How important to match color of center diamond to side stones?

“My girlfriend is mesmerized by the platinum Iris diamond engagement ring from the Brian Gavin Olympus collection, which contains accent diamonds that are F-G in color and VS I clarity. However I’ve been trying to decide between this 1.687 carat, I-color, SI-1 clarity, BGD Signature round diamond, or this 1.758 carat, I-color, VS-2 clarity, BGD Signature diamond, and I’m wondering how important it is to match the color of the center diamond to the side stones? And which diamond do you think I should pick?”

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

The reality is that the perceptible difference between F-G color accent diamonds and a larger I-color, Brian Gavin Signature round center stone is going to be extremely slight and difficult for most people to discern without possibly examining the diamond under controlled lighting with a great deal of coaching.

In my experience, what tends to happen is that our eyes are automatically drawn to the center stone because of the larger surface area, and the higher volume of light return and larger mass of sparkle, and focus on the accent diamonds in the ring only when we try to specifically look at them… otherwise they are primarily accent diamonds, that add sparkle to the ring that is best perceived from a slight distance.

To test this theory, all you have to do is look at the picture of the ring that appears at the beginning of this article, where do your eyes seem to be drawn? If you’re like most people, your eyes automatically focus on the center stone and then move outwards and take in the fact that accent diamonds are present.

I’ve seen L-M-N color Brian Gavin Signature round diamonds set in rings that feature F-G color accent diamonds, and they look perfectly fine in my opinion, because my eyes tend to be drawn to the larger surface area of the center stone.

Brian Gavin Signature vs. BGD Signature round diamonds:

It’s always difficult for me to pit one Brian Gavin Signature round diamond against another, especially when they are the same color grade, and so close in clarity, because the cut quality is essentially the same, since every diamond is produced to Brian Gavin’s extremely strict standards for optical precision and overall cut quality.

I set the 1.687 carat, I-color, SI-1 clarity, Brian Gavin Signature round diamond next to the 1.758 carat, I-color, VS-2 clarity, Brian Gavin Signature round diamond, and the only real difference that I see between them is a very slight, and I do mean “very slight” difference in visible outside diameter, but beyond that they face-up pretty much the same.

I suppose that the slightly larger, VS-2 clarity diamond is a better choice if you happen to have “eagle vision” since it is going to be 100% eye clean from a top down vantage point, and there is always the chance that you might be able to detect the inclusions in an SI-1 clarity diamond if you scrutinize the diamond thoroughly; however most people aren’t able to focus that closely on the minute details of a diamond, so it is a perfect choice if you don’t have incredible eye sight.