Empire Diamond Corporation - Color

Diamonds come in a wide array of colors. The most popular one is the white/ “colorless” diamond. While this particular type of diamond appears colorless to the naked eye, most diamonds actually contain some sort of yellow or brown pigmentation. Diamonds are graded on a color scale developed by the Gemological Institute of America. The grading starts with D (truly colorless) and ends with Z (warmer colors with heavier hints of yellow and brown). Each diamond is examined under controlled lighting settings and compared to the master color scale in order to determine the appropriate letter grade.

The truly colorless diamonds are in the D-E-F grade and are extremely rare and hence, more valuable. Because the color differences are so subtle and difficult for the naked eye to distinguish, it is important that you ask your jeweler for a GIA report. At Empire Diamond Corporation, we abide by the GIA grading system and have GIA reports for all our loose diamonds. These reports are extremely detailed and provide accurate information and color grade of the respective diamond.

This color grade system applies for white diamonds, but other diamonds of color do exist. Intense blue, green, yellow, orange, pink and red diamonds can be found in nature. These colors are referred to as “fancy colors” and are extremely rare. Consequently, they are extremely valuable and highly treasured.