The term “colour” in diamond buying is really the opposite of what you may think. When making your selection, you’re not actually looking for the presence of a particular colour. Instead, your ideal diamond will have as little colour as possible. Most diamonds appear icy white, but many have tiny hints of colour, usually yellow/brown.
The closer to white or “colourless” the stone appears, the more valuable it is. Colourless diamonds are extremely rare, and therefore very valuable. The reason - the absence of colour allows more light to pass through the stone. As more light enters, more light also exits the diamond, thereby emitting a higher level of sparkle or “fire”. However, there are no hard and fast rules for what colour makes a diamond beautiful. Colour characteristics in diamonds are a result of composition and will not change over time.
Diamonds were formed under intense heat and pressure. Colourless diamonds are composed of pure carbon. Traces of other elements incorporated into their atomic structure account for the variances in colour. A single change in colour grade can significantly affect a diamond’s value.
For grading a diamonds colour we use the alphabet scale developed by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA). The top end of this scale starts at “D”, which represents the most colourless and highest quality stone available. The ratings continue all the way through the alphabet to “Z”, with each letter indicating a slight increase in the amount of colour (usually light yellow or brown) present in the stone.
Only 3 out of every 23 grades are truly colourless. Gems of this level are rare and comprise 2% of the total number of gem-quality diamonds. Depending on size, a single grade in colour can affect a diamond’s value by thousands of dollars.
The colour of the setting is also very important. A white diamond looks best in a white setting. This is why our engagement rings are offered in white gold or two tone, a yellow ring with a white gold setting.
When purchasing your diamond, consider this:
- Diamonds rated D through F are nearly perfect in terms of colour and are extremely valuable. This level of colour quality can’t miss the target. However, you do not have to purchase a diamond in this part of the colour scale to get a beautiful stone.
- Diamonds with ratings of G to H do contain slight colour, but none that is visible to the untrained eye. These diamonds are good when trying to maximize stone size, and keeping within a budget.
- Going one step further, diamonds rated I to J begin to show a very faint hint of yellow in the stone, K through M are considered light yellow/brown and N - Z ratings contain visible yellow/brown.