Almost every diamond sold today is rated using the GIA colour scale even if it hasn’t been certified by the GIA. The GIA rates diamonds on a scale of D (flawless) through Z (light colour). All D-Z diamonds are considered white even though they contain varying degrees of colour. Fancy coloured diamonds (yellow, pink, blue) are graded on a different scale.
D-F grade diamonds are considered colourless. The difference between them is not usually visible to the untrained eye. These diamonds should be set in white gold or platinum as yellow gold will reflect colour thereby not doing justice to their colourless effect.
G-J grade diamonds are termed near colourless and can be nearly half the price of a D-F diamond.
K-M diamonds have a faint colour more easily detectable to the naked eye. If they’re set in yellow gold they can actually look quite flattering and they do offer very good value at sometimes half the price of a G diamond.
N-R have very light colour and are much less expensive whilst S-Z have too much colour to be called colourless for most customers.
The best value for what would appear to the naked eye as a colourless diamond, is a G-J grade. Colour is more visible in a larger diamond so opt for G-H if your diamond is over a carat. These diamonds look just like higher colour grade diamonds once set in a ring so your biggest investment should be in higher cut rather than colour as this is the most important factor in a diamond’s brilliance. The more facets a diamond has, the more light it reflects and the more colour it hides. For this reason, a lower colour grade diamond is better suited to round, princess and other brilliant cuts than emerald and asscher cuts.
