natural color colour diamond encyclopedia encyclopædia naturel naturelle diamant couleur encyclopédie natural color diamond fancy color diamond color diamond encyclopedia sectionmedia stephane aisinber vivid purple pink brilliant intense pink hexagon intense pink radiant brownish pink pear shape light brown cushion chocolat brown brilliant deep reddish brown pear shape olive green emerald grayish-yellow oval deep orange brilliant brownish-yellow heart shape intense orange oval vivid yellow triangle vivid orange yellow marquise yellow cushion olive green brilliant intense yellow pear shape deep yellow triangle deep olive green marquise olive brown cushion grayish olive oval intense greenish yellow princess yellowish green bishops hat intense yellowish green radiant vivid green blue oval grey blue pear shape grey brilliant intense blue Asscher cut deep blue oval

Color grading of Cape and equivalent colors Colorless diamonds are not all the same color. In fact they range from completely transparent ("white") to slightly yellow or brown. The "whiteness" of a diamond affects its value and it is therefore necessary to have an objective basis for comparison, which is used throughout the world for the color grading of all colorless diamonds. This objective basis for comparison is a set of reference stones that is housed in Antwerp and was put together by major international diamond organizations. All reputable laboratories compare colorless diamonds to this set of stones, or against a replica that was itself generated in direct comparison with the "mother" set. The charts underneath summarize the color variations. International Color Grading Scale IDC* GIA** Old terminology Exceptional white + D Jager Exceptional white E River Rare white + F River Rare white G Top Wesselton White H Wesselton Slightly tinted white I - J Top Silver Tinted white K - L Top Cape Tinted color M - Z Cape - to yellow * International Diamond Council, **Gemological Institute of America A colorless diamond that has very faint undertones, such as brown, grey, or green, falls in the "tinted color" (M-Z) category and is given an additional adjective, "ECG", which stands for Equivalent Color Grading. If the color is more than faint - beyond Z - then we leave colorless diamonds behind and enter into the world of color diamonds.