G vs. F Color Diamond Compared

Finding the right balance in the 4C’s of diamonds is the ultimate hack to purchasing the perfect diamond. The color grade of a diamond decides how white or warm it’ll appear. Typically, when in a setting, a diamond can be amazing at hiding its color up to a certain grade. And that means slight compromises can be done in terms of the color grade of a diamond.

However, most people find it hard to make a choice for they don’t really know what color grade is worth their money and at what point they’re just overpaying. If you’re having a hard time deciding between the color grades of a diamond, then keep on reading and you’ll find some leads.

We’ll be looking at two color grades G and F on the diamond color grading scale. The G color belongs to the ‘near colorless’ category while F belongs to the top tier category ‘colorless’ of the GIA color scale.

But which one of them is really worth it? Let’s see!

G vs. F Color Diamond Compared

What is a G-colored Diamond?

The most authentic color grading scale, also the industrial standard for color grading, is the GIA scale which looks like this:

GIA COLOR SCALE_EL_2022

A G-colored diamond belongs to the ‘near colorless’ category on this scale, as you can see. It is the first color grade of this category. So what exactly does a G color grade tell about a diamond?

Well, a G color diamond delivers a glorious white sparkle, and to be completely fair, you cannot notice any kind of color in the diamond with the naked eye, especially if you’re not a diamond expert.

A G color diamond, from the face-up view, reveals absolutely no color. In fact, it looks colorless and you won’t even be able to tell that the diamond does not belong to the colorless category.

However, diamond grading experts still grade it in the near-colorless range. And they do so for a reason. When a G-colored diamond is observed from its pavilion or from the side, experts are able to notice a very minimal yellowish hue in it.

An untrained eye might not be able to do that but diamond experts can and so they do not place this diamond in the topmost i.e. ‘colorless’ category.

What is an F-colored Diamond?

The F color grade of a diamond belongs to the ‘colorless’ category on the GIA color scale. It is one grade superior to the G color diamonds.

Unlike the G grade which stands first in the ‘near colorless’ range, an F grade comes at the bottom of the ‘colorless’ range. Despite that, it is a super gorgeous diamond. Of course, it belongs to the topmost category so there’s gotta be something about it.

An F color diamond shows a brilliant white sparkle from a face-up, down, and side view. It does not have any kind of yellowish tinge in its appearance. Even if there is, it can easily go unnoticed by an untrained eye.

In fact, most trained professionals are not able to judge the color grade of the diamond if observed in isolation i.e. if you take a D and F color diamond and observe them separately, the difference can hardly be spotted because at the end, both of them belong to the same category.

In essence, an F-colored diamond is almost absolutely colorless with a slight hue that is unidentifiable by an untrained eye.

What Is The Difference Between G And F Colored Diamonds?

The difference between G and F colored diamonds to a naked, untrained eye is close to none. Telling them apart from each other is really not easy yet they differ a lot in their value.

Following are a few characteristics that set them apart from each other:

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Different categories on the Color Scale

Well, a very obvious difference between the two is the fact they belong to different categories on the GIA color scale.

The F-colored diamonds belong to the ‘colorless’ range which means they’re the whitest of diamonds with no visible hues. The F color grade stands at #3 in its said category.

As opposed to that, G-colored diamonds are from the ‘near colorless’ category on the GIA color scale. Since G color stands only one grade lower than F, there really is no significant difference between the two.

However, diamond experts are able to spot the minimal warmth in these diamonds due to the slight yellow tinge in them. And so, they place G color diamonds in the ‘near colorless’ and not ‘colorless’ category.

G Color Diamonds are Slightly Warm Toned

By now, we’ve established the fact that G color diamonds are near colorless. And that means these diamonds have a warmer tone than F color diamonds.

Since they’re not completely colorless, they show a very minimal yellowish hue in them. This color can usually not be spotted by the naked eye without proper lights or equipment.

In fact, in a face-up view, even experts find it hard to spot the color. And that is why diamonds are always graded by a face-down examination (from the base/pavilion).

When viewed from the tip or even from a side view, a G-colored diamond does show a very minimal yellowish tint.

