Diamond Color

Acting as a prism, a diamond can divide light into a spectrum of colors and reflect this light as colorful flashes called fire. Just as when looking through colored glass, color in a diamond will act as a filter, and will diminish the spectrum of color emitted. The less color in a diamond, the more colorful the fire, and the better the color grade.

COLOR refers to the degree to which a diamond is colorless. The farther from colorless that a diamond’s grade is, the less rare and therefore less valuable it is. Diamonds are graded on a color scale established by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), which ranges from D (Colorless) to Z. Icy winter whites (D-I) look stunning in white gold or platinum. Warmer colored diamonds (J-Z) are more desirable when set in yellow gold. Color differences can be very subtle and grading is done under controlled lighting and compared against a ‘master’ for accuracy. This color chart is representative of the color grades of a diamond.