Diamond color grading standard

The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) color scale is the industry standard for diamond grading. GIA diamond color grades range from D (colorless) to Z (light yellow or brown). Many people wonder why the GIA diamond grading scale starts from D grade. The Arcane system uses A-C, 1-3, and I-III, etc. GIA is to standardize these multiple systems and set the scale to start at level D.

Colorless diamonds: rare and high-quality diamonds with a pure ice color.

D-F color diamond

Nearly colorless diamonds: no color can be seen with the naked eye; high quality.

G-H color diamond

I-J color diamond

Light-colored diamonds: a moderate budget choice; it goes well with gold.

K color diamond

Diamonds of the L-Z color grade have a distinct warm yellow hue.

The color is more obvious in large diamonds

If you are buying diamonds under 1 carat, you may consider choosing I, J or K color grade diamonds. Choose a diamond larger than 1 carat? We recommend diamonds with a color grade of H or above.

Recommend diamond color based on shape and setting method

Some special-shaped diamonds can hide color better than other shapes—and the price can be up to 25% lower than other round cut diamonds. At the same time, the color of the precious metal, especially the color of the diamond, needs to be carefully considered. For example, gold paired with light-colored diamonds can present a warm glow and an outstanding shape. Platinum or white gold can better set off nearly colorless diamonds.

The difference between white diamonds and colored diamonds

When will diamond color become an advantage? As mentioned earlier, diamonds have a natural rainbow color spectrum-red, orange, yellow, green, blue, pink, purple and so on. They are also called colored diamonds. Only one in every 10,000 diamonds has a natural color, and the stronger the color, the rarer and more precious the diamond. Fancy colored diamonds use a completely different diamond color grading scale and may be more valuable than white diamonds.