Warm White Diamonds... Not Fancy Yellow, but 'Warm White'

This is the Lei è Engagement Ring Journal.

Discover how to maximise your budget, decode the diamond industry, and ensure a smooth consultation experience.

Series Two…
Getting the most out of your budget

This week we are looking at warm white diamonds… Why they are classified ‘warm white’ and not ‘yellow’, which gives us the opportunity.

They Call It Flawed…

You could call this our bread and butter. Something that we have been truly passionate about since day dot.

If you take our core mission of;

We are committed wholeheartedly to making sure the customers are able to achieve their dream ring, no matter what their limitations are. 

• Specifically financial limitations. 

This is the perfect guiding light for us when making important decisions about the direction of our brand. However, without expanding on the reasoning behind this mission statement - then there may be some superficial run-off. So lets break it down a little further....

This focal point for us, lead to a discovery of under appreciated and undervalued gemstones and diamonds. Warm White Diamonds, were an important one, as they ticked off a few key aspects;

1. There was no intrinsic difference between a warm white diamond and a fancy yellow diamond, or white diamond. Meaning, there were no internal flaws or rationale for why this stone should receive a significantly discounted price, beyond the industry-dictated valuation.
   

2. The stones are beautiful. 

Wrap your head around this one...

The designation of diamond colour 'types' is a strange one in our industry. 

Simple tone intensity can qualify a diamond as 'heaps' or a 'bloody bargain' on your bespoke engagement ring quote. 

There is no intrinsic quality differentiator beyond these colour classifications. It has simply been the value assigned by the industry as to what they deem as desirable or undesirable. 

Allow me to lay it out in similar terms, with this example...

Lets take White Diamonds & Fancy Yellow Diamonds

In White Diamonds, you have a colour range from D, E, F, G... etc.

D being the 'whitest' (colourless), then gradually taking on more yellow tint as we go down the scale. 

Most diamond suppliers won't even stock 'white diamonds' that are graded beyond a 'K'. That being, the 'acceptable' range is from D to K. 

Now, Fancy Yellow Diamonds, take on a whole new life. Intensity and higher saturation of yellow tones comes with some weight on that invoice. 

I'm not here to second guess genuine market forces, and I am sure there is a strong demand for that deep, intense yellow. However, there is minimal optical difference in warm whites and paler fancy yellows. Merely down to a classification of a colour chart, by some human, with a lens, feeling fruity. 

The difference between, 2-4x the price, based on an extremely marginal tone variance. Something that could have been influenced by the reflection of a passing DHL truck. 

I am here to point out opportunity. And to recognise the trend towards soft pastels in coloured gemstones - which would have translated over to diamonds IF there wasn't a staunch driver of market demand in the diamond industry that has a red-hot go at making sure consumer only ever see these diamonds as 'flawed'. Not for the clear beauty they hold, in those lush pastel, warm whites. 

HOWEVER, don't get me wrong, this isn't a hit piece

I'm not advocating for a peaceful boycott of the diamond industry,

You're not going to find a link to a Change.Org page below...

Quite the opposite actually. I'm well chuffed with this bizarre industry trope. Don't change a thing! I'm just here to say, for the love of god, consider a warm white diamond.

They're absolute stunning. They're extremely cost effective. And of course, you'll find them all here at, Lei è. We love a warm white diamond.

Onwards!