Diamond Color

• Colorless
o D
o E
o F

• Near Colorless
o G
o H
o I
o J

• Faint Yellow
o K
o L
o M

• Very Light Yellow
o N
o O
o P
o Q
o R

• Light Yellow
o S
o T
o U
o V
o W
o X
o Y
o Z

When grading a diamond’s color, you should place the diamond against a white background and look through its side, not its top. A white light, not a yellow light should be used when determining the color of a diamond, because a yellow light will make even a colorless diamond look yellow. In general, jewelry stores will have a white light available for you to use.

Another thing to look out for is fluorescence. Fluorescence means that a diamond will turn a different color, such as blue, white, or yellow, when it is seen under ultraviolet radiation, for example from a black light. This different color is only seen when the diamond is viewed under ultraviolet light, and not when seen under normal indoor light. However, both sunlight and fluorescent lights emit some ultraviolet radiation and a diamond with fluorescence may look dull or cloudy when viewed under these lighting conditions.

The color of a stone affects its value and thus how much you’ll pay for it. So, a “D” stone will be more expensive than a “Z” stone. If you put a “D” and a “Z” side by side, you’ll really notice a difference. But, if you put a “D” and a “E” side by side and it gets a lot harder to tell them apart.

You may be able to see a difference when you look at them with a white light against a white background. However, you can ask the jeweler to place them both in a setting. It’s much harder to tell the difference between a “D” stone in a setting on someone’s hand, and an “E” stone in a setting on someone’s hand. And since your fiancée will almost always be wearing the ring on her hand, for the most part, no one will be able to tell the difference between a “D” and an “E” or even “F”.

So, why should you care about getting a “D” instead of an “E”? Well, the answer depends on your girlfriend. If she’s someone who has to have the best, then you might have to get the “D”. Who’s going to know besides you? Well, if the stone has a report (more about reports later) then it will tell if the stone is a “D” or “E” or whatever it is.
Second, even if you don’t have a report, if you ever have the ring appraised (say for insurance purposes) it will list the color.

Finally, your girlfriend may want to know, so she can tell people about it when they ask. Women always want to know about their friend’s and acquaintances’ engagement rings. Any time a woman has a new ring, all of her friend’s and coworkers will want to know all the details about it and often, the subject of color will come up.

In the end, you have to know your girlfriend and her likes and dislikes when it comes to jewelry. If you really don’t have a clue, don’t worry, we’ll talk more about how to find this out later.

Next, let's talk about Diamond Clarity