Nique Design - Buyers Guide

Buyer's Guide - Color

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color
clarity
carat

Diamonds come in many different colors; yellow, brown, pink, red, and blue, as well as the more common white variety. Pink, red, and blue diamonds are very rare and priced accordingly. Not all white diamonds are colorless, some may have a faint yellowish tint. Faintly colored diamonds are more common and less expensive then colorless or brightly colored stones.

The less color a diamond has the brighter it will be. White light includes all colors, and a diamond that appears colorless is reflecting all of the light incident upon it. When a stone appears to have a yellowish tint, for example, it is absorbing part of the spectrum. The resulting refelected light is missing some colors, so does not appear colorless anymore. Since part of the light has been absorbed by the tinted diamond, it will not appear as bright.

The color of a diamond is graded on a scale using the letters D through Z. D is considered completely colorless. The color in grades E and F are only detectable by a trained gemologist, but still considered colorless. Grades G, H, I, and J are near colorless. All grades of K and higher have a visible yellowish or brownish tint that even the untrained eye can easily see.

If you want to buy a beautiful diamond with the minimal amount of color, look for a I or better stone. if you don't mind spending a little more for a better diamond, then definitely look for a colorless diamond.

Color Grades of Diamonds

The chart is only an approximation. Ask you jeweler to show you several diamonds of different colors side-by-side and you should be able to easily see the difference.