Diamond Color Grades Explained
How do all the other diamond color grading systems compare with the GIA color grades?
Although the GIA color grading system and nomenclature are the best known and most often used by dealers around the world, other systems are still popular in other countries. We developed the charts below to help you understand how they compare.
See the GIA color scale for basic definitions of these terms.
Color Grading Scales for diamonds 0.46 carats and above (NOTE: comparisons are approximate due to limits of html) | ||||
| GIA | AGS | CIBJO IDC | SCAN.D.N. | |
| Colorless | D | 0 | Exceptional White + | River |
| E | 1 | Exceptional White | ||
| F | 2 | Rare White + | Top Wesselton | |
| Near Colorless | G | 3 | Rare White | |
| H | 4 | White | Wesselton | |
| I | 5 | Slightly Tinted White | Top Crystal | |
| J | Crystal | |||
| Faint Yellow | K | 6 | Tinted White | Top Cape |
| L | ||||
| M | 7 | TintedColor | Cape | |
| Very Light Yellow | N | |||
| O | 8 | |||
| P | ||||
| Q | ||||
| R | 9 | |||
| Light Yellow | S | |||
| T | ||||
| U | ||||
| V | 10 | |||
| W | ||||
| X | ||||
| Y | ||||
| Z |
PLEASE REMEMBER:
Knowing the 4 Cs is NOT enough to price a diamond accurately. At least 13 factors affect diamond value, including fluorescence, table percentage, symmetry and other crucial details. However, the 4 Cs are a good place to learn the basics. And learning all of it requires years of training and experience looking at diamonds.
That is why I created an easy, step-by-step Diamond Pricing Tutorial page, to guide you in using the most valuable tool in the pricing of diamonds today: the large online diamond databases. In that one lesson, I teach you how to price any diamond using live data on real diamonds in the current market. You can’t any more accurate or current. The only other thing you need is a good jeweler to get the diamond for you, and integrity is the key in choosing your jeweler. If you cannot find a good jeweler, we rate the top dealers for you.