The color of a diamond is
the second only to carat weight in importance as far as its affect on price.
Diamonds come in almost any color imaginable.
Except for some of the natural fancy colors,
with all other aspects being equal, the closer the stone is to colorless the more valuable it is.
Most diamonds have at least a trace of yellow or brown color.
If a diamond does not have enough color to be called fancy, then it is graded in a scale of colors ranging from Colorless to Light Yellow, "D" through "Z". A diamond with a "D" color is considered to be colorless. If the color is more intense than "Z", it is considered fancy. A fancy yellow diamond fetches a higher price than a light yellow diamond.
| Color | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | Fancy |
| Scale | Colorless | Near Colorless | Faint Yellow | Very Light Yellow | <------Light Yellow------> | Color | ||||||||||||||||||
A diamond can only be definitively graded for color in a laboratory,
under a special light, and only while unmounted or "loose".
Once a loose diamond is mounted on a ring, even the
trained professional cannot always tell the difference between,
a "D" color and an "E" or "F" color diamond!
This difference can be very important
when you start looking at high-end stones.
As an example, if you start with a
1 carat stone that has a clarity of VS1 and is a K color and move up to an H color
the price will increase by approximately $1700, if you move up to a D (colorless)
the increase will be approximately $3700 per carat.