Sign up with FacebookCOLOR
Mainstream diamonds, color wise range from being colorless (absolutely white) to being yellow. In terms of value, the value of a diamond increases as it becomes more colorless. A color grade of D is the highest possible, while Z is the lowest.
|
GIA DIAMOND COLOR SCALE |
||
Colorless |
|
While there are differences in color between D, E, and F diamonds, they can be detected only by a gemmologist in side by side comparisons. D-F diamonds should only be set in white gold / platinum. Yellow gold reflects color, negating the diamond's colorless effect. |
Near Colorless |
|
While containing traces of color, G-J diamonds are suitable for a platinum or white gold setting.
Because I-J diamonds are more common than the higher grades, they tend to be a great value. |
Faint Color |
|
Beginning with K diamonds, color (usually a yellow tint) is more easily detected by the naked eye.
Set in yellow gold, these warm colored diamonds appeal to some, and are an exceptional value. Others will feel they have too much colour. |
Very Light Color |
|
Diamonds in the N-R colour range have an easily seen yellow or brown tint. |
Light Color |
|
For almost all customers, S-Z diamonds have too much colour. |
The photo below shows a master set used by gemologists to grade colour in diamonds. Each diamond to be graded is compared to the master set to determine where it should fall on the diamond colour scale. The colours you see below are slightly exaggerated.
Buying Tip
Color becomes much harder to detect once a stone is set in a ring and placed in an environment that contains color (as opposed to the all white background used in diamond color grading). For instance, an H color diamond may look as colorless as a D colored one when set in a ring under normal lighting conditions, especially if they are not compared side by side.
Another factor that affects a diamond’s apparent color is the color of the mounting itself. Yellow gold makes a slight amount of yellow in a diamond less obvious, while white metal mountings make the color in yellow diamonds more apparent. If you are concerned primarily about carat weight, and are on a tight budget, consider a yellow gold setting and a round diamond in the lower (K-L) color range.
Also important to know is that color is more noticeable in fancy shapes compared to round shape as fancy shapes tend to have more color concentration on the edges and corners. Therefore it is advisable to adjust color selection to 1 or 2 shades higher for fancy shapes when compared to round shape diamonds.