DIAMOND COLOR CHART & GUIDE
Color refers to the amount of body color in a diamond. White diamonds or
truly colorless diamonds have almost no
colors. This makes it very rare and valuable. Color refers to the presence or absence of a yellow or brown
tint in white diamonds. Diamonds that range from colorless to light yellow and brown fall within the normal
color range. Although
most of the diamonds will appear colorless to an untrained eye, yet many of these diamonds will have slight
tones of yellow or brown, which affect their value and lower their price. (The exception to this is
fancy-colored diamonds, such as deep yellows, pinks, and blues). Most of the diamonds used in the jewelry
industry are near-colorless, with slight traces of yellow or brown. Diamonds may also come in deeper shades
of yellow and brown, along with a range of other colors. These are included in fancy-colored diamonds. With
near-colorless diamonds, less color usually is for a higher value. With
fancy-colored diamonds, the more intense the color, the more value it will have.
COLOR GRADING FOR YADAV JEWELRY
The color of a diamond is measured on an alphabetical scale starting from D
(colorless). Each Diamond at Yadav
Jewelry is GIA certified and follows the GIA’s color-grading scale for diamonds.
The GIA grades diamonds on a scale of D (colorless) through Z (light color). All D-Z diamonds are considered
white, even
though they contain varying degrees of color. True fancy colored diamonds (such as yellows, pinks, and
blues) are
graded on a separate color scale. Each letter grade has a clearly defined range of color appearance, that
determines its
value, and as you move down the scale, the color tint in the diamond increases. The diamond industry has
adopted the
GIA diamond color scale and rates the diamond based on this scale, even if they do not have it certified by
GIA but other
institutions like IGI. etc.
A diamond’s color grade is based on how noticeable the color is, also known as
depth of color.
Two diamonds with the same color grade can differ slightly in their depth of color because each letter
in the D-to-Z scale
represents a narrow color range and not a specific point.
Colorless. Slight color, which can only be detected by an expert gemologist,
but is still considered a "colorless" grade.
Another Yadav recommendation.
D-E-F COLOR DIAMONDS:
These diamonds are extremely rare and valuable. They are considered
colorless. D and E colored diamonds have virtually no color, and an F colored diamond has a nearly
undetectable amount of color that shows only in the face-down position. There is a very slight difference
between D-E-F. In fact, they are almost indistinguishable in diamonds
smaller than 0.25 ct.
G-H-I-J COLOR:
These diamonds are near-colorless. Diamonds with these grades look colorless
face-up and nearly colorless face-down. They have slight traces of color that are not noticeable to
untrained eyes when the stones are mounted. This range of diamonds are very popularly bought because they
combine fairly high color with somewhat lower prices.
K-L-M COLOR:
These diamonds are faint yellow. Diamonds in this range show very faint
yellow color face-up and face-down. When they are mounted, small stones look colorless, but large ones show
yellow tint.
HOW DOES ‘DIAMOND COLOR’ AFFECT THE PRICE OF A DIAMOND?
The difference between two color grades of diamonds on the GIA D-to-Z scale
can have a big impact on price. D and E
grade diamonds will have the biggest jump in prices. For example, A 1.00-ct. D-Flawless diamond can cost
much more than an E-color diamond of the same size and clarity. In addition to their rarity, diamonds with
less body color will reflect more true color, increasing the appearance of shine and brilliance.
Top gemological laboratories can distinguish diamonds on the basis of their
diamond type, which is an important step in
separating natural vs synthetic diamonds. Most mined diamonds are type Ia, which contain some nitrogen
impurities. These impurities absorb certain wavelengths of light resulting in varying shades of yellow
body color. They are also involved in causing blue fluorescence in diamonds. Type IIa diamonds are
almost devoid of nitrogen and tend to be colorless and non-fluorescent.
While only about 1% of natural diamonds are type II, most CVD synthetic
diamonds are type II. At the lab, any type II
diamond is referred for advanced testing to determine whether it is a naturally mined diamond or a
synthetic man-made diamond. A natural mined D IF diamond that is type IIa is the rarest of all.