• Colour grades refer to how colourless or white a Diamond is.
• Grades of colour range from D (colourless) the highest possible, while Z (yellow tint) is the lowest.

Colour in a diamond shows itself as a yellow tint. This is why a diamond’s colour grade is based on its lack of colour. The closer a diamond is to being white, having no colour, the more valuable it is compared to those with visible colour.

Diamond colour is graded from D to Z, where D is rated as the most colourless, and therefore the most sought after and costly. Lower down the scale, the colours become more yellow.

After cut, colour is generally considered the second most important characteristic when selecting a diamond. This is because the human eye tends to detect a diamond’s sparkle first, and colour second.

COLOUR GRADE SCALE

DIAMOND COLOUR

• D – Completely colourless. The highest colour grade. Most valuable and desirable. Extremely rare.
• E-F – Colourless. Tiny traces of colour can be detected by an expert gemmologist.
• G-H – Near-colourless. Colour difficult to detect to the untrained eye, unless compared side by side to diamonds of better grades. Exceptional value.
• I-J – Near-colourless. Very slightly tinted. Outstanding value.
• K-M – Visible colour tint – Faint Yellow. Not carried by Lover’s Rock.
• N-Z – Visible colour tint – Very light yellow to light yellow. Not carried by Lover’s Rock

WHICH COLOUR IS RIGHT FOR ME?

• D-F – For the purist, who desires a colourless diamond of the finest quality and utmost value.
• G-I – With little or no visible colour to the unaided eye, a near-colourless grade diamond offers the best balance of quality and excellent value for money
• J – For those on a tighter budget this is a great value for money option, as although slightly tinted, it is harder to detect when set in jewellery.