Why do people prefer lower colored stones in older cuts? . Why not D-F?

[canuk-gal]

Is it really a preference? Or is it because colorless old cuts are pretty darn rare as many were recut into MRB. Sure you can find them but maybe not in the preferred size or price range.
I have an F and an M. I wear my F far more often than my larger M. I love the icy rainbow colors she throws!

Well, lady, how come u got so many gorgeous rings???

 

[Bonfire]

Well, lady, how come u got so many gorgeous rings???

All you enablers here on PS!

 

[canuk-gal]

All you enablers here on PS!

Ya, I needs to gets mes somes LOL

 

[Dancing Fire]

I suspect the higher value of higher clarities make them more likely to be recut to modern standards.

That's what I was thinking too.

 

[Bluery]

Mine is a lab diamond, but I have a 2.52 ct D AVR and both the colors and flashes of white it displays are gorgeous. I love looking at OEC style cuts in most of the color range, but I wanted a colorless one on my own hand.

 

[Ceilimom]

Maybe it’s a cost thing? They are out there, OWD has 180+ OECs D-F colour on their site.

The warm yellow glow in these diamonds has me wrapped around their facets . Add a beautifully cut diamond and the shimmer, sparkle speaks to me on a visceral level. Where did you find this beauty? Does it have a twin?

 

[doberman]

It feels more antique to me in a warmer color. Kind of like sepia toned photos. It's just a visceral thing.

 

[Ceilimom]

Thank you! I am fully ensconced in old cut love and while I will never say never I think that yes this is my forever stone. Though if I won the lottery and could have different flavors I’d rock an antique pear and antique emerald cut so fast I’d leave smoke in the wake. Hahaha

Missy I love the vision of "smoke in my wake".

 

[Ceilimom]

All you enablers here on PS!

Enable me pleassssse

 

[WindyCityCoco]

The majority of people outside of this forum don’t know what an OEC/OMC is. Before I found my stones, I had a jeweler tell me they are “frozen balls of spit.” Haven’t been back there since!

ETA: To add, old cut lovers make up such a small percentage of the population. Outside of estate jewelers, people don’t have the opportunity to see and appreciate these types of diamonds.

I am happy to buy up all those OEC's

 

[AV_]

Off the cuff - this www could have been a bona fide OEC ,(

 

[WinkHPD]

I remember fondly the folks that used to bring in Old Euros and Old Mine cuts into my office back in the early 80's. These were treasures passed down by grandparents and parents and perhaps not the "flavor" that the receiving couple was wanting.

Back then Old Euro cuts and especially Old Mine cuts sold for a fraction of what a modern round brilliant cut would sell for. The cuts may have been antiques, but the market had no special value for them.

My fun with these was seeing the ones that were magic and sharing that magic with the owner. If they only wanted to sell it at the best possible price, I could recommend the ones that should be recut as they were not that pretty. If the stone was already magic, I could let them see why and then I could recommend that they not recut the diamond.

Although I did help with many recuts over the years, I always had the greatest satisfaction when an old style stone that was magnificent went home with the owners now understanding what a treasure they owned.

Wink

 

[gregchang35]

i like old cuts, and i can not lie... LOL

I think the answer has been given by many experts above..
But just wanted to chime in that i love old cuts (and step cuts). Any colour... Of course, like most diamonds - there are some good ones and there are some bad ones.

The stone i choose has to speak to me...

 

[joelly]

I remember someone describing old cuts like antique lace. You know, with that creamy ivory look to it. It adds to the vintage feel of it I suppose, and people like that. I don't know why there aren't more d-f stones in older cuts.

I remember reading/watching somewhere that old cut diamonds weren’t cut for the color. The cutter in the antiquity cut the diamonds to maximize sparkle under candlelights. Diamonds were usually worn by those who are out going. Those who went and attended public gatherings at night like the balls, parties, etc.

I’m no expert ofc. I’m a huge fan of old cut diamonds. Love hearing more and seeing more of them.

 

[RetroQT]

ETA: To add, old cut lovers make up such a small percentage of the population. Outside of estate jewelers, people don’t have the opportunity to see and appreciate these types of diamonds.

My business partner noticed my newest acquisition (“Audrey”) during a lunch meeting. He told me that she was by far the most beautiful diamond he’d ever seen. I asked him why and he said, “I think it’s the big flashes of color. It looks different than other [modern round] ones.” And that is when he became appreciative of vintage cuts. It was a proud moment for me.

 

[Bonfire]

My business partner noticed my newest acquisition (“Audrey”) during a lunch meeting. He told me that she was by far the most beautiful diamond he’d ever seen. I asked him why and he said, “I think it’s the big flashes of color. It looks different than other [modern round] ones.” And that is when he became appreciative of vintage cuts. It was a proud moment for me.

Well there ya go! You and Audrey are providing a public service

 

[Lookinagain]

I agree, when I wore my 2 ct OEC to an evening business function, a few people sitting at a different table came up to me and mentioned my ring saying how beautiful it looked. It's a simple solitaire. I'm guessing it's because they saw the flashes of color even from the next table.

 

[emmy12]

Mine is a lab diamond, but I have a 2.52 ct D AVR and both the colors and flashes of white it displays are gorgeous. I love looking at OEC style cuts in most of the color range, but I wanted a colorless one on my own hand.

@Bluery why is there no LGD-SMTB for this beauty yet? Please oblige the masses!

