Jewelry News

Diamond Colors

Jewelry.com, 04/01/2008

Most of the time, if you're buying a diamond, the better color grade it has - the less the color it has. For example, a D color diamond (which is the best color grade a diamond can have) means there's absolutely no color whatsoever in the stone. On the other hand, if a stone has a lower grade, say K, then inside the diamond's body are hints of yellow. As for the lowest color grade a white diamond can get (a 'Z') this means there's so much yellow in the stone that it looks somewhat murky. Don't confuse though a 'Z' color diamond with the much rarer and far more expensive Fancy Yellow diamonds - they're on a whole different scale.

By no means though are all diamonds white or yellow. Diamonds come in almost every color of the rainbow and then some. From black diamonds, which are considered mourning gems in certain areas of Eastern Europe, to the uber-rare and extremely expensive red diamonds.

The most popular colors in colored diamonds are yellow and pink. Most people have heard of the famed 'Canary Yellow' diamonds. This means it's an intense fancy yellow diamond. Pink diamonds became extremely sought-after when Ben Affleck gave Jennifer Lopez a stunning pink diamond engagement ring from Harry Winston.

But there are other colored diamonds that are even more valuable - notably reds, greens and blues. But these gems are extremely rare and are mostly bought by serious diamond connoisseurs (or people with a lot of money to spare).

According to the Natural Colored Diamond Association only one diamond in 10,000 possesses a natural color so strong that it can be classified as fancy color diamond.

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