Question about diamond color

[garek007]

Hi,

I've purchased a diamond before. The color on it was G. I was reading through this guide and I see a table in it that shows that G is a very good color for .51 - 1.0 carats, but that H-I is also a very good color for 0-.5 carats. How can this be? color doesn't change so why is H-I considered "very good" for smaller diamonds but G is "very good" for larger diamonds?

http://www.lumeradiamonds.com/diamond-education/princess-cut-diamond

 

[kenny]

Hi,

I've purchased a diamond before. The color on it was G. I was reading through this guide and I see a table in it that shows that G is a very good color for .51 - 1.0 carats, but that H-I is also a very good color for 0-.5 carats. How can this be? color doesn't change so why is H-I considered "very good" for smaller diamonds but G is "very good" for larger diamonds?

http://www.lumeradiamonds.com/diamond-education/princess-cut-diamond

If you put two GIA-graded H diamonds side by side, a 0.25 ct and a 2.5 ct, the larger one will show more color.

Apparently the standard is to grade color PER volume of material.

Think of brewing tea.
The longer it brews the darker it gets.
Imagine if you poured some of the same tea into two clear glass containers, a shot glass and a large pitcher.
The tea in the pitcher will look darker.
Of course it is not darker.
There's just more of it.

Same with diamonds.
With a large diamond you are just looking through more material with a given amount of tint, for instance the H amount.

 

[garek007]

That makes sense, Kenny, thanks!