What is more important Diamond Colour or Diamond Clarity?

The diamond colour scale goes from D to Z where D is the whitest of the white and hence most expensive. Diamond colour grading is done with the diamond face down whereas diamonds are worn face-up. Generally, the top 5-7 colours (Colourless D-F and Near colourless diamonds G-J) are regarded as shades of white in a brilliant cut diamond and its hard to tell the difference in colour between adjacent colours when a diamond is set. Many ordinary people can observe colour with the naked eye more easily than diamond clarity. For example, if you take diamond with I or J colours set in white gold or platinum, many people can tell that the diamond looks a little "off-white" especially if you see the diamond next to D, E or F colour diamonds that are whiter. If I, J, K+ colour stones are set in yellow gold then its harder to tell that they are not pure white. However, diamond colour becomes more noticable as the size of the stone increases or in shapes other than round brilliant e.g. emerald and asscher cut diamonds are more see-through with larger facets so they require higher quality (both colour and clarity) than other shapes.

The first eyeclean clarity grade is SI2. However in the majority of SI2 diamonds - you are likely to be able to see the inclusion with the naked eye on close scrutiny if you know where to look. Hence, SI1 diamonds are a better bet for eyeclean diamonds though it takes careful selection to find good SI1 diamonds where the inclusion is not an unsightly black mark right in the centre. A well-cut round brilliant diamond in a true SI1 will look no different to the naked eye than a VS2 or an Internally Flawless diamond!

The inclusions in diamonds that are VS2 and above to VVS1 are too small to visibly impair the sparkle of the diamond. The difference between IF, VVS1...to VS2 can only be discerned by a trained/expert eye at x10 magnification. Most people cannot distiguish IF from VVS1, VVS2 at x10 magnification. Many ordinary people find it hard to see inclusions in VS2 and above even when viewing with x10 magnifying lens.

Step cut diamond shapes like emerald and asscher cut diamonds require a higher quality of colour and clarity as they have large see-through facets which make it easy to see any imperfections.

In general in my opinion - colour is something that can be discerned with the naked eye with practice (e.g. when looking at an engagement ring on a daily basis) whereas no-one ever has or develops "X-ray" vision. Hence, I would recommend buying as white a diamond as you can afford in your carat range in a eyeclean or better clarity.

For some people just knowing that their diamond is a very high clarity (e.g. Internally Flawless or VVS1 clarity) or a very white colour (e.g.  D colour) is important even if the differences cannot be seen with the naked eye. Only you can decide for yourself if knowing something on paper that cannot be seen to the naked eye is worth spending the extra money. If going lower in grading, even if it can't be seen to the naked eye, is going to bother you it is probably a good idea to go ahead and spend the extra money to have the better specification because it will always bother you.

For further information see Diamonds Glossary.