The Diamond's Color

A Diamonds color is often misunderstood by people outside the diamond trade. Many people think of diamonds as colorless. In reality, truly colorless diamonds are quite rare. Most diamonds used in jewelry are nearly colorless with faint yellow or brown tints. These diamonds fall in the normal color range. Why does the color grading system now start at D? Before the D-Z Color Grading Scale, a variety of other symbols were loosely applied throughout the industry. Not only were A, B, and C used without clear definition, but some dealers, taking a cue from the poultry business perhaps, started grading their diamonds double A (AA). Other systems used numbers—both Arabic (0, 1, 2, 3) and Roman (I, II, III). Most dubious of all were systems that relied on descriptive terms like "gem blue" or "blue white." Terms like these are notoriously susceptible to misinterpretation. So the creators of the GIA Color Scale wanted to start fresh. They wanted symbols that would not have any association with earlier systems. Thus the GIA scale starts at the letter D. There may be some people still clinging to other grading systems, but no other system has the clarity and universal acceptance of the GIA scale.