Diamond color chart, with prices
Color grades run from D (no tint) to Z (obviously yellow). The scale below shows the grades people actually buy, D to K, priced on the same 1 carat round VS2 stone — so the cost of each letter is visible next to the letter itself.
Tints exaggerated so the progression is visible on a screen; in a ring, D to H look the same color.
What each grade costs — 1 carat round, VS2, Very Good cut
| Grade | Group | What you see | Retail | vs. G |
|---|
Which color to buy
White gold or platinum: G or H. The metal is cold and white, so a warmer stone shows against it — but G and H do not. Yellow or rose gold: I or J. The metal warms every stone, so a colorless one gains nothing and a near-colorless one loses nothing. Spending on D–F in yellow gold is paying for a difference the setting erases.
Larger stones show more color because there is more material for light to travel through. Above 2 carats, go one grade higher than you would at 1 carat. Elongated shapes (oval, pear, marquise) concentrate color at the tips; step cuts (emerald, Asscher) hide less than brilliants. Fluorescence, listed on the certificate, can make an I–K stone look a grade whiter in daylight; it is a discount on the certificate and an upgrade on the hand.