The Four C’s – Colour
While many of us believe that all diamonds are white or clear, this is in fact not true. Many diamonds have varying shades of yellow in them, but in some cases the colour is rarely visible to the untrained eye. Here we discover the details around how a diamond’s colour is identified and graded.
What Does it Mean?
As part of the “Four C’s”, the colour of a diamond isn’t actually referring to a “special” colour like pink or canary yellow (also known as “fancies”). The colour rating of a diamond means it has been graded by an expert and meets a certain criteria set by the GIA (Gemological Institute of America) which was created in the late 1950’s. This internationally accepted grading scale replaced others such as Capes and Top Wesselton.
Today’s Colour Grading System
The GIA’s colour grading scale is based on the alphabet and each letter has a specific description or meaning attached to it:
• D, E, F = Colourless
• G, H, I, J = Near Colourless
• K, L, M = Faint Yellow
• N, O, P, Q, R = Very Light Yellow
• S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, Z = Light Yellow
To the untrained eye, a diamond with varying grades of colour viewed separately would be difficult to spot. However, once viewed side by side, many of the colour differences would be easily recognisable.
Choosing a Lower Colour Graded Diamond
Everyone would like to own the “faultless” diamond that is perfectly white, has no inclusions, is the size of a boulder and sparkles like a star. But unfortunately for most people, that particular type of diamond is well out of reach. Luckily, all is not lost! Choosing a diamond that is graded in the higher ends of the colour scale doesn’t mean you are getting a bad diamond. As previously mentioned, unless you are comparing diamonds side-by-side, many people will not even be able to detect the colour within your diamond. The only consideration to make is if you are choosing an engagement ring with multiple diamonds. If so, try to purchase all of the stones with a similar colour grading so they all look as beautiful as each other.
At the end of the day, the colour grading of a diamond, while important, is not the be all and end all. The clarity, carat weight and cut all play a huge part in making a diamond beautiful, so when looking to buy one, always remember to take all “Four C’s” into account, not just the colour!
Simon Middleton is part of the Diamond Exchange team who provide advice on buying engagement rings, how to choose diamonds and diamond rings.
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