Diamond Color Guide

A chemically pure and structurally perfect diamond is perfectly transparent with no hue, or color. However, in reality almost no gem-sized natural diamonds are absolutely perfect. The color of a diamond may be affected by chemical impurities and/or structural defects in the crystal lattice. Depending on the hue and intensity of a diamond's coloration, a diamond's color can either detract from or enhance its value. For example, most white diamonds are discounted in price as more yellow hue is detectable, while intense pink or blue diamonds (such as the Hope Diamond) can be dramatically more valuable. Out of all colored diamonds, red diamonds are the rarest of all.

Diamonds occur in a restricted variety of colors — steel gray, white, blue, yellow, orange, red, green, pink to purple, brown, and black. Colored diamonds contain interstitial impurities or structural defects that cause the coloration, while pure diamonds (which are exceedingly rare) are perfectly transparent and colorless.

Most diamond rating agencies use the diamond color scale developed by The Gemological Institute of America (GIA), which uses a "D" to "Z" scale, grading the color of "white" (non-fancy colored) diamonds, where "D" is colorless and "Z" is yellow:

* colorless: D, E, F
* near colorless: G, H, I, J
* faint yellow or brown: K, L, M
* very light yellow or brown: N, O, P, Q, R
* light yellow or brown: S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, Z

Diamonds that rate toward the colorless end of the range are sometimes known as "high-color" diamonds, and those toward the other end, "low-color" diamonds. These terms refer to the relative desirability (as demonstrated by market prices) of color grades, not the intensity of the color itself.

Quality online diamond stores, like Blue Nile, attempt to stand out by only carrying colors rated J or better, the colorless or near-colorless diamonds.