The four factors that are used to determine the quality and value of a diamond are called The Four C’s: cut, color, clarity and carat weight. The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) Diamond Grading System is used to evaluate and communicate the quality of diamonds and is the system used by the majority of the diamond industry.
This system was invented by Richard Litticoat, sometimes referred to as the Grandfather of Gemology, when he was the head of the GIA in 1941. He saw a need for a more exact system using universally accepted grades so that diamond dealers could communicate color and clarity in diamonds to each other. In 1991 the GIA saw a need for a more universally accepted system for grading the cut and proportions of a diamond and they came up with the GIA Cut Grading System.
In this series of we will explore each of the Four C’s. In this post, we will look closer at how diamonds are graded for color.
The diamond that most people think of as the traditional or ideal diamond is, in truth, totally colorless. It’s this absence of color that gives a diamond its great value. Even the slightest tinge of yellow or brown in a white diamond will decrease its value. The presence of color in an otherwise ideal white diamond shouldn’t be confused with a fancy colored diamond, whose value is based precisely on the quality of its color.
In this video you will learn how diamond color is graded.
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