Four Factors (4CS) That Determine The Quality of Diamond: Color

Four Factors (4CS) That Determine The Quality of Diamond: Color

The factors that determine diamond quality is cut, color, clarity, and the carat weight or what is known as the 4 Cs. From our previous blog post, we covered the cut and clarity of a diamond and how these two factors affect diamond value. In this post, let's cover diamond color.

Colour

When buying a diamond, colour is one of the important factors to consider. Ironically, the best diamond is the one that has no colour or referred to as white diamond. The highest grading for a white diamond is at D then slides down alphabetically to Z.

Experts gauge and decide on a diamond's color grading by looking at it upside down. The procedure reduces the diamond's sparkle factor when placed against white paper. This gives the grader a chance to check the diamond color against a standard chart of colors.

If you’re considering to buy a single stone ring, the general recommendation is to not go below G. Any point below that, you will start to get slightly less clear white color.

Just as the other C’s in diamond quality, color makes an impact on diamond value. Diamonds can vary from blue white to yellow brown. Nonetheless, the lighter the color of a diamond, the rarer and more valuable it is.

The GIA Color Scale

image source: modified from gia.edu