What Is Diamond Colour?
Colour refers to the natural tint inherent in white diamonds. In nature, most white diamonds have a slight tint of yellow. The closer to being ‘colourless’ a diamond is, the rarer it is. The industry standard for grading colour is to evaluate each stone against a master set and assign a letter grade from ‘D’ (colourless) to ‘Z’ (light yellow). Any diamonds outside of the D–Z colour range are exceedingly rare and considered fancy colour diamonds, which are prized for their vibrant hues.
Does Diamond Colour Matter?
The colour of a diamond directly affects the stone’s appearance. Diamonds with a poor colour grade can appear slightly yellow instead of the desired brilliant white. Additionally, the Tiffany Gemmological Laboratory will not accept stones exhibiting strong or excessive fluorescence, which, in natural lighting, can give diamonds a milky appearance.
The Tiffany Difference
Tiffany’s Colour Standards
Diamond Education
Diamond Colour Scale
Tiffany only accepts engagement diamonds graded as D, E, F, G, H and I on the colour scale. Borderline diamond colour classifications are automatically given the more conservative grade.
The gemmological standards in this section refer only to individually registered engagement diamonds set in certain ring styles.
The gemmological standards in this section refer only to individually registered engagement diamonds set in certain ring styles.
Speak with a Tiffany Diamond Expert
Tiffany Diamond Experts are delighted to assist you as you begin your engagement ring journey, from sharing information on the 4Cs to trying on engagement rings or customising a design.
Frequently Asked Questions
Colour refers to the natural tint inherent in white diamonds. In nature, most white diamonds have a slight tint of yellow. The closer to being ‘colourless’ a diamond is, the rarer it is. The industry standard for grading colour is to evaluate each stone against a master set and assign a letter grade from ‘D’ (colourless) to ‘Z’ (light yellow).
White diamonds are given a colour grade of D (colourless) to Z (light yellow). Tiffany only accepts engagement diamonds in the ‘colourless’ and ‘near colourless’ range on a diamond colour scale. For engagement diamonds, Tiffany only accepts D, E, F, G, H and I colour diamonds. Fancy colour diamonds such as yellow or pink diamonds have their own colour grades.
Among white diamonds, D colour diamonds are of the highest grade. D colour diamonds are in the ‘colourless’ range on a diamond colour scale along with E colour diamonds and F colour diamonds. Fancy colour diamonds such as yellow or pink diamonds have their own colour grades.
The GIA diamond colour scale for white diamonds provides the universal standard for colour grading and features letter grades from ‘D’ (colourless) to ‘Z’ (light yellow). The closer to being ‘colourless’ a diamond is, the rarer it is. Tiffany only accepts engagement diamonds graded as D, E, F, G, H and I on the colour scale.
DEF
Colourless
GHIJ
Near Colourless
KLM
Faint Yellow
NOPQR
Very Light Yellow
STUVWXYZ
Light Yellow
DEF
Colourless
GHIJ
Near Colourless
KLM
Faint Yellow
NOPQR
Very Light Yellow
STUVWXYZ
Light Yellow
