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Yellow gold with white diamonds

Jewelry Discussion
#1

Hi Folks,

I’m doing a channel setting of five 3.5mm princess diamonds within a
yellow-gold and white-gold ring. I know a line of round diamonds
looks bigger in a white setting, but my setter says it doesn’t matter
with a princess channel setting because there is no metal between the
stones. Do you folks who work a lot with stones feel that yellow gold
for this kind of setting will not detract from the beauty of the
stones (as opposed to a white-gold setting" The diamonds are VVS with
color F/G.

Thanks for the input,
Janet in Jerusalem

#2

Why degrade the F/G color of the stones with yellow gold around
them?

#3

Janet,

If I were buying this ring, I would definitely want it made with all
yellow gold. I think it shows off the diamonds better and looks
richer, IMHO. I have a channel set diamond ring with 9 small round
2.5mm stones (similar quality to yours) and with engraving on the
sides of the band. It is beautiful! It really sparkles!

Just my opinion, of course. I’ve always liked yellow gold better than
white.

I also have my grandmother’s engagement ring which is a round
brilliant cut diamond set into a square white gold setting on a
yellow gold band. In that case, the white gold square setting makes
the ROUND stone look bigger than it actually is.

Lynn White
www.lynnwhitejewelry.com

#4 
Why degrade the F/G color of the stones with yellow gold around
them?

I’m sure many will disagree with this statement but since all I sell
are F color or better stones, I think I can make this statement. High
color diamonds invariably look WHITER against a gold background.
Midrange color stones (G-J) set in platinum immediately look more
yellow against the white. It is the contrast in color that makes the
actual color of the diamond stand out more. The old myth (and yes I
call it a myth) that all diamonds need to be set in white metal comes
from all of those low color stones that are in most people’s jewelry.
They can benefit from a whitening effect, except to a trained (or
sensitive) eye they will look yellower in contrast to the white
metal. High color stones look just fine in yellow gold.

Daniel R. Spirer, G.G.

#5 
Why degrade the F/G color of the stones with yellow gold around
them?

Not every combination of yellow gold and diamonds is detrimental to
the diamonds, but there is a very simple answer to the question.
White metal jewellery is considered formal, and yellow metal is used
for daily wear. For some to wear white metal jewellery every day is
akin to wearing a tuxedo to work. That is why yellow gold and
diamond combination.

Leonid Surpin
www.studioarete.com

#6

Janet - Personally, I prefer yellow gold, and think that most
diamonds look better set in yellow. Mostly. However, with regard to
your specific question about channel set princess cuts, it is my
experience that no matter what color they are, they will pick up
some yellow from the setting. Same goes for baguettes. Nicely cut
rounds will not. This effect is minimized with better cut stones, but
when viewed at certain angles, the princess cuts will look slightly
yellow. You can eliminate this by rhodium plating under the princess
cuts. Starting with top quality stones will give you the best chance
for a good result in any metal, so there is no right or wrong
answer. Strictly personal preference.? Hope this helps.

Kindest regards,
Stuart J. Adelman, Designer
www.ArtelleDesigns.com

#7

Like any aesthetic judgement its subjective. But there are some real
things that happen. Like Daniel says the contrast of yellow metal
next to top white diamonds makes them pop. On the other hand
sometimes what you’re going after is for the stone section to
represent a generalized shape of whiteness. In the case presented you
have an uninterrupted run of square diamonds with a yellow border(if
I understood the description). Here a white channel flanked by yellow
creates a solid ‘mass’ of white, the illusion is that of a white
stripe in a yellow field. It could also be done with a yellow channel
but the white makes it stand out a bit more. A white channel will
make the princesses appear wider. A quick glance and they may appear
very similar. But buyers tend to look long at things they contemplate
buying. If you can keep their interest you increase the chances of a
sale. Even though they many times cannot articulate the difference
they will still notice them.

A lot has to do with the stone size, shape and layout. Larger stones
can be more sensitive to refraction thru the girdle simply because
they are larger and its easier to see the tiny yellow bits here and
there. I don’t think this should be an overriding consideration
though. The overall design of the piece should remain paramount. If
it becomes a sticking point there are things you can do.

Round stones in a yellow channel, to my eye anyway, is lame unless
they are very small, like.02 and under. Anything larger and you
easily see ‘triangles’ of yellow between the stones. Some people like
the look, but it can appear toothy. If rounds are set in individual
yellow bezels then the contrast thing works well. This is where you
want to see each stone as a separate entity with the metal(be it
bezel or prongs or whatever) being a separate design element that
coordinates with the stone layout.

How much weight should be given to any of this? Depends on the
customer and the maker. What the client likes is what you do if you
want to actually sell it. What the maker is capable of definitely
affects how it should be approached. Ex. a mediocre pave’ setter
might get away with white gold because of what I mentioned before,
the larger white area obscures detail to a degree. The craftsmanship
of the bead work is not as evident as when its done in yellow gold.
But then it comes back to the client…is your client appreciative of
the differences?

#8

Leonid,

White metal jewellery is considered formal, and yellow metal is
used for daily wear. For some to wear white metal jewellery every
day is akin to wearing a tuxedo to work.

You need to wake up and enter the modern age. Platinum and white gold
jewelry make up about 40% of sales these days. Those people are not
all buying it to wear formally. I don’t know a single customer who
puts on their yellow gold jewelry for the daytime and switches to
platinum for the parties in the evening. As a matter of fact, I
would say that 80% of the people out there wear exclusively one color
or the other and the other 20% don’t mind mixing it up a bit. None of
the young women I get in my shop asking for platinum engagement
rings think it’s more formal. They just prefer the color.

