The 4 C's
The Colour Grading of Diamonds
Most diamonds appear to be white in colour, however jewellers grade diamonds on how ‘colourless’ they are. Almost all diamonds have a very slight hint of colour, although it is barely discernable to the naked eye. The rarest diamonds have no colour at all
The GIA and CIBJO scale illustrated shows how different colours are termed, although without specialist training and correct laboratory conditions, it is impossible to accurately grade diamonds.
Although a colourless diamond is rare and valuable, a diamond which shows a strong colour – known as a ‘Fancy Colour’ is also rare and valuable.
Natural yellow/brown shades such as Champagne and Cognac are popular choices, whilst naturally coloured reds, blues, pinks and greens are highly desirable and extremely rare.
Fancy colours are very rare so to meet consumer demand scientists have developed a method of enhancing colour by irradiating diamonds.
Any diamond which has been enhanced will be clearly labelled by Diamond Investments and all other reputable diamond suppliers in line with DTC and CIBJO Guidelines and Trading Standards.
The 4 C's
The Colour Grading of Diamonds
The clarity of a diamond is a measure of how free from inclusions it is. An inclusion is a natural feature within a diamond such as a tiny mineral deposit which becomes trapped inside the diamond whilst it was forming underground millions of years ago.
Almost all diamonds have a few extremely small inclusions, which are difficult to see without magnification, and have very little or no affect on the brilliance of a diamond. A diamond with no internal inclusions is graded as IF – Internally Flawless, and these diamonds are very rare and very valuable.
The GIA Grading Scale shown opposite assesses the size, quantity and position of any inclusions. The Clarity of a diamond affects the value, however when selecting your diamond it is important to consider all the ‘4 C’s’ before making a choice. See our Value of Diamonds section for more information.
