Diamond Colour

Colour

The term 'colour' when used to refer to diamonds is a misleading term as white diamonds are essentially all colourless. ZS Diamonds can set your diamond ring with a 'fancy coloured diamond', such as a pink diamond; although it is important to note that it is only white diamonds which are described in this section.

The colours of white diamonds are graded on a scale using the letters of the alphabet from D to Z. The letters essentially correspond to the level of colour in the diamond, the rarest being in the 'colourless' range. The closer up the alphabet towards D, the less colour there is in the diamond. The closer along the scale you get towards Z, the more yellow is in the diamond.

Colourless Diamonds

The rarest and most expensive diamonds are those in the range D-F which are colourless, followed by G-H which are white and then I-J which are slightly tinted. It can be difficult to tell the difference between a diamond in the colourless range and the near colourless range using the naked eye. This is particularly true after the diamond has been set within the ring itself.

Those diamonds further down the scale, particularly within the light yellow and yellow ranges, do have a noticeable yellow colour to them, even to the naked and untrained eye. We do not offer these types of diamonds on this website.

As with all of the grades associated with diamonds, the colour can have a dramatic effect on the price of the stone. With diamond colour, this is predominantly due to the rarity of colourless diamonds compared with those lower down in the scale.

Fluorescence

Another characteristic that does not affect the colour grade of a diamond but is worth keeping in mind is diamond fluorescence. When choosing a diamond, you should always look for a fluorescence of either none or faint. Medium, Strong and Very Strong fluorescence can make some diamonds appear to have a slightly blue or milky white tint in strong sunlight or under an ultraviolet light.

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