Yellow Diamond Colour Grades

What is known as the normal color range diamonds of more intense color usually yellow but in some cases red green or blue are termed fancy color diamonds black diamonds are also fancy color diamonds.

Yellow diamond colour grades. They both contain k colored diamonds. Yellow diamonds are sometimes marketed as canary while this isn t a proper grading term it s commonly used in the trade to describe fancy yellow diamonds. Yellow diamonds are less common than the colorless to light yellow diamonds associated with the d to z color grading scale but far more common than blue pink and red diamonds. When buying a diamond does the color grade matter.

The ftc provides no guidelines for the use of the term fancy color in the us but there is general agreement in the international trade about what diamond color range is customary for fancy color diamonds. Just have a look at the diamond rings below. Same goes for grading yellow diamonds. And the difference between an h color and a k color is three color grades.

The one on the left is set on a pavé ring setting and the one on the right is set on a three stone ring. Diamond color matters but only to a certain point. A k colored diamond on a yellow gold ring will always look good on yellow gold. Cutters and dealers never consider a color or grade to be valid unless it was issued by gia.

When a diamond has enough yellow or brown or if it has any other tint at all it s graded as a fancy color diamond. Consumers should follow this rule as well. How does fluorescence affect yellow diamonds. The hue of a yellow diamonds can have different color appearances depending on its tone and saturation as seen in this chart which shows diamonds in the warmer hue range.

The way we approach the 4cs we separate cut and carat weight from color and clarity. Yellow is diamond s second most common fancy color. The majority of mined diamonds fall between white and pale yellow or brown. When grading colored diamonds beside determining the color or color combination of the diamond the color is also graded for intensity.

Fluorescence is a wildcard in yellow diamonds of any intensity. The diamonds with the least color get a grade of d while stones with more yellow or brown color receive grades further down the alphabet. Yellow gold makes slight amounts of yellow in a diamond less obvious while white gold or platinum mountings make the color in yellow diamonds more apparent. These are either yellow or brown diamonds that have more color than a z master stone or they exhibit a color other than yellow or brown.

There are yellow diamonds with a very strong color and there are yellow diamonds that the yellow shade is quite weak yellowish or even just a yellow tint. Colorless diamonds are definitely scarce and rank much higher on the color grading scale than a diamond that has even the softest touch of yellow. All other factors being equal the most valuable diamonds are those with the least color appearing white to the eye.