Diamond Basics
How Fancy Colour Diamonds Are Graded
Fancy colour diamonds use a completely different grading scale from colourless diamonds, assessing hue, tone and saturation rather than a letter grade.
A different scale entirely
The D-to-Z colour scale applies to diamonds that are colourless to light yellow or brown. Once colour is pronounced enough, a stone moves to the fancy colour scale, graded instead on hue, tone and saturation.
Intensity terms
GIA describes fancy colours with terms such as Faint, Very Light, Light, Fancy Light, Fancy, Fancy Intense, Fancy Vivid and Fancy Dark, with Vivid generally commanding the highest per-carat prices for a given hue.
Natural vs treated colour
A grading report should state whether colour is natural or the result of treatment such as irradiation or HPHT processing; this materially affects value and must be disclosed.
Buyer checklist
- ✓ Confirm whether the colour origin is natural or treated
- ✓ Note the intensity term, not just the hue name
- ✓ Compare hue consistency face-up and from different angles
Verification tools & references
Every Riakoob piece arrives certified, insured and covered by our 12-month value promise.
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