When it comes to masking the color of a diamond, are there any specific stats to look at?

[sugarcloud]

I have been looking at diamonds that I would love to upgrade to one day and I keep getting tempted by the J color ACAs. The prices are so good and I feel like I might actually be able to save up and get my dream size.

I currently have a 0.7 ACA, I colours which I adore and I am wondering how much more colour a J would show in a 1.2 - 1.3 carat size. I do know that super ideals tend to show less colour but I am wondering (and please excuxe the extreme noob-ness) are there any specific stats that would add to the masking of colour? For exampe a higher pavillion or a longer lower girlde or anything like that which I could look out for as a sign that they colour won't show as much? Or is it simply a matter of asking Whiteflash if a particular stone is a "High J" or a "Low J"?

I am hoping to set it in a white gold solitaire, so side stones won't be an issue, but I don't want the colour to be obvious so I just don't know if I am kidding myself considering a J colour for this size stone.

Hopefully all of that makes sense!! Again, this is for a future dream so no rush, but I am curious to hear your thoughts

 

[tyty333]

You need a well-cut stone (super ideal would be perfect). The stones that are cut the best will return the light to your eye vs light getting
lost in virtual facets (which will aid in showing more tint). So, from my experience in owning an ACA J...I just saw brightness from
the top (and no real tint) when viewing it on its own. If I viewed it side-by-side with a (D-G) I could see the difference but on its own,
it just looked bright. You do tend to see more tint in the pavilion area.

Ask WF for a picture of the J colored stone you are interested in next to an "I" colored stone. Also, get the pavilion view. Is there
anywhere near you that you can see well-cut stones in person? That is the best way to see what your tolerance is.

Here is a picture of my 1.14 J colored ACA. Due to the setting you never really saw the pavilion.

 

[rosepetals]

I upgraded from a .7 I ACA to a 1.4 J ACA. I, as you, thought “oh there can’t be that much noticeable difference in color”. I looked at so many J ACA pictuers on PS too. Unfortunately, I was wrong. It wasn’t so much that the color was “more yellow” it’s that the whole stone itself looked darker, not as bright. It was very noticeable to me when I looked at it on an angle (or from the side) which is how I view my diamond majority of the time. Now, would any one else look at my diamond as see the color difference? Probably not, but it bothered me. So, I returned the J and bought a 1.3 H ACA. It was worth it to me to have a slightly smaller diamond with the higher color. Also, I can see a difference between an H and I colored stone, so maybe I’m just more color sensitive.

Again, just my two cents. Hope this helps. Good luck!

ETA: My diamond was set in an 18k white gold solitaire as well.

 

[Dreamer_D]

Seeing color and caring about it are two different things. I think the latter is a choice to a large extent. So you can just choose not care and enjoy your larger stone!

But it sounds like you do care so it might be better to aim for a less tinted gem to save yourself future agony. Even if it costs a little more money or a few less mm.

 

[Kim N]

Do you have any local vendors who carry AGS or GIA ideal cut diamonds so you can see for yourself?

 

[coda72]

I would stick to I color or whiter even in a super ideal stone if you want to upgrade. I have owned a few J stones over a carat and larger, and while they looked pretty white from the top, color was very apparent from the side. The color bothered me, so for my final upgrade I went back to an I stone. The setting I have covers some of the side of the stone, so no color is easily seen, but also the I stone seems to be quite a bit whiter than the J stones I had.

 

[LightBright]

You need a well-cut stone (super ideal would be perfect). The stones that are cut the best will return the light to your eye vs light getting
lost in virtual facets (which will aid in showing more tint). So, from my experience in owning an ACA J...I just saw brightness from
the top (and no real tint) when viewing it on its own. If I viewed it side-by-side with a (D-G) I could see the difference but on its own,
it just looked bright. You do tend to see more tint in the pavilion area.

Ask WF for a picture of the J colored stone you are interested in next to an "I" colored stone. Also, get the pavilion view. Is there
anywhere near you that you can see well-cut stones in person? That is the best way to see what your tolerance is.

Here is a picture of my 1.14 J colored ACA. Due to the setting you never really saw the pavilion.

My Goodness that is stunning. Can you share details about the setting? Your ACA looks so white in that setting.

