Diamond Color
Diamonds usually come in a colorless or near colorless form, oftentimes they have a slight yellow color to them. Colorless diamonds are highly valuable and sought after. The following describes the color grading system designed by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) and is the standard that diamonds are held to:
D : This is the highest color grade and is completely colorless, making a D colored stone very rare.
E / F : E and F colored stones are still considered colorless, but there is a very slight tinge to it which can be detected by an expert gemologist, though not obvious to laypeople.
G / H : Stones in this color grade are near colorless and the difference between these and stones of a higher color grade are noticeable only when compared to each other.
I / J : These stones are also near colorless, but there is a trace of coloring to them compared to stones of a higher color grade.
K / M : Stones in this color grade have a faint yellow tinge to them and it is best to set them in yellow gold.
N / Z : Stones in this color grade have a light yellow tinge to them and it is also best to set them in yellow gold.
Fancy Colored Diamonds
Only one out of 10,000 natural diamonds are considered to be a fancy colored diamond, making fancy colors extremely rare and extremely valuable. Fancy colored diamonds command premier prices although most are under one carat. Also, fancy colored diamonds are more expensive than their colorless counterparts.
Red Diamonds
The rarest of them all, natural red diamonds are highly sought after and since they are so uncommon, their selling prices are naturally very high. The Moussaieff Red is a particularly famous red diamond and weighs 5.11 carats. It was cut from a 13.90 carat piece of rough and yielded 5.11 carats in a trilliant shape.
Pink Diamonds
Pink diamonds have recently become very trendy although they are also rare finds. Out of all the diamond mines in the world, the Argyle mine in Australia produces the most pink diamonds, with 90% of the worlds supply coming from the mine. The Steinmetz Pink is the largest vivid pink diamond known and is also internally flawless. It took 20 months to cut it into the 59.60 carat oval diamond it is today.
Yellow Diamonds
Yellow diamonds are a bit more common in the group of fancy colored diamonds. Nitrogen atoms in place of carbon atoms are what gives yellow diamonds their color. The Tiffany Yellow and the Allnatt are two of the most famous fancy yellow diamonds known.
Green Diamonds
Natural green diamonds are quite uncommon and most green diamonds are treated in a lab to achieve their color. Natural green diamonds underwent irradiation while they were beneath the earth's surface. The Ocean Dream is a famous natural blue-green diamond that weighs 5.51 carats.
Blue Diamonds
Natural blue diamonds have become very famous due to the widely recognized Hope Diamond. The blue color comes from boron atoms trapped within the diamond's molecular structure. Another famous blue diamond is the 27.64 carat Heart of Eternity.