What is the best colour diamond for an engagement ring?

Is there such a thing as a perfect engagement ring? This is the million-dollar question. 

Representing one of the 4Cs of a diamond, diamond colour is an important factor in what makes the perfect diamond for an engagement ring. Diamond colour can signify the purity of a diamond and plays a role in the value of the stone, too.   

Are you building your engagement ring and doing your diamond research along the way? To help you pick the right diamond for you, below is some information around diamond colour.  

What is meant by diamond colour?   

The ‘colour’ of a diamond should basically be no colour at all. The absence of colour in a diamond determines its value, the stone’s grade and its appearance. White diamonds inherently have a yellow tint – this is the ‘colour’. The closer a diamond is to colourless, the rarer it is, and therefore the more valuable it becomes.   

When diamond shopping, you should always see diamond colour in the diamond specification.  

Diamond colour chart   

Cut diamonds have many specifications that tell people about the jewel. Clarity and carat both have charts to measure their features, and so does diamond colour. The diamond colour grading ranges from a D, which is colourless, to a Z, which is a faint yellow or brown colour.    

The Gemological Institute Of America’s (GIA) diamond colour scale is as follows:  

NB: Image shows how diamond colour may appear under magnification. Diamonds may not actually appear to look this way.  

The colour grade is determined by inspecting the stone face down, the cutlet facing upwards, against a pure white surface. This will be done by traders under the correct lighting and viewing conditions.   

Fancy coloured diamonds   

The diamonds we have been talking about so far are white diamonds – the kind that have a naturally occurring yellow tint. However, some diamonds aren’t graded under the standard colour chart because their colour is significantly different.  

These diamonds, termed ‘fancy coloured’ diamonds in the industry, are extremely rare diamonds that are naturally coloured; blue, pink, red, orange, purple and black for example.  

Does diamond colour affect price?  

Diamond valuation is based on the absence of colour in a diamond. The less colour a diamond has, the more expensive it will be. If you choose a diamond for your engagement ring that is graded between D and J, it will be a higher price than those grade between K and Z.  

Colourless stones are rarer and therefore more expensive. Like with any of the 4Cs, diamond colour alone won’t dictate the pricing of a diamond, but is one of the influencing factors. If you are following the ‘three months' salary’ rule, colour may what you choose to compromise to suit your budget.  

Does the colour of a diamond matter for my engagement ring?  

The colour of white diamonds can’t actually be seen by the naked eye, so honestly, the colour may not have much of an impact on your overall decision.   

You or anyone that sees your engagement ring won’t be able to tell a D from a T– unless you have another diamond of a very different colour next to it – so you may want to see how you feel about a diamond by looking at its appearance, rather than focusing on its colour grade.   

The design of your engagement ring might have an impact on what colour diamond you want. If you are going for a signature ring, such as a solitaire engagement ring, then a white diamond would be a great fit.  

If you are building a more vintage-style engagement ring, for example, you might be drawn towards fancy coloured diamonds or treated coloured diamonds. This would nicely suit the vintage aesthetic. Just remember, the more prominent the hue in a fancy coloured diamond, the more expensive it’ll be.  

Are lab-grown diamonds and mined diamonds graded the same way?   

Lab-grown diamonds are graded and assessed on the same specifications that mined diamonds are. So, you won’t have to worry about compromising any quality of colour – or in fact any of the other 3Cs – when shopping for a more ethical engagement ring.    

Lab-grown diamonds undergo the same sort of process that ground mined diamonds do - so the colour outcomes are the same. The real difference is that this process does not impact the environment in the same way, so ensures your diamond has been sourced responsibly. 

Finding the perfect engagement ring   

Choosing an engagement ring can be a stressful process at times. The more you know about diamonds, the better choice you can make – making a stressful process as exciting as it should be.  

Diamond colour does influence the price of an engagement ring, but other things can come into play too like the ring style, diamond clarity, cut and carat, and the metal used - white gold will be more expensive than rose gold for example.  

At Skydiamond, our diamonds are as pure as they are beautiful. Our diamond colour ranges between D and H and there’s a range of cuts for you to choose from, from princess cut to pear cut to emerald and brilliant. There’s a price to suit every budget, so you can get the engagement ring you love for the one you love.  

Take a look…