 

[oncrutchesrightnow]

I don’t!

But most of my old cuts are “new” diamonds cut in old-cut style. I don’t know the color of the one genuine antique.

Talking about EGD, for rose cut and portrait cut, color matters less because due to the most commonly used settings, the color is going to be no lighter than your skin.

‘Rose = unknown color. Baguette = “cape” i.e. <N


‘Portrait: Etsy seller said “H to I” but who knows


For the August Vintage line, their excellent light return from the face-up position means you may as well save money if size is your thing. AVR = F; AVC = H (AGS)

AVC from the side = warm


AVC from the top = much whiter


Finally, a warm color in an old cut matches stylistically with an antique look. K OEC


Even in old cuts I still prefer whiter diamonds. Guess which one is the K?

(Bottom one is LGD.)

For LGD, old cuts seem to be more and more popular now that LGDs and moissanite allows people to get colorless stones at a size where the facets are more easily visible. This seems to imply that many people do in fact prefer high color old cuts, in addition to many people genuinely liking the warmer colors.

ETA here is my one genuine antique old cut, from Grandma. Color = unknown, love = much

 

[Garry H (Cut Nut)]

I just scrolled thru quickly but I think the point has been missed. The history of why old cut diamonds are predominantly yellowish (rarely brownish).
It is not a politically correct story.

On the right hand side of this chart is the description used more than 100 years ago in South Africa. When huge diamond mines were were found in South Africa a fair proportion were tinted yellow. Those diamonds were named Cape, just as high colored diamonds were called Wessleton and fluorescent diamonds Premier (referring to what was often found in those mines).
Now I think I will leave it to others to discover the meaning of the word cape. But the first time I heard it was when I employed an excellent South African jeweller.

Old miner and Neil of course answered part of the question about recutting of higher grade goods. They would also know the use of the word to describe yellowish diamonds way back when.
There were a much higher number of yellowish cape colored diamonds coming out of South Africa.

 

[oncrutchesrightnow]

I just scrolled thru quickly but I think the point has been missed. The history of why old cut diamonds are predominantly yellowish (rarely brownish).
It is not a politically correct story.

On the right hand side of this chart is the description used more than 100 years ago in South Africa. When huge diamond mines were were found in South Africa a fair proportion were tinted yellow. Those diamonds were named Cape, just as high colored diamonds were called Wessleton and fluorescent diamonds Premier (referring to what was often found in those mines).
Now I think I will leave it to others to discover the meaning of the word cape. But the first time I heard it was when I employed an excellent South African jeweller.

Old miner and Neil of course answered part of the question about recutting of higher grade goods. They would also know the use of the word to describe yellowish diamonds way back when.
There were a much higher number of yellowish cape colored diamonds coming out of South Africa.

Thanks… I did not realize where the term came from.

 

[DejaWiz]

I just scrolled thru quickly but I think the point has been missed. The history of why old cut diamonds are predominantly yellowish (rarely brownish).
It is not a politically correct story.

On the right hand side of this chart is the description used more than 100 years ago in South Africa. When huge diamond mines were were found in South Africa a fair proportion were tinted yellow. Those diamonds were named Cape, just as high colored diamonds were called Wessleton and fluorescent diamonds Premier (referring to what was often found in those mines).
Now I think I will leave it to others to discover the meaning of the word cape. But the first time I heard it was when I employed an excellent South African jeweller.

Old miner and Neil of course answered part of the question about recutting of higher grade goods. They would also know the use of the word to describe yellowish diamonds way back when.
There were a much higher number of yellowish cape colored diamonds coming out of South Africa.

Wow...I've always thought that the term "Cape Diamond" was still used to identify the origin of a diamond that has been mined out of Cape Town, ZA. Had no idea that there was an entire color.grade spectrum based around "Cape".

I took to the web for more details and found this article by BG:

The Cape Series - BGD Signature H&A Diamonds Color M - Z

Buy Brian Gavin Cape diamonds. The Cape Series is the finest signature collection of AGS round diamonds with M, N, O, P, Q, R, S &T colors.

www.briangavindiamonds.com

 

[Ch176]

BGD just released a new offering based on this distinction https://www.briangavindiamonds.com/the-cape-series/

 

[Wink]

I do

I had my personal diamond cut to order. The original diamond crystal was graded a Q by the cutter, but when it was finished it was graded a P by the AGSL. I am probably one of the few men in the world who was disappointed when his diamond came out a higher color than it was supposed to...

 

[Wink]

Before I found my stones, I had a jeweler tell me they are “frozen balls of spit.”

This is just one of the many reasons why I lament there not being any educational standards to be met before one can profess to be a jeweler...

 

[Mrs_Strizzle]

I had my personal diamond cut to order. The original diamond crystal was graded a Q by the cutter, but when it was finished it was graded a P by the AGSL. I am probably one of the few men in the world who was disappointed when his diamond came out a higher color than it was supposed to...

Can we see it?

 

[Wink]

Can we see it?

Sure, it is posted large at the top of my personal Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Wink2

 

[cflutist]

I had my personal diamond cut to order. The original diamond crystal was graded a Q by the cutter, but when it was finished it was graded a P by the AGSL. I am probably one of the few men in the world who was disappointed when his diamond came out a higher color than it was supposed to...

@Wink , lol but I have a Q-VVS2 (and E-VS1 and F-VS1)