Diamonds Color

"Color" is defined as an "absence-of-color" since the best color is no color at all. "Color" means something different yet it’s interactive with "fire", which is a diamond's unique ability to bend light like a prism producing bright inner flashes of reds, blues, and greens. Fire is a contributing characteristic for why diamonds are so eye-appealing.

What are the different Color grades?

The highest grade is “D color” and the lowest is “Z.” The GIA’s color scale originated with D instead of A is to avoid confusion with the many competing color grading scales that were in existence years ago. Body-tones or “color” are usually yellow but can also be brown or gray.

The body-tone shown is yellow

D Completely colorless. This is very rare and it’s the highest grade. Perrywinkle’s strongly recommends this color.

E Colorless. Minute traces of body-tone detectable to only an experienced gemologist. There is no perceptible difference in body-tone from D once the diamond is set into jewelry. This grad is rare and a very high grade. Perrywinkle’s strongly recommends this color grade.

F Colorless. There are slight traces of body-tone detectable to an experienced gemologist. There are barely perceptible difference in body-tone from D once the diamond is set into jewelry. This is a high grade. Perrywinkle’s strongly recommends this color grade.

G Near-colorless. There is body-tone that is readily detectable to an experienced gemologist. There are slightly noticeable differences from colorless diamonds when compared side-by-side in a setting. This is still a high grade color that Perrywinkle’s recommends.

H Near-colorless. There is body-tone that is readily detectable to a novice when compared side-by-side with colorless diamonds. There is significant difference from colorless diamonds when compared side-by-side in a setting. This is a higher than average grade color that is still recommended by Perrywinkle’s.

I Near-colorless. There is body-tone easily detectable to a novice when compared side-by-side with colorless diamonds. There is a significant difference from colorless diamonds when compared side-by-side in a setting. This is a respectable color grade especially if used in yellow gold.

J Near-colorless. The body-tone is obvious to a novice when looking for it. Near colorless is its official technical term but it is not near-colorless in reality. The body-tone is less noticeable if set in yellow gold and may appear one to two color grades higher if medium to strong fluorescence is present. This grade is recommended only in some circumstances.

K→W Faint to Light Color. The body-tone I these grades is so obvious that it detracts from the diamond’s beauty. These grades are not recommended unless you require a particular size for your diamond yet have a limited budget.

X, Y & Z If the body tone is yellow then, in certain cases, it can be set it into to jewelry so that it appears as if it’s "Fancy Yellow." This would be desirable because its price will be much lower than that of a Fancy Yellow.

 

Fancy Yellow "Canary" Diamond

How important is color?

Some online education represents color as a personal preference stating that you may prefer the “warmth” of a diamond with a touch of color. These statements are old-wives’-tales or just plain bad advice. Find a diamond expert whom you find trustworthy who will show you many diamonds side-by-side in varied lighting environments. Almost no one will prefer a lower color diamond when presented in this professional manner. Perrywinkle’s helps you chose the highest color within your budget balanced amongst the other characteristics that determine a diamond’s beauty.

It’s hard to distinguish the difference between, say, an E and an F color diamond once set into a ring. Even gemologists cannot determine an exact color grade when the diamond is set in a ring so it’s best to consider a range of two colors. You will, however, easily notice color differences when viewing a series of upside-down diamonds set on a white background. Setting them upside-down eliminates the shards-of-rainbow-colors that can “confuse” your brain’s color perception.

 

Perrywinkle’s will show you diamonds using this procedure so that you’ll see color just as gemologists do. You’ll even see the difference between two diamonds of the same color since each color grade has a range from low to high.

How do Gemologists grade color?

Gemologists line up a set of pre-graded diamonds, placed upside-down on a white background in grade sequence. The diamond being graded is tj"jumped" along the line, like checkers, until its color matches. The room's lighting and environment must be matched to the GIA’s specifications and the pre-graded "comparison diamonds" must be certified by the GIA since ones from lesser gemological labs’ are different.