DIAMOND COLOR

Acting as a prism, a diamond can divide light into a spectrum of colors and reflect this light as colorful flashes called fire. Just as when looking through colored glass, color in a diamond will act as a filter, and will diminish the spectrum of color emitted. The less color in a diamond, the more colorful the fire, and the better the color grade.

COLOR	DESCRIPTION
D	Absolutely colorless. The highest color grade, which is extremely rare.
E	Colorless. Only minute traces of color can be detected by an expert gemologist. A rare diamond.
F	Colorless. Slight color detected by an expert gemologist, but still considered a "colorless" grade. A high-quality diamond.
G-I	Near-colorless. Color noticeable when compared to diamonds of better grades, but these grades offer excellent value.
J-L	Commercial White Color slightly detectable. An excellent value.
M-R	Very Light Yellow
S-W	Light Yellow
X-Z	Yellow

What Color Grade is best?

For the purist, look for a colorless diamond with a grade of D-F and a fluorescence rating of faint, inert, none, or negligible.
For an excellent value in a diamond with no noticeable color to the unaided eye, look for a near-colorless grade of G-I, and a fluorescence grade of medium or strong blue.
Or, if you'd rather not compromise on color but would like to stay on budget, choose a diamond with a good cut, SI1–SI2 clarity, and consider going with a strong fluorescence. It will still be beautiful to the unaided eye and you may prefer the unique effect of a strong fluorescence.