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 color diamonds Natural color diamonds are a minor occupation for the laboratories, who primarily focus their activities on their largest market, i.e. that of colorless diamonds. In order to grade the color of a colorless diamond, the laboratories have established a precise and relatively simple nomenclature, which is based on sets of master stones that range from colorless (D color - like diamond) to slightly yellowish or brownish colors (Z). The laboratories have created a similar system to determine the color of natural color diamonds. Each organization has established its own method and nomenclature for color diamonds, which often yields varying results! As a general rule, they refer to color charts that have about 1500 colors (for example the Munsell Book of Color), and they try to find the color that most closely resembles that of the stone they are grading. But they will never find the exact color since they are comparing the color on an opaque sheet of paper to the color in a transparent diamond. Some laboratories do use sets of master stones to make more realistic comparisons - but of course, given the price of natural color diamonds and the infinite range of colors, they simply cannot have a set of master stones that will match every conceivable hue they might encounter. The main problem with this system is the naming of a color: the charts only use color names, either on their own or associated with one another, which is not adequate to express the infinite nuances of colors in the spectrum. So a pumpkin color diamond will be called "orange brown" and turquoise will be called "greenish-blue"; some stones end up being given a series of colorful adjectives, such as "brownish-green orange yellow" - with the end result that it is difficult to know a stone's color without having seen the stone itself. Moreover, it's a very limiting system: a "brownish-pink" diamond could just as easily be old rose as burgundy. And all this has a very damaging effect on the industry since clients usually seek "pure" colors. They'd like an olive stone, or a cognac stone, or an aquamarine stone - a stone whose color, whatever it is, suits their taste. Although this is not necessarily true, clients do think that a stone with a "pure" color is nicer than a stone that's greyish, brownish or yellowish.