Diamonds are found in almost every color of the spectrum, but the majority of diamonds will have tints of yellow or brown. Typically, the term Diamond Color refers to the absence of color, which is a marker of quality along with the other 4Cs of Diamond Clarity, Diamond Carat Weight, and Diamond Cut. This tutorial focuses on fancy color diamonds. Brown and yellow diamonds that exhibit more color than the Z grade within the D-Z color scale are known as fancy colors. Since most diamonds have a bit of yellow or brown, any other colors outside of those hues are called fancy colors. This includes pink, blue, green, black, red, and orange diamonds.
How are fancy colors graded?
Fancy Color begins beyond the grade Z in the color grading scale. (shown above) While colorless, near colorless, faint and light diamond colors are graded from the face-down position. Laboratory graders assess fancy color diamonds from the face-up or top view of the diamond.
Graders evaluate the hue, tone, and saturation of each diamond.
Hue - Graders evaluate the hue, tone, and saturation of each diamond.
Tone - A diamond's lightness or darkness in relation to body color
Saturation - The intensity or degree of color
mond may have a green secondary, and will subsequently be graded as "Fancy Greenish Yellow." A blue diamond may have a grey secondary color, and will be graded as "Fancy Greyish Blue" and so on.
