Although most people believe diamonds to be clear or colorless, the majority are yellow, brown, and black. Most of those diamonds find their way into industrial purposes, (drill bits, saw blades, etc.)

The rarest of all diamond colors are white (or colorless).

As prices of diamonds rise, the shift to diamonds with some body color increases. It is very common to find slightly brown (called "Top Light Browns") or yellow diamonds in today's jewelry. The whiter the diamond is, the more valuable the stone is.

Diamonds are graded for color face down, against a white backgroud. Graders are looking at the actual body tone (hue) of the stone and comparing it to a set of master stones graded by the Gemological Institute of America. The diamond is then assigned a letter grade as seen on the accompanying chart. Most diamonds used for jewelry purposes fall into the Near Colorless Category - G to J.