Between which adjacent grades is the biggest price difference observed when all other factors are equal?

Between which adjacent grades is the biggest price difference observed when all other factors are equal?

• A. D and F
• B. E and F
• C. C and D
• D. D and E

Answer: (D)

The amount paid for a diamond by color grade is not a straight, even ladder—some grade jumps carry a bigger premium than others. The largest price delta tends to occur right at the top end of the color scale, where you move from the very best colorless grade to the next-best colorless grade. Buyers who can afford top-tier colorless diamonds place a strong premium on that tiny edge in color, and the market assigns a noticeably higher price for that upgrade than for similar steps lower down the scale. The other adjacent grade pairs are either less dramatic in perceived improvement or involve grades toward the middle or bottom of the colorless/near-colorless range, where price steps are smaller. Since one option here is not even an adjacent pair, the biggest observed difference falls at the boundary between the highest colorless grade and the next-highest colorless grade.

The amount paid for a diamond by color grade is not a straight, even ladder—some grade jumps carry a bigger premium than others. The largest price delta tends to occur right at the top end of the color scale, where you move from the very best colorless grade to the next-best colorless grade. Buyers who can afford top-tier colorless diamonds place a strong premium on that tiny edge in color, and the market assigns a noticeably higher price for that upgrade than for similar steps lower down the scale.

The other adjacent grade pairs are either less dramatic in perceived improvement or involve grades toward the middle or bottom of the colorless/near-colorless range, where price steps are smaller. Since one option here is not even an adjacent pair, the biggest observed difference falls at the boundary between the highest colorless grade and the next-highest colorless grade.