Color and Value

Question 1

What does each letter grade in the GIA Color Scale represent?

Answer 1

A range of color

Question 2

The annealing of irradiated diamonds to stabilize their color is done by…

Answer 2

Heating

Question 3

What is the most common color of fluorescence in gem-quality diamond?

Answer 3

Blue

Question 4

What two colors are the most rare in diamonds?

Answer 4

Red and purple

Question 5

When mounted, how do G, H, and I color diamonds look?

Answer 5

Colorless face-up

Question 6

Which of the D, F, G, H color grades indicate the greatest amount of yellow?

Answer 6

H

Question 7

What are the most commonly encountered colors among colored diamonds?

Answer 7

Brown and yellow

Question 8

What is the combination of tone and saturation that determines how noticeable a color is?

Answer 8

Depth of color

Question 9

To color grade a light yellow or brown diamond, graders compare it to a master stone, for what?

Answer 9

Tone and saturation

Question 10

What color grade can most consumers easily see color beyond?

Answer 10

M

Question 11

Why do prices differentiate between colorless diamonds and near-colorless diamonds?

Answer 11

Rarity

Question 12

What is the normal color range of diamonds?

Answer 12

Colorless to light yellow, brown, and gray.

Question 13

Which masterstone does the GIA laboratory use to determine the point where a yellow diamond transitions to the color diamond grading scale?

Answer 13

Z

Question 14

What have irradiated diamonds been exposed to, that has caused them to change color?

Answer 14

Heat

Question 15

On the GIA Color Scale, what is the top grade in the normal color range?

Answer 15

D

Question 16

What are D, E, F, and G on the GIA Color Scale?

Answer 16

Colorless

Question 17

What are G, H, I, and J on the GIA Color Scale?

Answer 17

Near Colorless

Question 18

What are K, L, M, and N on the GIA Color Scale?

Answer 18

Faint

Question 19

What are O, P, Q, R, S, T, and U on the GIA Color Scale?

Answer 19

Very Light

Question 20

What are V, W, X, Y, and Z on the GIA Color Scale?

Answer 20

Light

Question 21

What are the three things consistent color grading depends on?

Answer 21

The masterstones, the environment, and the grader

Question 22

What are the nine color grading terms that describe colored diamonds?

Answer 22

Faint, Very Light, Light, Fancy Light, Fancy, Fancy Intense, Fancy Vivid, Fancy Dark, Fancy Deep

Question 23

What are the three grades that apply to all colors except yellow?

Answer 23

Faint, Very Light, and Light

Question 24

High Pressure and High Temperature (HPHT)

Answer 24

Used to lighten, remove or create diamond color

Question 25

What colors do many companies worldwide use HPHT treatments to create?

Answer 25

Green, yellow, blue, and pink

Question 26

Annealing

Answer 26

A gemstone heating process that can be used alone or to stabilize irradiated color.

Question 27

Characteristic Color

Answer 27

The basic face-up color of a colored diamond.

Question 28

Colored Diamonds

Answer 28

Yellow, brown, and gray diamonds with more color than the Z masterstone, or that exhibit any other color face-up.

Question 29

Depth of Color

Answer 29

The combination of tone and saturation that determines how noticeable a color is.

Question 30

Fluorescence

Answer 30

Emission of visible light by a material when it's exposed to ultraviolet radiation.

Question 31

Hue

Answer 31

Your first impression of a color; the basic color of an object.

Question 32

Irradiation

Answer 32

A treatment that changes the color of a gem by exposing it to radioactive materials.

Question 33

Masterstones

Answer 33

A set of color comparison diamonds that defines GIA's diamond color grades in the normal (D-Z) range.

Question 34

Near-Colorless

Answer 34

A general term for diamonds in the G-J color range.

Question 35

Normal Color Range

Answer 35

Range of a diamond colors from colorless to light yellow, brown, and gray.

Question 36

Saturation

Answer 36

A color's strength or intensity, ranging from a dull hue to a pure, vivid hue.

Question 37

Tone

Answer 37

A color's degree of darkness or lightness.

Question 38

Ultraviolet (UV)

Answer 38

Light wavelength that's invisible to the human eye.