Diamond Color

When jewelers speak of a diamond's colour they are usually referring to the presence or absence of colour in white diamonds. Colour is a result of the composition of the diamond, and it never changes over time.

Like a clear window, a colourless diamond allows more light to pass through it than a coloured diamond and hence emit more sparkle and fire. The formation process of a diamond ensures that only a few, rare diamonds are truly colourless. Thus the whiter a diamond's colour, the greater its value.

(Note that fancy colour diamonds do not follow this rule. These diamonds, which are very rare and very expensive, can be any colour from blue to green to bright yellow. They are actually more valuable for their colour.)
To grade 'whiteness' or colourlessness, most jewelers refer to GIA's professional colour scale that begins with the highest rating of D for colourless, and travels down the alphabet to grade stones with traces of very faint or light yellowish or brownish colour. The colour scale continues all the way to Z.

Use the buttons to see how the various colour grades reflect the appearance of the diamond.

D: Absolutely colorless. The highest colour grade, which is extremely rare.

E: Colorless. Only minute traces of colour can be detected by an expert gemologist. A rare diamond.

F: Colorless. Slight colour detected by an expert gemologist, but still considered a "colourless" grade. A high-quality diamond.

G-H: Near-colorless. Colour noticeable when compared to diamonds of better grades, but these grades offer excellent value.

I-J: Near-colorless. Colour slightly detectable. An excellent value.

K-M: Noticeable color.

N-Z: Noticeable color.

What is Fluorescence?