The Kwiat Blog

Advice on Selecting the Color of a Diamond

The first thing I always explain when talking about color is that the differences between any two consecutive grades is very subtle and is often indistinguishable to the untrained eye.  When looking at diamonds, you should not get overly focused on one specific color grade to the exclusion of grades near to it.

The second thing to remember is that the environment in which a diamond is graded is quite different from the one in which it is worn.  A diamond is graded face down but it is worn face up, where the brilliance of the cut and the white light reflected back to the eye will mask some of the color in the body of the stone.  The stone will be mounted in a metal setting, for engagement rings most often platinum.  The white color of the platinum will usually enhance the whiteness of the stone.  Finally, typical sunlight or a normal indoor lighting environment is far less harsh than the whiteness of the grading lamp making color more difficult to distinguish.

There are also important differences in the way different shaped diamonds show their color.  The brilliance of the faceting pattern of a round stone makes color quite difficult to distinguish.  Color in round diamonds is not typically apparent to the eye until the KL range.  Other shapes - in particular radiants and cushion shapes - may start to show a yellow tint at grades slightly higher than that, for example in the IJ range.  It is important to note that every diamond is unique and must be viewed in person to determine whether it shows any color or not.

With those thoughts in mind, color is an important determinant in the beauty of the diamond.  The higher the color, the whiter the diamond will appear.  In my experience, people often appreciate stones of higher color without necessarily understanding what exactly it is they are attracted to.  I've heard people describe diamonds of higher color as looking "clearer" or "crisper."  All things being equal, I do tend to favor moving up in color when the budget allows.  At Kwiat, we work with round brilliant diamonds across the color grade range of D to J and fancy shape diamonds from D to I.

The 4 Cs of Diamonds: An Introduction to Color

Diamonds may contain small traces of color within the crystal structure of the diamond, most often tints of yellow.  The less tint of color that a diamond exhibits, the more rare and more valuable it is.  Color can be difficult to see with the untrained eye and the differences between grades that are one or two steps apart are very subtle.

The Color Scale & How is Color Graded

The scale used to measure color was originally developed by the GIA and uses the alphabet beginning with the letter D and continuing to Z.  A grade of "D" is the highest that a diamond can get and means that the diamond shows no trace of color at all.  The grades of D, E, and F are called the "colorless range" and the grades of G, H, I, and J are called the "near colorless" range.  Diamonds with attractive yellow color - called fancy yellow diamonds - have grades that are beyond the grade of "Z."

Diamond color is graded with the diamonds face down against a white background under a daylight fluorescent lamp.  This allows the grader to most accurately see the body color of the diamond.  Color is graded by comparison, so the diamond is compared against a set of "master stones" to determine where on the scale it falls and what grade it should receive.