DIAMOND COLOUR
What does diamond Colour mean?
A Colour grade is applied to the diamond based on the lack of colour present in the diamond, therefore its whiteness.
Colour will usually appear in a diamond as pale yellow or brown and this is due to the presence of nitrogen when the diamond is forming.
A scale from D to Z is used to grade the lack of colour in a diamond. D is the highest grade which can be applied to a diamond in terms of the Colour.
A diamond with a higher colour grade is rarer and more valuable than a diamond which has a lower colour grade.
This grading scale is the most universally accepted and was created by the Gemmological Institute of America (GIA). GIA are one of the largest and most respected grading labs in the world.
We offer diamonds graded D to H.
Diamonds which are graded D, E or F are white/colourless diamonds. The difference between those colours is slight and will usually only be visible to a professional gemmologist. Having said this, those slight differences and the different grades do affect the value of the diamond.
Colours graded G and H are ‘near colourless’. They have just a slight hint of yellow to the diamond which is difficult to see without having that next to a colourless diamond to compare.
Which Colour grade would be right for you?
There are a few factors to consider when choosing the colour of your diamond. Your budget, along with how important this specification is to you, will almost always be one of those factors.
If you wouldn’t mind a slight hint of yellow in your diamond then a colour H diamond might work for you. For the majority of our customers they do prefer a white/colourless diamond and for these customers we recommend colour F as a minimum.
It is important to note that when choosing a diamond over 1.00ct any hint of yellow in the diamond will become more obvious.
What would we recommend?
We always recommend colour F as a minimum when it comes to diamond colour. Colour F is barely distinguishable from Colour D but comes at a lower cost therefore offering great value for money.
It is also important to take into account the colour of the metal you’ll be choosing for the jewellery as this can affect the appearance of the diamond. If you’re opting for a Yellow Gold solitaire design you could lower the colour grade as a Yellow Gold setting will complement a diamond with a lower colour grade. This is also the case with Rose Gold jewellery but not to the same extent.
If you were choosing a ring which has shoulder diamonds or a halo then we recommend choosing colour F as a minimum, where possible. The reason being that the smaller diamonds in the band of the ring and the halo will be colour F as standard and those white diamonds will make the hint of yellow in G and H graded diamonds more noticeable.
