What Does Diamond Colour Really Mean?

I remembered the time when I went to a fine jewellery store for the first time, every diamond sparkled brilliantly. Little did I know that it was due to the lights installed in the displays. It makes it hard to determine the grade of the diamond colour, because all of them looks they belong to the highest grade.

Have you ever bought something because it looks awesome in the shop? And it does not look as great when you try it again later at home? It happens to me very often. In order to avoid such incidents, one of the ways is to refer to the Diamond 4Cs grading system, created by GIA.

We have talked about the most important C in the Diamond 4Cs, the Diamond Cut in our previous post. Now let’s look at the Diamond Colour, the second most important C in the Diamond 4Cs. After all, colour is what we immediately notice, next to the diamond’s sparkle.

The Diamond Colour

The GIA has 2 types of colour grading scales, the D-to-Z Colour Grading and Coloured Diamond Colour Grading. The D-to-Z Colour Grading is based on the lack of colour, while the Coloured Diamond Colour Grading is based on the presence of colour.

Coloured Diamond Colour Grading

Let us first talk about the Coloured Diamonds Colour Grading. We refer to this scale when we want to buy coloured diamonds. Using the “Fancy-grade” term, coloured diamonds such as yellow, blue, green, and pink diamonds are graded based on their colour strength. For example, Fancy Light, Fancy, Fancy Intense, and Fancy Vivid. The intense and vivid coloured diamonds are the rarest. A very slight difference in their colour can have a huge impact on its value.

D-to-Z Colour Grading

In the D-to-Z Colour Grading, colour is categorized by the lack of it; the lesser the colour, the better the grade. Let us take a look at the colour scale:

• D Grade: Completely Colourless
  • Least colour present. The highest colour grade that is extremely rare

• E & F Grade: Colourless
  • Tiny traces of colour can only be found by skilled professionals. Colourless diamonds are also rare

• G & H Grade: Near Colourless
  • Colour is hard to be seen except when compared with higher grade diamonds

• I & J Grade: Near Colourless
  • Colour is slightly noticeable with a little warm tone

• K – Z Grade
  • Colour is noticeable, e.g. pale yellow

It is very hard to notice the difference in colour within each group of grades. A diamond with a D colour grade will look very similar to a diamond with an F colour grade. When choosing which colour grade to go for, a good tip will be to go for the lowest colour grade within the group to maximize your budget. For example, if you are looking for a diamond that is within the colourless range, go for the F grade instead of D.

At Draco Diamonds, we compare the diamonds with different colour grades to show you their differences. In addition, we will show you how the diamonds look like in multiple types of light so that you can see exactly how it looks like at home! Call us if you have any questions or book an appointment to visit our workshop to view the diamonds.

Interested to know more about the other aspects of the Diamond 4Cs? Check out the articles on Diamond Cut, Clarity, and Carat Weight.