Color

Diamond color is graded according to the Gemological Institute of America - GIA - Color Grading Scale. As most educated diamond shoppers are aware, the more colorless a diamond is, the whiter it will appear. When diamonds are graded for color, it is preferable to do so against a white background so that no color is absorbed by the diamond from its surroundings.

The whitest diamond available is a D colored stone, with E and F also having no detectable color tones to the naked eye. Diamonds in the G to J range are near colorless to the naked eye. In diamonds graded J to M, the naked eye begins to detect a faint trace of yellow, but these shades of diamonds are still considered to be in the white range. Diamonds with color ratings of N and below carry a noticeable yellow tone.