 

[sugarcloud]

You need a well-cut stone (super ideal would be perfect). The stones that are cut the best will return the light to your eye vs light getting
lost in virtual facets (which will aid in showing more tint). So, from my experience in owning an ACA J...I just saw brightness from
the top (and no real tint) when viewing it on its own. If I viewed it side-by-side with a (D-G) I could see the difference but on its own,
it just looked bright. You do tend to see more tint in the pavilion area.

Ask WF for a picture of the J colored stone you are interested in next to an "I" colored stone. Also, get the pavilion view. Is there
anywhere near you that you can see well-cut stones in person? That is the best way to see what your tolerance is.

Here is a picture of my 1.14 J colored ACA. Due to the setting you never really saw the pavilion.

You ring is stunning!! I think you are right, I need to see some diamonds in person and really have a good look at the difference. I'm pretty limited as far as really well cut stones near me (I live in Australia) but there are a couple of higher end jewellers so that might be an option

 

[sugarcloud]

I upgraded from a .7 I ACA to a 1.4 J ACA. I, as you, thought “oh there can’t be that much noticeable difference in color”. I looked at so many J ACA pictuers on PS too. Unfortunately, I was wrong. It wasn’t so much that the color was “more yellow” it’s that the whole stone itself looked darker, not as bright. It was very noticeable to me when I looked at it on an angle (or from the side) which is how I view my diamond majority of the time. Now, would any one else look at my diamond as see the color difference? Probably not, but it bothered me. So, I returned the J and bought a 1.3 H ACA. It was worth it to me to have a slightly smaller diamond with the higher color. Also, I can see a difference between an H and I colored stone, so maybe I’m just more color sensitive.

Again, just my two cents. Hope this helps. Good luck!

ETA: My diamond was set in an 18k white gold solitaire as well.

Thank you!! If I'm really honest with myself I think it's very likely that I would probably have the same reaction. I think maybe part of me wants a bigger diamond so much that I am trying to find a way to make it happen sooner, but I would really be annoyed if I ended up not liking the stone that I end up with. I might need to be a bit more patient and try and tick all the boxes and not just get fixated on size.

 

[sugarcloud]

Seeing color and caring about it are two different things. I think the latter is a choice to a large extent. So you can just choose not care and enjoy your larger stone!

But it sounds like you do care so it might be better to aim for a less tinted gem to save yourself future agony. Even if it costs a little more money or a few less mm.

Yes I think you are right. As much as I would love to not worry about it I do think that it would bother me if i could see the tint, I think I might need to work on my patience a bit and just keep working towards a diamond that I will be completely happy with.

 

[sugarcloud]

Do you have any local vendors who carry AGS or GIA ideal cut diamonds so you can see for yourself?

I don't know if I will be able to find any ideal cut stones near me but there are some jewellers that might have some decent diamonds so I will have to pop in and have a look

I would stick to I color or whiter even in a super ideal stone if you want to upgrade. I have owned a few J stones over a carat and larger, and while they looked pretty white from the top, color was very apparent from the side. The color bothered me, so for my final upgrade I went back to an I stone. The setting I have covers some of the side of the stone, so no color is easily seen, but also the I stone seems to be quite a bit whiter than the J stones I had.

Thanks so much, I think you are right, the more I am thinking about it the more I feel that it might even be nice to have a diamond that maybe is even a little bit whiter that my current one. So I definitly need to really think about it!

 

[tyty333]

My Goodness that is stunning. Can you share details about the setting? Your ACA looks so white in that setting.

Thanks! The setting was done by David Klass...he and the team did an excellent job!

@sugarcloud ...

I have to say that I did trade this stone in for a much larger K-colored ACA and it is beyond my* color tolerance. I was wanting
to do the same thing you're trying to do...go up in size (went from 1.14 to 1.66). The $ jump to stay at the same size and move
to an "I" colored stone is fairly large. I will probably have to come down in size some.

You can check out this video by Rhino (now Distinctive Gems). It seems somewhat deceiving because they all look White
to me*. So, you really do need to see some in person to see your tolerance.

 

[Dreamer_D]

Yeah there is definitely some lighting where my K color diamond looks very tinted.