When gemologists grade diamonds for color, they look for the absence or presence of yellow, brown, or gray tints. When a diamond is completely devoid of color, it is deemed colorless -- this is regarded as extremely rare. Because colorless diamonds allow more light to pass through than diamonds with tints of color, they emit more fire and brilliance -- making them sought after and valuable. The rarity of colorless diamonds also adds to their value.

Diamonds are graded on a color scale ranging from D to Z, with D being completely colorless and Z containing heavy tints of yellow, brown, or gray. The closer a diamond is to D on the color scale, the less color it contains and the more valuable it is. Only a highly skilled professional will detect any color in E or F stones, and the color in diamonds rated up to J will be virtually invisible when set in a ring or other jewelry. When directly comparing diamonds for color, most consumers are unable to detect color in diamonds graded D-K. We recommend selecting a diamond with a color grade of K or better.

Explanations of color terminology:

• D: (Absolutely Colorless)
  The highest color grade and extremely rare.
• E – F: (Colorless)
  Any color present can only be detected by an expert gemologist. Highly sought after grades.
• G – J: (Near Colorless)
  Color is only noticeable when compared to diamonds of better grades, but these offer excellent value.
• K – M: (Faint Yellow)
  Slight color noticeable to the naked eye; however, if the stone is well cut it will still have the brilliance and fire of a better color graded diamond with a lesser cut.
• N - Z: (Very Light & Light Yellow)
  Color noticeable to the naked eye. Not recommended by DiamondsRight.

Fancy Colors

Diamonds also come in a range of natural fancy shades such as yellow (known as canary), blue, green, and pink. These colors are referred to as fancies and are evaluated by a different set of colored standards. Believe it or not, these fancy diamonds are particularly rare and like their colorless counterparts, can also come attached to a high price tag. Some fancy colors can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars for diamonds of one carat or less! Bear in mind that color does not have an exclusive impact on a diamond’s value. The value of a stone is affected by a combination of qualities including clarity, cut, carat weight as well as color.

Fluorescence

Fluorescence is not directly related to a diamond’s color. This separate characteristic refers to the diamond’s ability to fluoresce under ultraviolet (UV) light. Our sun emits some UV light, but it is usually not great enough to detect fluorescence in a diamond. The most common source of UV is black light. When exposed to UV light, many diamonds will give off a distinctive glowing blue coloration. Although fluorescence may be displayed in various colors, blue is the most common in diamonds. The fluorescence of a diamond is defined by its intensity as either None, Faint, Medium, Strong, or Very Strong. Although fluorescence is a characteristic that can be measured, it is seldom an issue when selecting a diamond.