E Color Grade Diamonds Buying Guide: Value & Prices

Selecting a diamond is a headache when there are so many options, and diamond color is one these characteristics you’ll encounter while searching for the ideal diamond.

E color sets near the top of highest color grade available (according to GIA color grading), and generally speaking, this grade is pretty expensive.

Here is an actual image for this great E color diamond on James Allen:

Although it looks great, purely colorless, but you’re paying a lot more than average price of 1 carat diamond, somewhere around $1500 extra.

Let’s dive in to learn more about the E color grade so that your selection for diamond color is made easier.

What is the E Color Grade?

On the GIA color chart, E grade is sandwiched between D and F, it’s considered one of the highest color grades for diamonds, and will never show any yellow color, actually the difference between E color and D color is virtually undetectable.

E grade is considered part of the colorless group grades, and as the group name implies, it gives a completely colorless appearance and looks fabulous in white gold and platinum bands. It is one of the most popular choices for engagement rings, but shortly we will see why people might be overpaying for this.

E color grade diamonds display virtually no color, so even a gemologist with a lot of experience & advanced tools will find it very hard to detect any color in E diamonds.

Where it Stands in Color Grade Chart?

GIA defined the global color chart back in the 1930s, which is still used until today as the main reference for diamond color grading.

The chart goes from D to Z, with D standing on top, and Z at the very end with light yellow or brown.

So as you already guessed, E stands as the runner up for the purest color grade, and along with D & F, they are all grouped as being “colorless” grades:

And if you wonder why GIA started with D color instead of A, here is the answer.

E & Neighboring Colors: D vs E vs F Grade Difference

Whether you’re a novice in diamonds, or are experienced diamond jeweler, it’s known that finding a visual difference between E grade and its 2 adjacent colors (D & F) is difficult with naked eye, or without having them side by side under ideal conditions.

As stated above, these 3 grades are all considered colorless, which means they will not show any yellow color, with a slight exception – to make a statement here – the F colored diamonds will display a nearly undetected amount of color when viewed face down by a gemologist).

Read again: “undetected”, “face down”, and “by a gemologist”.

Remember that this difference might appear when looking at a loose diamond, because when you set the diamond on a ring, difference becomes even harder depending on its surroundings.

In short, the difference between E vs F or E vs D is again not visible and virtually these grades are very similar to the naked eye.

Visual Comparison

Comparing diamond colors (whether set on ring or as loose stones) isn’t easy, since the visual difference to naked eye isn’t similar to how you see it under 20x magnification & top imaging technology offered at James Allen for example.

A lot of factors influence this as well, like the diamond shape, cut, carat, etc.

Fixing 4Cs (or actually 3Cs excluding color) helps to compare the gems for better evaluation. For a bird’s eye view, the following images will help to understand the idea more clearly.

Here is a D color diamond, side by side with almost identical (in terms of other characteristics), but with the E color grade, and next to them is an F color diamond as well:

Prices for these stones are (respectively): $7.9k, $7.3k, and $6.9k, do you think this color difference is worth $1100?

How Much Does E Color Diamonds Cost?

We know that diamond pricing is a combination of many factors, starting with 4Cs (which includes the color), along with less common (yet, important) factors like polish, symmetry, table & depth and others.

Running a search on James Allen to filter on 1 Carat, Ideal cut, and VS2 Clarity shows 206 diamonds, ranging between $6900 to $8600.

Doing the same exercise on Blue Nile gives similar results, with prices ranging between $7100 and $8700 for the same characteristics.

It’s worth to mention that prices in other shapes are a bit cheaper, but we showed the average for the round shape considering it’s the most popular diamond shape.

Going 1 carat higher, and running the same search, results in a bit insane pricing, starting from $25k for 2 carat diamonds.

Summary

E colored diamonds are undoubtedly beautiful. However, when buying diamonds, you need to understand what makes a difference to naked eye, and compare that to price tag difference you’re paying for it, in short, the more colorless the diamond, the higher the price.

When you start looking for a diamond, always LOCK yourself to an excellent cut grade, because it sets on the top of 4Cs in order of importance, and then seek other factors.

E grade is considered very expensive, around $1.5k higher than average carat price if you know what 4Cs you should get to guarantee a great diamond.

Whatever color you pick, it’s important to understand what other factors you should consider, so it doesn’t make sense to get an E color diamond, but has visible inclusions for example!

In terms of value for money, E color isn’t your best choice, not even the whole colorless grades (D-F), you may call us insane, but you can go lower to G (and even the H color) while you’re 100% sure that your diamond won’t show any yellow color.