave settings out of it.....
 
Niel|1394713799|3633215 said:
to my way of thinking its prioritizing. You come with the same budget but can get different things depending on what C they find the highest priority.

Like buying a home. You can get a big house in the country or a small one in the city. Does that mean a country house is better because its bigger? or a city house is better because its more convenient?

Is a .5 ct d better than a 1 ct L because its whiter? Or the L because its bigger?

Good analogy :)) Neither is any better or worse than the other... it's just about which characteristics are more important to the "title holder." ;))
 
gwendolyn|1394741329|3633447 said:
Andelain|1394740953|3633443 said:
Niel|1394740652|3633439 said:
Andelain|1394739992|3633433 said:
Amen to that. Nothing cheap about a good diamond these days. It can be fun to troll a vendor's site and say "If I had $XXX to spend on a stone, what would I pick? It would be fun to do that as an experiment, and see what stones different people picked.
Oh my gosh we should do that. Sounds fun. I'd wanna see what colored stone people say too :naughty:

I think we should. Pick a vendor and an amount, and let's see what we all choose. Maybe even pick several stones across the range of colors and clarities and start a poll.
Sounds like fun! Who's going to get it started? :naughty:

YESSS!!! Someone please start a thread on this!! :appl: :naughty: :naughty: :praise:
 
patricias|1394413564|3630755 said:
KLMNOP. Many people won't even consider these stones, which is a shame. There's no such thing as a bad color.

Gotta plus 1 this.

I sell a LOT of the "lower" colors and when properly cut they are stunning.

True, not every one loves them, but many do.

I believe that every diamond must be seen to be fully appreciated and some you will love that you did not expect to, and some that you expected to you will not.

Look hard and look often!

Wink
 
I guess I am not cheaping out since I bought the smaller house in the city .... gggg. I agree its all about personal preference and no one is cheaping out. IS it cheaping out if I bought a big house that is falling apart in the city?

cheap out
— vb
informal ( US ), ( Canadian ) ( intr, adverb ) to take the cheapest option; try to do something as cheaply as possible
 
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