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Education > Diamond education > Why does diamond color start with D and not A?
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By , Sunday, August 06, 2006 12:00 AM

diamond color

Actually, some older systems did start with A.  Like chicken eggs, there were even grade AA and AAA diamonds.   

In the 1920s, before the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) introduced its D-Z system, color descriptions for diamonds had been developed for purposes of sales, not science.  Vague adjectives like canary yellow, white or blue-white were used.  Diamond dealers were using 1, 2, 3 or I, II, III as well as A, B, C in their grading scales, and no two scales were necessarily alike.  William E. Boyajian, president of the GIA comments:  "In those days, one guy's 'A' was another guy's 'AA,' which was another one's 'AAA'."

When GIA created their color scale they did not want their symbols to have any association with prior systems.  GIA created a master set of diamonds, selecting a single diamond to correspond with each letter from D to Z.  Thanks to the reputability and global understanding of GIA's system, other systems have since been modeled in kind, even though standards and consistency of different grading labs may vary.

In addition to a letter grade, the American Gemological Society  also includes a number grade for color and clarity, as well as cut.  Traditionally an AGS 000 or 'triple zero' was a D Flawless diamond with Ideal cut.  Over time that definition has changed.

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