Daniel R. Spirer, G.G.
Daniel R. Spirer Jewelers, LLC
www.spirerjewelers.com

#9 
For some to wear white metal jewellery every day is akin to
wearing a tuxedo to work. That is why yellow gold and diamond
combination.

Boy I’ve sure have never heard anyone say that before, but to each
his own.

We make what people want, and who knows why they want what they
want. But I can tell you we sure make a heck of a lot more white
metal and diamond jewelry than yellow with diamonds. It’s the
customers preference and white win’s two to one in recent years.
Twenty years ago it was just the opposite and I’m sure that, in
time, yellow will be preferred over white again.

It’s really just a matter of personal preference, no right or wrong
and it looks great either way (white or yellow). Typically if I see
channel set melee in a yellow ring that are picking up too much
color from the ring, it’s a setting issue. The seats are likely too
big and/or too much channel on the crown. In addition to that problem
it makes the setting job much more difficult to do as those big fat
seats push the pavilion where you don’t want it to go. So it makes it
harder to do and it looks crappy, otherwise it’s a great idea to set
stones that way.

Mark

#10

I have an 18K yellow (quite dark, buttery yellow) gold half eternity
ring, set with 10 x 2mm princess cut diamonds (G colour, SI clarity)
in an uninterrupted row. Although they’re small (so you might think
the setting would affect their colour more than larger diamonds),
they don’t appear to have any yellow cast whatsoever. They’re very
"white" or rather completely devoid of colour to the naked eye even
in a yellow gold setting.

I’m not sure how white on one side and yellow on the other would
affect the appearance of the diamonds, although I think the design
sounds rather pleasing - I’d be interested to see it finished. I
suspect, even though the two colours of metal have different optical
illusions with regard to diamond appearance, the human brain will
trick the viewer into seeing the borders equally. I don’t see how the
white metal on the one side could possibly make the stones in a
continuous row look bigger than the yellow gold on the other side of
the same stones. Just a thought.

Helen
UK

#11 
White metal jewellery is considered formal, and yellow metal is
used for daily wear. For some to wear white metal jewellery every
day is akin to wearing a tuxedo to work

Never heard this. As my engagement ring is white gold, and my
wedding ring is a triple band including white gold, I guess I wear a
"tuxedo" daily! And here I thought I was a casual sort of
person…[vbg]

Beth Wicker
Three Cats and a Dog Design Studio
http://www.bethwicker.com


http://bethwicker.ganoksin.com/blogs/

#12

It’s really all a matter of taste. That said…

I remember when I first started in the trade, oh say 40 years ago,
(when I was two). The rule was, white was for evening and yellow for
day. We also hiked to work, in the snow, up hill, in the dark. I
still feel that diamonds look best in white. especially pave. It
still drives me crazy to see diamonds paved in yellow. That is,
unless they’re yellow diamonds. But then I’m so old fashioned that I
still love the look of single cut melle instead of full cut.

I’m a big two tone girl myself. That way I can shamelessly wear
both.

I also wear costume with real.

Folks who know I’m a gold smith assume that they’re real. Have fun
and make lots of jewelry

Jo Haemer
www.timothywgreen.com

#13

Thanks to all of you who have taken the time to answer my original
post. I would like to clarify that I was not seeking subjective
judgments regarding the choice of color as it relates to the design
elements of the ring nor regarding the saleability of the final
product. I know exactly what colors I want where, and the piece is
already sold (it’s a commission). My question was more an objective,
scientific one regarding refraction and physiology.

I know that if I were using round stones (which I am not), setting in
white metal makes the stones appear larger because the area in and
around the stones is like the stones. This is, of course, not
relevant for princess stones in a channel setting. The question was
rather 1) how much yellow from a yellow setting gets refracted in
the stone, and 2) is a yellow rectangle around the white strip of
diamonds going to make the diamonds look a lot smaller" I think I am
more concerned with the sparkle and color than the size. The stones
look beautiful unset–all rainbow-like–and I’d like them to keep
their liveliness…Design-wise, it should be yellow; I just don’t
want to spoil the stones. The border of the setting will only be
about .5mm any way–from the setting, the ring slopes down on all
sides.

Thanks for the input,
Janet in Jerusalem

#14 
You need to wake up and enter the modern age. Platinum and white
gold jewelry make up about 40% of sales these days. Those people
are not all buying it to wear formally.

I get this advice a lot. I was responding to general question of why
the combination is used. It is less formal than it used to be, but
nevertheless it is still the consideration.

Leonid Surpin
www.studioarete.com

#15 
Boy I've sure have never heard anyone say that before, but to each
his own.

To elaborate on the issue:

White metal, yellow metal separation was strictly enforced ( if that
is the right word ) up until 1940. Then, because of World War II,
platinum was not possible to obtain. It was classified as strategic
metal. Even after the War has ended, the shortage was there, so
yellow gold became more acceptable. The company who "broke the back"
of the rule was Bulgari. Bulgari made it ok to wear yellow gold at
formal events. But wearing yellow gold at “White Tie” event can still
raise eyebrows.

Wearing white metal for casual events could, in some situation, could
also be questionable. I would not wear the combination if I were to
interview for the position of the jewellery designer, or a
salesperson in hi-end store.

Leonid Surpin
www.studioarete.com