Hue, tone and saturation are the three parts of a color. Hue is the color itself, tone is how light or dark it is, and saturation is how strong it is.
In more detail
Fancy color grading uses all three. The hue names the color, and one fancy-grade word describes the effect of tone and saturation together.
On a grading report
Combined in the fancy color grade, for example "Fancy Vivid Blue".
Related terms
- Fancy color grade: A fancy color grade names a colored diamond by its hue plus one grade word, such as Fancy Intense Yellow. The word sums up the tone and saturation of the color.
- Fancy color diamond: A fancy color diamond is a colored diamond with enough color for a fancy grade. To GIA, any diamond outside the D-to-Z scale is a colored diamond.
- Hue: Hue is the basic color of a gem, such as red, blue or green. A second color can modify it, as in purplish red.
- Tone: Tone is how light or dark a gem's color is, from very light to very dark.
- Saturation: Saturation is the strength or purity of a gem's color, from grayish or brownish to vivid.