At what size does diamond color matter?

“I am buying a Brian Gavin Signature round diamond that is I-color, because that enables me to afford the carat weight desired. I’ve noticed that the Brian Gavin Signature melee diamonds used in your engagement rings are F-G color. The customer service representative that I spoke with earlier today, indicated that the difference in color will not be noticeable. She indicated that the difference in color is not going to be apparent in diamonds of this size. After we ended the call, I found myself wondering, at what size does diamond color matter?”

I-color center stone with F-G color accent diamonds:

I looked up your order and see that you are buying a 1.60 carat, I-color, VS-2 clarity, Brian Gavin Signature round diamond. Congratulations! These Brian Gavin Signature round hearts and arrows diamonds offer exceptional light return and broad spectrum sparkle that is bright, bold, and vivid. I’m confident that you’re going to be mesmerized by all the sparkle.

Due to the way that our human eyes work, the difference between the I-color center stone and F-G color diamonds is not likely to be readily apparent. This is because our eyes are naturally drawn to the volume of light return and sparkle factor of the larger diamond.

The F-G color accent diamonds are not the primary focal point of the ring, and interestingly enough, our minds seem to know this automatically. Whether it is because of the smaller size of the accent diamonds, or simply their position in the ring, it is simply more difficult to accurately assess the color of accent diamonds.

Setting an I-color diamond in platinum or white gold:

The notes on your order indicate that you are buying the Brian Gavin Signature round square halo setting in 18k white gold. In my experience, setting an I-color diamond in platinum or white gold, tends to make it appear to face-up a little bit whiter. The color of the metal which touches the center stone, tends to affect the visible diamond color by as much as one color grade.

Thus, many people find that H-I color diamonds offer great value, because they tend to face-up whiter when set in platinum or white gold settings. Naturally, they will face-up about one color grade warmer if set in rose or yellow gold.

Plus, it’s just easier to focus on bigger things:

This might seem like overstating the obvious, but it’s also just easier for our eyes to focus on the details of larger things. This is why our eyes are naturally drawn to the larger surface area of the center stone of an engagement ring. The smaller size of the accent diamonds is more difficult for our eyes to focus upon, thus the difference in color is not easily defined.

It gets a little easier to recognize the differences between diamonds of different color grades when the accent diamonds become larger in size, thereby offering larger visible surface area for our eyes to consider.

Thus if you were to set a 1.50 carat diamond in this ring and set half to three quarter carat diamonds on the sides, you would want to match-up the color of those diamonds more closely. Because it is easier to detect the subtle differences between the diamond color grades when diamonds are larger in size and thus have more visible surface area.

The good news is that our customer service representatives have a lot of experience with this sort of thing. They will be able to help you determine what quality of accent diamonds you should select as accent diamonds for the Brian Gavin Signature round diamond you buy.