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Colour
The "colour" of a diamond is evaluated in terms of its degree of colourlessness |
The ideal diamond is completely colourless, and the most expensive. However, most diamonds which appear colourless actually have slight tones of yellow or brown.
The Gemmological Institute of America (GIA), the authority in diamond certification, grades colour alphabetically from D (totally colourless) to Z (heavily tinted).
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DIAMOND COLOUR |
D |
Absolutely colourless. The highest colour grade, which is extremely rare. |
E |
Colourless. Only minute traces of colour can be detected by an expert gemologist. A rare diamond.
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F |
Colourless. Slight colour detected by an expert gemologist, but still considered a "colourless" grade. A high-quality diamond. |
G-H |
Near-colourless. Colour noticeable when compared to diamonds of better grades, but these grades offer excellent value. |
I-J,K |
Near-colourless. Colour slightly detectable. An excellent value. |
L-M |
Noticeable colour. Not carried by CARATLANE |
N-Z |
Noticeable colour. Not carried by CARATLANE |
Please note the differences in grades are subtle, and mostly not visible to the naked eye. A diamond with a visible tint such as K and above can still be beautiful if it has good clarity and cut. Only diamonds graded N onwards have a tint visible to the naked eye. From S onwards, the tint grows more intense.
Natural colour diamonds come in all shades and colours of the rainbow. The most popular colours are combinations of pink, blue, brown, yellow, orange, green and red. Yellow is the most common naturally occurring fancy colour, while red, blue and green diamonds are very rare.
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