Does Diamond Color Matter? Color is the second most important of the 4Cs because the color grade directly affects the stone's appearance. Diamonds with a poor color grade can appear slightly yellow instead of the desired brilliant white.
Clarity is more important in shapes like emerald, princess, and asscher. Colour is important for cushion, radiant, pear and oval. Generally speaking, as long as you choose an eye-clean diamond, your diamond will still look beautiful in terms of clarity.
Near colorless diamonds, (G, H, I, and J grades,) are the best value in diamonds. G color is just one step down from the truly Colorless tier, so it still appears very colorless. H color is another good “near colorless” choice and is, in my opinion, the last color grade where yellow or brown is not visible face up.
D color diamond is the highest grade and is extremely rare—the highest color grade that money can buy.
Generally speaking, the naked eye cannot tell the difference between one or two color grades on a loose diamond. Once a diamond is mounted into a setting the eye cannot tell the difference between three color grades.
A VS1 diamond has slightly fewer and smaller inclusions than a VS2 diamond. In other words, a VS1 diamond is slightly better than a VS2 diamond.
The best diamond clarity grade is FL, flawless.
Tiffany only accepts engagement diamonds in the “colorless” and “near colorless” range on a diamond color scale. In other words, for engagement rings, Tiffany only accepts D color diamonds, E color diamonds, F color diamonds, G color diamonds, H color diamonds and I color diamonds.
Color also has a big impact on the sparkle produced by a diamond. Because diamonds reflect white light, colorless diamonds produce the best sparkle and fire. In fact, the more color a diamond has, the less likely it is to reflect white light.
Out of the 4 C's of diamonds, the cut of the diamond is the most important. This is followed by color, clarity, and carat weight.
The best diamond color grade is D color. This means the diamond is completely clear with no shade of yellow (or anything else) in it. The best color for a diamond that you will put in your engagement ring is not D. You can put a G, H or I color diamond in a ring and it will look the same while costing a lot less.
Colorless diamonds are “icy” white, and near-colorless diamonds do not show any obvious body color to most observers. Ideal cut diamonds appear whiter than average cuts and diamond color is more noticeable from the side where the influence of light return does not impact your perception of color.
As long as you choose a round diamond with a color grade of J or above, you shouldn't see any noticeable color. Princess-cut diamonds also hide inclusions well, but because inclusions in the corners can make the diamond more susceptible to chipping, clarity is more important than color.
Clarity is not without its merits but it's the least important of the Four C's. SI2 or higher diamonds are classed as “eye-clean”.
Round Cut Diamonds Sparkle The Most
The standard round cut diamond comprises 57 facets (58 including one on the bezel). This cut heightens the diamond's sparkle and shine. Because round diamonds have the largest number of facets, they create the most sparkle.
Keep the diamond clean.
This is probably the most important (and affordable) tip. A diamond that's dirty will not sparkle. Diamonds have an affinity for grease, so it's important to clean them regularly. Find out how to keep your diamond clean.
When light enters an ideally-cut diamond, the light bounces around its internal facets, bends, and exits through the top of the diamond. This is known as refraction. Refraction creates a sparkle in a diamond as a result of light bouncing around the inside, which hits your eye when the stone is in motion.
As the diamond is moving, an effect known as scintillation occurs. It is seen as alternating flashes of spectral colored light, the light and dark contrast that moves throughout the diamond. It is dynamic, and it results in sparkle. You should note that a poorly cut grade is dull and is prominent in dark areas.
Their explanation for this, was that they thought that GIA was too soft on grading. It is widely accepted that Tiffany & Co. grade at least as good as GIA. In fact is has been stipulated that if a diamond is on the border of a colour grade, ie an F-G colour, Tiffany & Co. will be slightly stricter than GIA.
EMERALD CUT DIAMOND
The Emerald cut is one of the most timeless of all of the diamond cuts. It is elegant and beautiful, particularly because it's recommended to aim for higher colours and clarities; there is no hiding when it comes to an emerald cut.
The most expensive diamond cut is the round brilliant because it wastes the highest amount of rough stone – around 60% on average – during the cutting process. This large quantity of discarded material means that consumers will pay for a larger stone than they end up with to help cover costs.
I3 diamond clarity represents the lowest diamond clarity grade available.
0.70 Carats
A sweet spot in the compromise between size and price, diamonds around the 0.70-ct mark make great engagement ring stones. A diamond budget of about $2,000 can get you a fine diamond at this weight.
VVS1 and VVS2 both have excellent clarity, and you won't really be able to tell the difference when you look at the two. In a VVS1 diamond, the inclusions are so tiny you can't even see them at 10x magnification. In a VVS2 the inclusions are still very tiny, but you can begin to see them at that magnification.