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15 October 2020
The most internationally recognised standard for the classification of a diamond is called the 4 Cs:
Colour, Clarity Grade, Carat, Cut.
Today we will look at one of the 4 most famous classifications, colour.
In nature, most colourless diamonds have a slight yellow tint.
The colour grading scale refers to the natural colour ranging from D (exceptional white, the
highest) to Z (yellow).
Salvadori uses very high quality diamonds that range from D to G.
D = Exceptional white +
E = Exceptional White
F = Extra white +
G = Extra white
H = White
I = Slightly tinted white +
J = Slightly tinted white
K = Tinted white +
L = Tinted white
M-Z = Tinted
The exact opposite happens for Fancy Yellow diamonds which have a beautiful yellow intensity
due to the presence of nitrogen in their composition. Their value increases with the intensity and
strength of the colour.
Initially, the colour of a diamond was classified by its place of origin, where diamonds with the
same colour characteristics were mined. For example, diamonds from the Jager Fountain River
mine in South Africa were described as diamonds found in rivers or alluvial deposits. With the
current classification method, these diamonds would correspond to the letters D and E due to
their transparency and colour superior to those found in kimberlite-hosted diamond deposits.
