When it Comes to Diamond Color, Less is More
When buying a diamond, experts recommend looking for diamonds that are colorless or white because they act like perfect prisms dividing light and producing flashes of color called "fire." The less color a diamond has, the more "fire" it will produce. "Fire" is the word used to describe that sparkle a diamond produces. Or, in other words, it's the "fire" that catches people's attention!
Color
When you are shopping for diamond jewelry and considering a diamond's color, you really are looking for the absence of color. The color of a diamond is determined before it is placed into a jewelry setting so that the grade is not affected by the color in the metal of the setting. After a diamond receives its grade, you can find it on the certification certificate that accompanies diamond jewelry. The higher the grade, the rarer the diamond— of course, any grade J and above will still produce nice "fire."
How does Color Grade Work?
The color grade of a diamond is established by a set of guidelines that were created by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA). Individual diamonds are viewed, compared and then graded against a set of "control stones." Each diamond is looked at under 10X magnification in order to detect color that may not be seen with the naked eye. A grade of "D," which denotes "absolute colorless," is the highest grade a diamond can receive and a "Z" grade, which denotes "noticeable color," is the lowest grade.
The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) Color Grades:
Absolutely colorless
Colorless, the color can only to be seen by a gemologist
Colorless, the color can only be detected but a gemologist but slightly more color that E
Near Colorless, the color is only noticeable when compared with more colorless diamonds
Near Colorless, slight color can be seen with the naked eye
Noticeable color
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