Color Grading

WELCOME TO OUR TUTORIAL ON DIAMOND COLOR!

"Color" in a diamond refers to the relative body color of
the gem material which is graded on a scale. The scale is based on the
alphabet; it starts with the letter D and graduates all the way to the
letter Z. The scale is broken up
into 5 categories depicted in the slider graphic below. The
saturation of tint increases as we move further down the color scale.
The color a diamond most often graduates to is yellow, followed by
brown, then gray. These tone
differences can impact value.
The yellow tone is caused by the presence of nitrogen in the
earth at the time the carbon is crystallizing. The lack of nitrogen in
the earth causes the diamond to be more colorless. The more nitrogen is
present in the diamond the more
yellow it will be. The brown tone is caused by the presence
of nickel and the gray tone is caused by the presence of hydrogen.

If you're looking for "white" diamond you'll want to look
within the D-J color range. If you don't mind a faint tint you can
consider K-M. After the M color the tint becomes more obvious. Refer to
our videos on diamond color here.