Diamond color is a Fancy Colored Diamond’s most significant characteristic. In fact, unlike a colorless diamond where the 4C's (carat weight, clarity, color, and cut) are all equally important to the overall value, the color characteristic plays the most important role in the value of the diamond. With white diamonds the absence of color is what makes the diamonds so precious. However, in the case of fancy colored diamonds, the presence of color and the intensity of how it shines is specifically what increase the value of the stones.

First off, lets start with the basics. Most of you probably already know that there is a scale of diamond color from D to Z. D, of course, is completely colorless while Z is heavily tinted with yellow. But all along that scale from D to Z, the discussion is still about what are categorized as “white diamonds.” A Z color diamond is a heavily yellow tinted white diamond. The world of diamonds, though, is not limited to this scale. Diamonds falling off this scale are commonly called “Fancy Color Diamonds” or “Fancy Diamonds.” What Diamonds Are Considered “Fancy Color Diamonds”? Diamonds can either fall off this scale because they’re tinted with a shade other than yellow, or because the yellow color inside the diamond is so strong that the diamond is no longer considered a tinted white diamond, but rather a full fledged yellow diamond. Diamonds can come in a variety of colors. The chart below (from Page 12 of “Forever Brilliant: The Aurora Collection of Colored Diamonds”) is an excellent graphical display of the variety of colors in which diamonds can be found.