When does yellow become orange, and orange become red? The question may sound a bit philosophical until you tie it to colored diamonds, where slight variations in color can mean huge differences in price.

Jewelry connoisseurs have gone crazy for colored diamonds. And their appetites were practically insatiable in 2013.

Diamond jewelry is often at the top of a woman’s holiday wish list but getting her a gift that she’ll love doesn’t have to be complicated. In the second installment of our 2013 Holiday Buying Guide series, you will learn the basics of what to look for when shopping for diamond jewelry.

As the creator of the 4Cs and International Diamond Grading System, GIA also established color grading standards and terminology specifically for colored diamonds, based on the color’s hue, tone, and saturation. Today, we identify some of the defining characteristics that help make fancy-color diamonds a true feast for the eyes.

Many people know that diamonds typically come in a range of colors from D to Z on the GIA color-grading scale.  However, most people don’t know how the naked eye sees color in a diamond.