What is the color of a diamond?

Diamond color refers to the degree of lack of color. The process of identifying the color of a diamond is actually concerned with identifying the color and transparency of the diamond. If a diamond is formed with 100% carbon, without any impurities and structurally intact, it should be completely colorless.

That said, almost all diamonds are formed with a small amount of impurities, such as nitrogen, boron, hydrogen or other elements, resulting in a certain degree of color tone. Nitrogen is the most common of the mixed elements, and it appears yellowish or light brown in lower quality diamonds. Therefore, in general, the more pure a diamond is, and the closer it is to the colorless diamond, the more rare and valuable it is. Fancy color diamond is a special case. The deeper and more obvious the color of a fancy color diamond, the higher its value.

 

GIA Color Grading Scale

D-F：Colorless
Color grade D is the highest color grade. Roughly the top 1% of quality based on color. Color grades E and F have virtually no or undetectable amount of color. Extremely rare and valuable.
G-H：Near Colorless
Slight traces of color that are not noticeable to untrained eyes.
I-J：Near Colorless
Color is slightly noticeable, especially when examined face down.
K-M：Faint to Light Yellow / Brown
Color is noticeable.

 

 

Despite the fact that around 80% of customers prefer D-H color-graded diamonds, we suggest our clients to take budget and other factors (such as clarity, cut and fluorescence, etc.) into account when making decision. Please do not hesitate to make an appointment for our free consultation service on diamond selection.

  

Why does the GIA diamond color grading begin with D?

The GIA diamond color grading system has evolved over the years, going through many different types of hierarchical systems -- some alphabetical (A represents the diamond of the highest quality); some sorted using Arabic numerals (0,1,2 ...); some by Roman alphabet (I,II,III ...).  As there were different shortcomings and loopholes in these systems, including inconsistencies and inaccuracies, GIA experts have created a new diamond color grading system, which goes from the letter D.

 

Considerations for choosing diamond color

The color of a diamond is affected by its background, making it easiest to discern against a transparent or white background. Therefore, if the diamond is inlaid on gold or rose gold, the color level requirements may be reduced, along with the budget. Also, as some fancy shapes keep a diamond’s color concentrated at corners, diamond cuts with sharp corners, such as heart-shaped, pear-shaped, marquise, and radiant diamonds, allow the color to be more easily detected. As such, when choosing a sharp-angled diamond, it is best to avoid choosing a diamond with a low color grade. Finally, we recommend that whenever you set more than one diamond or add side diamonds on a piece of jewelry, bearing in mind that each diamond should not have a color difference of more than one to two levels.