Bottom Line Recommendations:
- D color diamonds are the whitest diamonds on the color scale. Take a look here. They are also the rarest and command high prices. While you may achieve the same white look with diamonds lower in the color scale, knowing that your diamond is completely colorless gives it its psychological value.
- Even while buying your D color diamond, it is important to view 360-degree videos of the stone to see how it actually looks and to not just rely on the diamond report. Any blemishes or inclusions that affect the appearance of the diamond will be seen easily. View a good example of this here.
- We recommend buying from James Allen and the Blue Nile. Apart from excellent customer service and education resources, they also offer the best quality 360-degree videos and images in the market.
- You can get a great deal on a D color diamond by also going lower on the clarity scale. Never compromise on the cut quality as this has the largest impact on the brilliance, fire, and scintillation of the diamond.
- When choosing the setting for your D color diamond, only go for white gold or platinum. Using yellow gold will cause the yellow color of the setting to shine through the diamond making it appear like a lower color grade diamond.
Next to the diamond cut, the color is the most import of the 4Cs when evaluating your diamond. The brilliance and light performance of a diamond is what draws the eye to it. The second thing that any observer is going to notice is the color or tint in the diamond.
Diamonds are graded using the GIA color scale that starts from D-Z as you can see here.
Diamonds that are colorless are given the higher grades and are of higher quality than diamonds that have a tint and appear pale yellow.
Why the GIA color grade starts at D
The GIA color scale is the most internationally recognized method of judging the color in a diamond. It starts at D for the completely colorless diamonds. Diamonds with more color will be ranked lower in the color scale and will command lower prices.
In the early days, names such as “river” or “water” were used to describe colorless diamonds. The diamonds could also be named and categorized according to the location where they originated from. Diamonds from South Africa’s Cape of Good Hope were called Cape diamonds.
The GIA developed its color scale to avoid categories that were less defined such as the A and the AAA method.
Since numbers were already in use and the letter A was also being used, the GIA decided to use letters and to start with a letter that was less commonly used thus the D color scale.
D color diamonds
These have the highest grade on the GIA color scale. Their prices are also the highest. Just 8 percent of all diamond buyers will choose a stone in the D color grade.
On the color scale, the D, E and F color diamonds are considered colorless diamonds. The naked eye will not be able to tell the difference between these grades and only a trained gemologist can tell them apart.
Note that while choosing a setting for the D, E and F color grade diamonds only pick white gold or platinum. Yellow gold reflects through the diamond making it look like a diamond of a lower color grade.
The setting has a huge effect on the color of the stone. The tint is much harder to notice once the stone has been set and when you are observing the diamond in an environment where there is color.
D color diamonds are extremely rare. This causes their prices to rise significantly. In fact, of the entire world’s diamond supply, only 1% is D color diamonds.
When it comes to colorless diamonds, these are graded by placing them in special light conditions, upside down and compared to master stones. It is the absence of color that gives a diamond its value.
D color diamonds appear icy white and are completely colorless. The Z color grade, on the other hand, has diamonds that have a noticeable color.
While it is difficult to tell the difference between adjacent color grades especially in the D, E and F range, the price differences can be huge.
If you are a buyer who is not constrained by your budget, a D color diamond is a great choice.
D color diamond Price
D color diamonds are the most expensive owing to their rarity. Note also that the price will go up significantly with the carat weight.
There is also a huge difference in price between the D color diamonds and diamonds lower in the color grade.
Is the D color diamond worth the price?
Before buyers can go out in search of a D color diamond, often the question on their minds is the D color diamond worth the price? How does it compare to other diamonds on the scale?
It comes down to personal preference. People who have keen color acuity will want to get the iciest white stone they can get.
And even while diamonds in the near-colorless range of the color scale may appear white to the naked eye, some people still prefer knowing that their diamond doesn’t just look white but is actually white. Such buyers prefer a colorless diamond.
That said some buyers will prefer going for the E or G color diamonds. These can appear as white as the D color diamonds while also coming with a much cheaper price tag.
Secondly, if you do not have a strong color acuity then you may decide to buy a G or H color diamonds. These will appear as white as the D color diamond, especially in the right setting.
Simply put, if you are searching for a great looking diamond at the best value, you can achieve this by going for the near-colorless range.
When buying any diamond, always make sure that you do so from a seller who can provide you with 360-degree videos of the stone. We recommend James Allen, Blue Nile, and Whiteflash. They have the best quality videos and images allowing you to make the best comparisons and evaluation of your diamond.
Another reason why observing high definition videos and images is important is that you are able to see how the diamond actually looks. The diamond report, for example, may tell you where inclusions are located in the stone but will not tell you how large and how visible they are. You can only see this for yourself.