Completely colorless diamonds are the most valuable, and the rarest. Most “clear” stones contain small amounts of color. A one-letter designation classifies diamonds according to the amount of color, if any, they contain.
The highest rating for colorlessness is D, with E and F close behind. These colorless stones are very rare. The scale continues past near-colorless (G-J), faint yellow (K-M), very light yellow (N-R), and to light yellow (V-X). Diamonds graded from G to I have virtually no color visible to the untrained eye. Color choice may be more important when placing the stone in a sterling silver, white gold, or platinum setting, where a diamond’s yellow tint would be more noticeable.