The degree to which a diamond is colourless.

Colourless diamonds are more valuable as they permit the most refraction of light, and thereby sparkle. Off white diamonds absorb light, inhibiting brilliance.

White diamonds are graded on a scale established by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) which ranges from D (colourless) to Z. The letter “D” on this scale means that the diamond is colourless. It has a "pure" or "white" colour. This is the highest grade in diamond colour and has the most value. Differences between one grade is very subtle.

 

The fact that diamonds come in different colours escape the minds of many people. Of course, some people do have preferences when it comes to the colour of their diamond. However, the most sought after colour is “white”. In other words, the absence of colour is what many people look for regarding their diamonds. The less “colour” a diamond has, the higher the value. Therefore, if a diamond has a yellowish tint to it, it is less valuable.

Reading the scale is actually quite rudimentary and anyone that knows how to gauge the value of a coloured diamond through the lettering system will have an advantage.

Beyond the “yellow” diamonds, there are other colours that these beautiful stones come in. These types of colours are known as “fancy colours” and can be quite expensive due to their rarity. The most common colour that diamonds come in is actually “brown”. These types of diamonds were found within Roman jewellery that date as far back as 1 A.D. The ratio of finding a coloured diamond among non-coloured ones is 1:10,000.

Coloured diamonds were not considered very valuable until the 1980’s. Australian marketers began to publically promote their brown stones as fancy “cognac” or “champagne” coloured diamonds. Many people within the general public shared the sentiment that the marketers had with these diamonds and finding them within different jewellery stores became more common. Therefore, their popularity began to grow. In 1987, there was an auction for a “red diamond” that was successfully sold for the Sultan of Brunei. When this happened, the fascination for coloured diamonds really began to spread throughout various continents, and their prices began to sky-rocket. Beyond the commonly found “brown diamond”, the colour “yellow” comes in secondary within the marketplace.

The kinds of coloured diamonds that are usually found are:

• Brown
• Yellow
• Blue
• Pink
• Red
• Grey
• Champagne
• Green
• Black

 

“Blue diamonds” are found in Brazil, India, South Africa and Australia. “Green diamonds” originally thought to have appeared in India, are being traced back to Brazil by professional gemologist. Since “red”, “pink”, and “purple” diamonds all share the same tint, they are considered to be “sisters” from one another because they all share the same origin. The Argyle Mine in Western Australia has been known to produce these types of diamonds since the 1980’s. It is also known that the Argyle Mine also creates “orange-coloured” diamonds on a periodic basis.

Knowing that diamonds do indeed come in a plethora of different colours is something that you can now embrace. Love may be colourless, but diamonds don’t have to be. Take a look into the long list of shades, tints, and contrasts that diamonds come in. If you do this, there is a good chance that you will find the ideal diamond for the person that has captured your heart.