Colour

Acting as a prism, a diamond can divide light into a spectrum of colours and reflect this light as colourful flashes called fire. Just as when looking through colored glass, colour in a diamond will act as a filter, and will diminish the spectrum of colour emitted. The less colour in a diamond, the more colourful the fire, and the better the colour grade.

At Star Jewels, you'll find only the finest diamonds with colour graded D-J. Diamonds graded J or better are colourless or near-colourless — their colour is typically undetectable to the unaided eye.

The colour in diamonds graded K-Z detracts from the beauty of a diamond. It's especially noticeable set in platinum or white gold..

Diamond Colours

Note that Star Jewels also carries fancy colour diamonds. These diamonds are graded on a different colour scale than white diamonds. Since the scale above ranges from the best to the worst quality in a white diamond, the colours found in fancy colour diamonds are not represented on this scale. Ask in store or call us to find out about our fancy diamonds..

Fluorescene

Some people seek diamonds that produce this unique effect, while others avoid it. The visible effects of fluorescence grades of faint, inert, negligible, and medium, can only be detected by a trained gemologist with specific UV light. A fluorescence grade of strong or very strong can make a diamond with a near-colorless grade look even whiter. In some very rare instances a diamond with very strong fluorescence can give the diamond a slight hazy or oily appearance.

Diamonds with a strong or very strong fluorescence are a better value for the end customer because the market prices them slightly lower than diamonds with faint or negligible fluorescence.

Which Cut Grade is Best

• For the purist, look for a colourless diamond with a grade of D-F and a fluorescence rating of faint, inert, none, or negligible.
• For an excellent value in a diamond with no noticeable color to the unaided eye, look for a near-colorless grade of G-I, and a fluorescence grade of medium or strong blue.
• Or, if you'd rather not compromise on colour but would like to stay on budget, choose a diamond with a good cut, SI1–SI2 clarity, and consider going with a strong fluorescence. It will still be beautiful to the unaided eye and you may prefer the unique effect of a strong fluorescence.