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).

Diamond Colour Chart

Tiffany only accepts engagement diamonds in the “colourless” and “near colourless” range on a diamond colour scale. In other words, for engagement rings, Tiffany only accepts D colour diamonds, E colour diamonds, F colour diamonds, G colour diamonds, H colour diamonds and I colour diamonds. Borderline diamond colour classifications are automatically given the more conservative grade.

DEF

Colourless

GHIJ

Near Colourless

KLM

Faint Yellow

NOPQR

Very Light Yellow

STUVWXYZ

Light Yellow

The gemmological standards in this section refer only to individually registered engagement diamonds set in certain ring styles.

Does Diamond Colour Matter?

Colour is the second most important of the 4Cs because the colour grade 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.

“If you are buying a piece of jewellery from Tiffany, you are buying a piece of artwork.”

—Paul Domiciano, model maker

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 4Cs

Cut

Cut is determined by how a diamond’s facets interact with light.

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Clarity

Clarity is a measure of the purity and rarity of the stone.

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Carat

Carat denotes the weight of a diamond.

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Learn more about Tiffany engagement rings

Engagement Rings

In 1886, Tiffany introduced the engagement ring as we know it today. We are proud to build on that legacy as the leader in diamond traceability with responsibly sourced diamond rings.

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