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The 4 C’s of diamonds: Color

Diamonds color is all about colorlessness: The less color there is, higher the color grade and value will be (except are the fancy colored diamonds such as reds and blues that are much more expensive).

In my opinion the Color is hardest C of the 4 C’s to grasp. It isn’t hard to distinguish between D to M colors, but it is very hard especially for a non-trained eye to see the difference between F and I colors.

Today there are two main ways to determine the color of each diamond.

  1. Diamond color grading master set – a tool set that basically contains 5-10 CZ (Cubic Zirconia) stones that were artificially colored to look between E to N colors. When determining the color, a diamonds is put in between 2 CZ stones, it is turned upside down (this is how gemologists does) and then by looking at the diamond and comparing it the color is determined. It is an old school, but it is working well and accurate.
  2. Colorimeter – A very accurate device that was developed to determine diamonds color. Today after years of development the colorimeters are the most accurate tool.

Today most gemological labs use mostly the colorimeters but for some boarder line diamonds they still use the master set.

Most diamonds buyers want to buy a white diamond, but even within the “white” diamonds, you can find a range of colors: D is definitely the whitest but even a round well cut K color diamond will look white for a non-trained eye.

We will focus mainly on the most popular colors: D – J.

Most diamond buyers when starting to learn about diamonds, without even looking at one, would usually prefer the whitest colors D-F: I would to, if I had no previous knowledge about diamonds.

The fact is, after looking at so many diamonds: that if it was possible to provide you with ten pairs of diamonds of D color and G color, there is a very slight chance that you could have seen the difference.

My point is: if you have no budget issues you should go for D color, it is a collector’s item, it looks amazing and it will keep its value and even gain value for the long run.

If you are on a budget I would suggest you to focus on G – J colors.

You probably have already done research and you know that:

D-F colors group belongs to the colorless diamonds.

The G – I colors group belongs to the near colorless group.

The J color belongs to the faint yellow group.

D-F colors are definitely the “safest” colors. You know for sure that a D-F color diamond is “scientifically” White and there is no chance that you could even see the slightest shade of yellowness when looking at it.

The G-I color group as I mentioned before is called near colorless.

I would say that diamonds in this color range are a great choice, since they are white, but do not cost as much as the colorless diamonds.

I want to discuss each color in this group separately.

  • The G color is the leader of the group it is the closest one to F color so it will appear to be very white. G color is defiantly a great choice of color; it is less expensive than F color and looks almost the same.
  • The H color has a very slight shade of yellowness, which I doubt you will be able to observe. H color is also a very good choice, it has a great color and as before less expensive than G color.
  • The I color is the last in the group. I believe that only in I color you start observing a hint of yellowness in a diamond. I think that I color diamond when it is well cut and polished looks amazing. That is true for every diamond, but in I – J colors it is common to say that a well made diamond “gains” color (looks whiter). Also as before the price of I color is lower than H color.

The J color is last one I want to discuss.

Before I do, I want to clarify that K and L color and also lower colors of diamonds can look great as well. I do not want to cancel them as a choice. The fact is that most buyers do buy the G – J colors and this is reason for focusing on them.

diamons color

The J color has a slight hint of yellow color in it; you can actually notice it in a white light, turned on its back on a folded white paper.

I believe that J color is a great choice of color especially when you are under a tight budget or if you care more about Size, Clarity or Cut (the other 3 C’s).

After all the explaining I would like to emphasis again that choosing the right color for you is up to two things:

  1. The budget that you have.
  2. The order of color in your 4 C’s priority order.

In my opinion H and I colors will give the best return for your investment. They look great and they are not expensive as the colorless group (D-F) diamonds. I will also suggest not canceling the J and even K colors if color is not high in your 4 C’s priority order, especially if the diamond is well cut.

One last thing to know about diamonds color and is not exactly color related is the Diamonds Fluorescence.

The effect of Fluorescence over color is different between two groups of colors:

  1. The D – G colors group: Fluorescence will cause these diamonds to look milky/foggy in a way. On the other hand in the past, buyers liked this look since it gave the diamond a slight “bluish” look (most Fluorescence in diamonds is blue but it can be yellow and other colors) . Personally I prefer diamonds in this group without Fluorescence or with a slight Fluorescence.
  2. The H – K colors group: Medium to high Fluorescence diamonds in these colors will cause the diamond look whiter. Choosing a diamond with Fluorescence in these colors will give you a great return in look.

You are welcome to look at Jamesallen.com Diamond color tool to see the differences in colors.