F is a Pure White Diamond

F color grade belongs to diamonds in the pure white class. This means that an F-graded diamond will be totally colorless and does not show any warmth or hues, whatsoever.

However, it is also important to note that the F color stands only one grade superior to the G color grade. So there won’t virtually be any difference between the two.

Only experts are able to tell them apart from each other, and that too, with proper equipment in suitable lighting conditions.

But all of that does not change the fact that F-colored diamonds belong to a superior color class to G-graded diamonds. They are truly pure white diamonds.

Colorless Diamonds are Rarer

Colorless diamonds i.e. the ones with a D, E, or F grade on the GIA color scale sure are the brightest of diamonds.

But they are also the rarest of them all. As you move to the topmost grade in the colorless range i.e. D, you’ll find lesser diamonds that meet the rest of your diamond C’s requirement.

Since colorless diamonds are rare, they are more expensive too. And that is yet another difference between G and F colored diamonds. They differ in their appearance, not so much. But in terms of their value, you’ll find quite a significant difference.

G vs. F Color Diamond: Which one is the best?

Well, to make it easier for you, let’s start by looking at these images of a G and F diamond.

Can you tell which one is which? Probably not, right? Most people cannot spot the difference between these two diamonds even when placed next to each other. You may even wonder if they’re actually two different images. 

Well, they are. The first one is a G-graded diamond at James Allen while the second one boasts an F color grade.

The results might be different with a side profile examination of these diamonds. Let’s do that as well.

Most people still won’t be able to judge the color grade of these diamonds. But diamond experts can and so they grade these diamonds differently.

But the question is that which diamond is the best for you as a consumer?

Since an average person cannot detect a difference between an F and G color diamond, what do you think will be the better choice?

Of course, a G color diamond that’ll allow you to save your money while looking exactly the same as a diamond that’ll cost you way more.

You see there’s no reason you should be paying the premium price for something that doesn’t even stand out.

To put it simply, G and F color diamonds are exactly similar in appearance to the naked eye. But F color diamonds are far more costly than G color diamonds for the features that are only detectable by an expert eye.

As a consumer, you will not be able to tell any difference between G and F color diamonds. And that brings us to an obvious conclusion.

When deciding between a G and F color diamond, G color diamond will be a sane choice, without a doubt.

Price Comparison: G vs. F Color Diamond

F color diamonds are from the colorless/pure white category of diamonds which makes them quite rare and hence, add up a lot to their value. On the contrary, G color diamonds will cost you less than F color diamonds while looking exactly the same.

You may not find a significant price difference between the two at a lower carat range. For instance, I was surprised to see an average difference of $200-$300 between the prices of 1 ct. G and F colored diamonds at James Allen.

For instance, this 1 ct. Excellent Cut VVS2 clarity, F color diamond is priced at $7460. Whereas, a similar diamond with a G color grade fetches a price of $7140.

The prices of 1ct. G color diamonds with a VVS2 clarity start at $7140 and go up to $10,750 at James Allen. While the prices of similar diamonds in F color start at $6880 and go up to $11,960. So that’s a $1000 difference at most.

But as the diamond caratage increases, the price difference becomes a lot more significant. Let’s take an example of diamonds from Blue Nile.

So here’s this 2 ct. Ideal Cut diamond with VVS2 clarity in the color grade F. It is priced at $45,300. An exactly similar diamond but with a G color grade will cost you $32500 only. Now that’s a very huge price difference.

So in this case, if you choose an F color diamond, you’ll be overpaying a hefty amount of $13000 for something that will not even be noticed. Simply put, you’ll be overpaying for nothing.

So in short, an F color diamond will cost you more than a G color diamond. And somehow many people are conditioned to believe that the former is better than the latter when in reality, it is almost impossible to discern any difference between them.

Final Verdict

Well, a G color diamond will undeniably be the better choice in contrast to an F color diamond. Since these two color grades stand only one step apart from each other, there’s virtually no difference between them. If this was a D vs G war, I would have recommended you to go for a D color diamond because you really can tell the difference in that case.

But in the present scenario, a G color diamond is clearly the winner for it can help you save a lot of money while looking exactly similar to an overpriced F color diamond.

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