Diamonds Color

The word color is actually misleading. What is looked for when you study a diamond is actually the lack of color. The less color a diamond has, the more unusual and valuable it is.

The international color scale uses an alphabet to describe diamonds. The range is from A to Z, where diamonds graded D and E are recognized as completely colorless and are the least common and thus the most valuable, colorless diamonds.

Which color should I choose? If you are looking for absolutely the best available on the market, you should look for a diamond with a D or E grade. That is of course if price is not an issue. If you are looking for a diamond which is still valuable but less expensive, we recommend F-J grades. If you are, however, willing to sacrifice colorlessness and are looking for cheaper diamonds, we recommend that you buy a diamond with a good cut and SI1-SI2 clarity. It will still be a beautiful diamond and the untrained eye will only see a slight difference. We do not offer diamonds with the worst color quality (O-Z).

International terms Traditional terms Description D-E River Completely colorless, the highest color grade, extremely unusual F-G Top Wesselton Colorless, some color can be seen by an expert (such as a gemologist), it is, however, accepted as colorless, very unusual H Wesselton Almost colorless, the color can be seen if the diamond is compared with colorless diamonds, a diamond still worth the money I Top Crystal Almost colorless, however, some color can be seen J Crystal Almost colorless, however, some color can be seen K-L Top Cape Slight tint, not sold by Lamastone M-N Cape Slight tint, not sold by Lamastone O-R Light Yellow Yellowish, not sold by Lamastone S-Z Yellow Yellowish, not sold by Lamastone

Fancy colored diamonds

There are even colored diamonds which can be very valuable. They are called fancy colored diamonds and are evaluated first of all for their intensity and distribution of natural color inside the diamonds. These diamonds are extremely unusual and expensive (often even more expensive than high quality colorless diamonds). Cut and clarity are not as important as they are in the evaluation of colorless diamonds. Instead, the most vital factors are how rich, deep and how well distributed the color is. The scale established by the American GIA is used to measure the intensity of the diamond. It is as follows: Faint, Very Light, Light, Fancy Light, Fancy, Fancy Intense, Fancy Vivid, Fancy Dark, Fancy Deep. Faint, Very Light, Light, Fancy Light, Fancy, Fancy Intense, Fancy Vivid, Fancy Dark, Fancy Deep.


After color, carat is the most important unit in evaluating fancy colored diamonds. Depending on the diamond’s color, the other materials have a great aesthetic role to play in jewelry design. For example, a yellow diamond goes better with yellow gold while a rose diamond goes better with rose gold, white gold or platinum.