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 Color
Color is the natural color visible in a diamond
and does not change over time. Colorless diamonds allow more light to pass
through than a colored diamond, releasing more sparkle and fire. Acting as a
prism, a diamond divides light into a spectrum of colors and reflects 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. Diamond color has a significant impact on its value. Color also has
more influence on prices in higher clarity grades.
The professional color scale begins with the
highest rating of D for colorless, and travels down the alphabet to grade
stones with traces of very faint or light yellowish or brownish color. Usually,
the closer a diamond is to colorless, the more beautiful and valuable it is.
Diamonds graded D-F are considered "colorless," G-J are considered
"near-colorless," K-M are "slightly colored," and N-Y usually appear light
yellow or brown. Brilliant Earth only carries diamonds of superior color,
ranged D-J.
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D:
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Absolutely colorless
or icy white. The highest color grade-- extremely rare and most expensive. |
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E:
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Colorless. Only miniscule traces
of color can be detected by an expert gemologist -- also a rare diamond. |
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F:
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Colorless. Slight color detected
by an expert gemologist, but still considered a "colorless" grade -- a
high-quality diamond. |
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G-H:
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Near-colorless. Color noticeable
when compared to diamonds of better grades, but offers excellent value. |
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I-J:
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Near-colorless. Slightly
detected color – a good value. |
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K-Y:
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Slightly colored or colored. Not
carried by Brilliant Earth. |
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