Gemstone guide
Diamond Color
How diamond color is described and graded, from colorless stones to warmer shades.
The scale
From D to Z
The scale runs from D, completely colorless, to Z, where a warm tint is obvious. It starts at D because the system deliberately broke with the looser scales that came before it.
D E F are colorless. G H I J are near-colorless. K onward shows a faint warmth.
What it means for you
Where the value sits
Neighboring grades are effectively indistinguishable once a stone is set. D and F look the same in a ring; the price does not. The near-colorless band is where most people get the best of it — white against the metal, well short of the top-of-scale premium.
Yellow gold is forgiving here. Warmth in the metal hides warmth in the stone, so a J can look flawless in yellow gold and slightly warm in platinum.
One more thing
This scale is for diamonds
Colored stones are not graded on it. For those, color is the main thing you are buying rather than a defect to minimize — see color in colored stones.