Among the 4 Cs of diamond is a very complex subject called color. Color is a topic that has riddled diamond buyers for generations. The first question to pop up in mind in the context of color is what about it. When buying a colorless diamond, the last thing that’s on a buyer’s mind is color, and that’s how it gets overlooked very often. But regrettably, it’s not a minor oversight that does not have any lasting impact on the purchase. Color is important, even critical in colorless diamonds. Let’s explore this confusing topic to straighten out the doubts once and for all.
What Is Diamond Color?
GIA grades diamonds based on three qualities, color, clarity and cut. Color is the presence of pigments in a seemingly colorless diamond. Higher up the scale, the diamonds are clearer and shinier, but at the bottom, the scenario is very different. The lower you go down the scale, the diamonds get cloudier. After a point, the color emerges. Colors in colorless diamonds range from yellow to gray to brown. None of these stones in the colorless variety feature the rich tone of colored diamonds, but they bear a faint shadowy color that makes the aesthetics suffer greatly. So, the idea is to keep away from colored diamonds when buying from the colorless range.
How Is Color Measured in Diamonds?
Gia divides diamonds into grades based on the presence or absence of color. It starts at D and ends in Z, D being free of any color and Z being visibly colored. Now, the diamonds are grouped under the grades based on their colorlessness. All stones that come under D, E and F are colorless, although D is the most transparent. There is no visible difference between stones of these grades that untrained eyes can catch. G to J is near colorless which is to say that the stone doesn’t seem to bear any color when seen through naked eyes. Magnification reveals a faint trace of color which is too light to be mentioned. Stones in grades K, L and M are faint yellow which may or may not catch the eye. Those between N and R are very light yellow, whereas those between S and Z are light yellow.
What Is the Right Color?
The right color to get is obviously D which is flawlessly colorless, but for limited budget buyers, H is the best grade to pick from.
