In a previous post I offered my recommendations that I believe offer the consumer/diamond purchaser the best balance of quality and price with regard to acquiring a beautiful diamond at a fair and reasonable price. This blog post is found within this site.
The purpose of this post or addendum to the original post is to note the differences between the “right” balance on color and clarity specifications in fancy shape diamonds versus round diamonds.
For the novice reader or one who is just beginning to gather information with regard to diamonds and different diamond shapes, a fancy shape diamond is any diamond that is not round – or, in the lingo of the GIA, not a round brilliant cut diamond. Fancy shapes include Pear, Marquise, Emerald Cut, Asscher Cut, Oval, Cushion Cut, Radiant and Princess Cut, among others.
A good place to begin this discussion is to understand that a round diamond is called a Round Brilliant cut for good reason. A round brilliant cut diamond, unlike all fancy shape diamonds, are cut and faceted to scientific specifications that maximize fire and scintillation, When properly cut (as most Excellent cut and Very Good Cut diamonds are), the fire and scintillation of the diamond make for a beautiful diamond in GIA graded diamonds that are in the middle of the GIA color grade specifications.
This is not the case in most fancy shape diamonds. Fancy shape diamonds tend to show tinges of color in color grades that would be acceptable in round diamonds but less acceptable in fancy shape diamonds. Making this even more difficult to understand, within the overall category of fancy shape diamonds, color tinges are more apparent in some fancy shapes more-so than in other fancy shapes.
The block below is a basic chart of GIA color grading . .
As seen in this chart, GIA grades colors on an alphabetic scale ranging from “D” and continuing down to “Z”. Note the categories at the bottom of this chart which are “Colorless”, “Near Colorless”, “Faint Yellow” and so forth.
Although I am comfortable with my previous statements in which I state that diamonds in the “‘G” or “H” or ‘I’ and “J” color range are acceptable and are nice diamonds, it is my opinion that Ovals and Pear Shapes and Radiant Cut diamonds should be of a higher color grade. I would advise someone who is searching for an Oval or a Pear or a Radiant Cut diamond to try to stick with a Colorless grade of “D” or “E” or “F”, or maybe “G” or “H”.
I must admit that I do not have a reason why diamonds of these shapes tend to show color tinges. But, whereas round diamonds show minimal differences in color shades, there is a significant difference in “whiteness” in each color grade when dealing with an Oval or Pear Shape or Radiant Cut diamond. This is true even within the “D” and “E” and “F” color grades that make up the “Colorless” category.
This is not to say that it is not possible to obtain a “G” color diamond that s pleasing and beautiful. It is. But a “G’ color or an “H” or “I” color Oval or Pear Shape or Radiant will show a tinge of yellowness that is not apparent in a round diamond.
With regard to Emerald Cut or Cushion Cut diamonds it is definitely possible to acquire a beautiful diamond in the “H’ or “I” and sometimes in a “J” or “K” color.
Emerald Cut diamonds play with light in a very unique way because of their faceting and are less likely to show color tinges. Cushion Cuts in exceptionally well cut diamonds also are less likely to show color tinges than a Pear Shape or Oval or Radiant Cut.
It is also worth noting that the beauty of any fancy shape diamond is contingent on the “cut’ and the “make” of the diamond. A fancy shape diamond can be something that is spectacularly beautiful if it is well cut. On the other hand, even a top graded fancy cut diamond can be not beautiful at all if it is not well cut.
To be honest, most fancy shape diamonds are not well cut. It is the exceptional diamond that is. I address this subject in a different post: Click here to link to my post: Excellent Cut in a Fancy Shape Diamond.
The bottom line of this post is this: If you are thinking about acquiring an Oval or a Pear Shape or a Radiant Cut diamond, my advice is that you should lean towards acquiring a colorless diamond or as close to it as possible. In some cases this might mean selecting a diamond of a lesser carat weight – but I can assure you that a beautiful diamond is often more worthwhile than a larger size diamond.