How white do Brian Gavin diamonds face-up?

“I’m trying to figure out how white Brian Gavin diamonds face-up as compared to other diamonds of the same color grade. The question is based on a thread I found on an online forum, which seemed to imply that Brian Gavin diamonds face-up whiter in color than other diamonds. Does that mean that a G-color, Brian Gavin Signature round diamond is going to face-up whiter than other G-color diamonds graded by the same gemological laboratory? e.g. will they face-up F-color? I’ll openly admit that all of these diamond colors are pretty meaningless to me, I don’t know what any of them mean in relation to how white a diamond is going to face-up in real life.”

Do Brian Gavin Signature diamonds face-up whiter?

The reality is that there is some truth to the belief that Brian Gavin Signature round diamonds face-up whiter than other diamonds, but as with all such statements, it needs to be examined beyond the mere face value of the statement.

The quick and easy answer is that the higher volume of light return and sparkle factor created by the super ideal proportions and higher degree of optical precision, make it more difficult for people to ascertain the actual body color of the diamond from a top-down vantage point. The reality is that the higher degree of sparkle serves to distract our eyes from the body color of the diamond, but this does not mean that the cut quality is making the diamond whiter.

Diamonds are graded for color from a side-profile, while placed upside down, set against a white tray, which makes it easier for a trained diamond grader to ascertain the color grade. Diamonds are actually graded for their absence of color, rather than the presence of color, in a room which is perfectly pitch-black, with exception of the light provided by the diamond grading lamp.

Effect of cut quality on diamond color:

A friend of mine once described the difference between the colorless (DEF) and near-colorless (G-H-I-J) range of diamond color as being similar to the difference between shades of white printer paper. Underlining the idea that standard printer paper is considered to be white in color, he laid out several sheets of white printer paper on top of his desk. Each piece of paper was separated by a distance of a few inches, and he pointed out that all of them would be considered as being pieces of white paper all on their own.

Then he slid the pieces of white printer paper so that they were gathered into a pile, and spread them back apart as if they were playing cards, and then pointed out that each was a slightly different shade of white. “This is similar to how the different shades of diamonds which are considered to be white are slightly different in tonal value” he explained.

Then he pulled out a piece of glossy photo paper and said “Imagine this is like a D-color diamond. It faces-up bright and white, there isn’t anything brighter or whiter available.” Then he sorted the other pieces of paper in order of how bright they appeared to his trained eye, pointing out that each one to the left was just a hint brighter and whiter than the piece of paper that now appeared to the right of it. This he said is a lot like the difference between the different color grades of diamonds, but unlike paper, diamonds are translucent, crystal objects which are much more difficult to grade for color, because we’re actually looking for an absence of color.

Toss in the sparkle factor created by super ideal proportions that create the highest visual performance, and the most intense sparkle factor, and it can be pretty difficult to ascertain the slight differences that separate each diamond color grade. This explains why people often say that Brian Gavin Signature round diamonds face-up whiter and brighter than other diamonds. But perhaps a more accurate statement would be that our perception of diamond color is affected by the volume of light return and sparkle factor created by the proportions and degree of optical precision.

But that is kind of a complicated statement to make on a diamond forum, so it gets boiled down to something as simple as Brian Gavin Diamonds face-up whiter and brighter than other diamonds.