What is Diamond Color?
Unless one is dealing with fancy colored diamonds, a diamond’s color grade actually refers to its lack thereof. The more a diamond appears to be colorless, the higher its quality and value. Diamonds with noticeable traces of color (usually hints of yellow or brown) can appear duller, muter and dimmer. Of course, diamonds that are completely colorless are also extremely rare and therefore more valuable.
Color Grading
A diamond’s color is graded by placing it face down on a special sheet of white paper and comparing it to a color master stone under carefully controlled lighting.
The diamond industry has adopted the GIA’s color grading system as its standard. This grading system was adopted after a number of other diamond color grading systems were deemed inaccurate and misleading. In order to put into a place a distinctly new standard, GIA chose the letters D-Z to grade a diamond’s color, grades that had never been used by any other grading system.
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D
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Completely Colorless.
Exceedingly Rare.
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E,F
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Colorless.
Difficult for an expert gemologist to detect these infinitesimal
traces of color.
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G,H
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Near Colorless. Color nearly impossible to detect unless the stone
compared next to a master stone. When
viewed face up, these stones appear colorless.
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I,J
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Near Colorless-Very Faint Yellow. Color is slightly detectable. Once mounted in jewelry, color is nearly
indiscernible.
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K-M
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Faint Yellow.
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N-Z
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Very Light Yellow – Light Yellow.
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Detecting Color in Set Diamonds
Most high-end jewelers sell diamonds graded J or higher. However, some K, L and M diamonds can still appear colorless to the naked eye if mounted in yellow gold as opposed to white gold or platinum, and if expertly cut so as to optimize brilliance. Color is typically harder to detect in jewelry-set round brilliant diamonds, as opposed to Emerald or Asscher cuts which have fewer facets and typically show more color.
What is Fluorescence?
Any material that emits a light glow when placed under ultra-violet lighting is fluorescent. Many diamonds exhibit this characteristic when placed directly beneath UV light. Fluorescent diamonds typically emit a light blue glow, but in roughly 1% of cases, they may glow in white, yellow, red or green. Because ultra violet rays are also present in natural light, some diamonds may exhibit fluorescence in regular daylight.
There is no clear consensus on the significance of a diamond’s fluorescence and its impact on a diamond’s value or quality. Many believe that diamonds with a lower color grade (K-Z) appear whiter if they exhibit high levels of fluorescence. There are subsequent claims that diamonds with a high color grade (D-J) appear milky or cloudy in color if they are very fluorescent. You may find this manifest itself in diamond pricings, with D,E or F stones sold at lower prices when they exhibit high fluorescence, and K-Z stones sold at higher prices when they exhibit high fluorescence.
Despite these claims, in 1997, the GIA published an extensive subject asserting that the impact of fluorescence on the appearance of a diamond is negligible. Therefore, while the fluorescence of a diamond may be evaluated and documented on a Diamond Grading Report, it does not impact the diamond’s color grade. The GIA’s fluorescence grades are: Strong, Very Strong, Medium, Slight, and Faint.
If you are sensitive to color, we suggest that you do some window shopping of your own and develop your own personal taste regarding fluorescence. It is always important that you pick the diamond that meets your specific standards.
Fun Fact: Fluorescence is one method used to distinguish between real or synthetic diamonds such as moissanite or cubic zirconia. If a stone exhibits fluorescence when placed under ultra-violet light, it is almost positively a diamond. However, if a stone exhibits no fluorescence under UV light, it may still very well be a diamond, as not all diamonds exhibit fluorescence.
