Moissanite Color and Clarity Chart: What D–F and VVS1 Actually Mean

A D–F color grade on a moissanite listing means colorless, and G–J means near colorless, on GIA's D-to-Z scale. VVS1 clarity means any inclusions are difficult for a skilled grader to see at 10× magnification. Both scales were built for diamonds, not moissanite, and moissanite is not independently graded on them, so the letters are a seller's comparison.

The charts below show every grade, what GIA says each one looks like, and where a higher letter stops buying you anything you can see. If you are new to the stone itself, start with what moissanite is.

What does each moissanite color grade mean?

Color grades run from D, colorless, to Z, a light yellow or brown. GIA splits the 23 letters into five bands, and notes that many of the distinctions are very subtle.

D–F

G–J

K–M

N–R

S–Z

Grade	What GIA says
D–F Colorless	The top of the scale. GIA calls this the most chemically pure range of its scale.
G–J Near colorless	Color is often unnoticeable except by trained graders.
K–M Faint	Color is still difficult to see by the untrained eye.
N–R Very light	Color can be seen in larger stones by an untrained eye.
S–Z Light	Color can be seen in stones of many sizes.

So a moissanite sold as "D–F" is being placed in the top band, and one sold as "near colorless" in G–J.

What does each clarity grade mean?

Clarity describes inclusions inside a stone and blemishes on its surface. GIA uses 11 grades in six groups, and every one is judged at 10× magnification.

FL

none

IF

surface

VVS

difficult

VS

minor

SI

noticeable

I

obvious

Grade	At 10×, a skilled grader finds
FL Flawless	No inclusions or blemishes.
IF Internally Flawless	No inclusions, and only blemishes.
VVS1, VVS2 Very, Very Slightly Included	Inclusions that are difficult to see.
VS1, VS2 Very Slightly Included	Minor inclusions, from difficult to somewhat easy to see.
SI1, SI2 Slightly Included	Inclusions that are noticeable.
I1, I2, I3 Included	Obvious inclusions that may affect transparency and brilliance.

So VVS1 sits third from the top. VVS1 is the cleaner of the two VVS grades, and VVS1 and VVS2 share one GIA definition: inclusions that are difficult for a skilled grader to see at 10×.

Every GIA grade is defined at 10×, so a grade does not tell you what shows to the naked eye. Sellers use "eye-clean" for a stone that looks clear without magnification. That is the seller's judgment, not a GIA grade.

Who assigns moissanite color and clarity grades?

Not an independent lab: the maker or the seller supplies the letter. The D-to-Z scale and the 11 clarity grades are GIA's, and GIA wrote them for diamonds, not for moissanite. Brilliant Earth, which sells moissanite, says it plainly in its own guide: "D is a diamond color grade, not a moissanite color grade." It sorts its own moissanite into named categories rather than letters.

A letter on a moissanite listing is therefore a comparison to the diamond scale made by the people selling the stone, not a verdict from an independent lab. That does not make it false. It does mean one letter of difference is not, on its own, a reason to pay much more.

If a stone comes with a GRA certificate, read it for what it is: it is not a GIA grading report. Judge the stone by how it looks.

What will you actually see on your hand?

GIA grades color with the stone placed table-down beside master stones, under controlled light. You wear it face up, in whatever light the day brings. Four things shape what you see.

• Fire is not a tint. The rainbow flashes come from dispersion, how strongly a stone splits white light into colors. Moissanite's dispersion is 0.104 (GIA), which is why a colorless stone shows so much color in flashes. It is light, not body color, and it moves as you move.
• Size. GIA notes that color in the very light band can be seen in larger stones by an untrained eye.
• Metal. GIA's advice for colorless and near-colorless stones is a white metal setting. Yellow metal can make a white stone look like a different color grade. Our white-stone settings are platinum-plated 925 sterling silver, a white metal.
• Doubled facet edges. Look closely and the facet edges of a moissanite can appear doubled. GIA traces this to the stone's anisotropic optics: a property of the material, not an inclusion.

What colors does moissanite come in?

Colorless, near colorless, and fancy colors such as blue, green and yellow. A fancy-colored stone sits off the D-to-Z scale entirely: its color is the point, so there is no letter to chase. What you judge is the hue and the brightness.

Our colored pieces include yellow, blue, green and pink stones, always in 925 sterling silver. They are gathered in our colored moissanite collection.

What is worth paying for?

• Cut first. Cut decides how much light comes back to your eye.
• The setting second. Metal color, prong security and how the piece sits on you shape every day you wear it.
• Size and shape, chosen for how you wear it. Our guide to moissanite stud sizes in millimeters shows each one to scale.
• Not one letter. Inside G–J, GIA's own description says the color is often unnoticeable except by trained graders. VVS1 and VVS2 share one GIA definition: inclusions that are difficult to see at 10×.

How we describe our stones

Our product pages describe the white stones as eye-clean, and several as near-colorless. Those are the maker's descriptions, not a lab's grades: none of our pages puts a color letter on a stone, and any clarity grade a page quotes is the maker's. According to our supplier, stones of 0.1 ct and over ship with a GRA certificate, so the Eclipse Eternity Band, whose stones are smaller, ships without one.

Questions about moissanite color and clarity

What is the best color grade for moissanite?

For the whitest look, the colorless band, D–F. Near colorless, G–J, is a band where GIA says color is often unnoticeable except by trained graders. Choose the cut and the setting before the letter.

Is there such a thing as D color moissanite?

Only as a comparison. D is a letter on GIA's scale, which was not written for moissanite, and moissanite is not independently graded on it. A "D color" moissanite is the seller placing the stone at the top of that scale.

What does VVS1 mean on a moissanite?

That any inclusions are difficult for a skilled grader to see at 10× magnification. It is the third grade from the top of GIA's 11. GIA defines it at 10×, not by what the naked eye sees.

Is VVS1 worth paying more for than VVS2?

Not for what you can see. Both sit in the same GIA group, defined the same way, and they share one definition: inclusions that are difficult to see at 10×. Put the money into cut, size or the setting.

Does moissanite change color or get cloudy over time?

No, not in color: it does not change color under normal conditions. A stone that looks cloudy or dull can be carrying a film of skin oil, soap or lotion; warm water, mild dish soap and a soft brush bring it back. Our moissanite and sterling silver care guide takes two minutes.

Why do I see rainbow colors in a colorless moissanite?

That is fire. Moissanite's dispersion is 0.104, so it splits white light into strong spectral flashes. It is light moving through the stone, not a tint in it.

Sources (7)

• GIA, how to read the color grade on a GIA report: the five color bands, and table-down grading against master stones.
• GIA, 4Cs: Clarity: the 11 clarity grades and their 10× definitions.
• GIA, 4Cs: Color: the D-to-Z scale, and how subtle its distinctions are.
• GIA, how metal affects color appearance: white metal for colorless and near-colorless stones.
• GIA, the 1997 study of synthetic moissanite by Nassau, McClure, Elen and Shigley, Gems & Gemology: dispersion 0.104, refractive indices 2.648 and 2.691, hardness 9¼, doubled facet junctions.
• Brilliant Earth, Moissanite Colors (updated September 21, 2026): moissanite is not independently graded on the D-to-Z scale, and it does not change color under normal conditions.
• Our supplier's certificate policy, as stated on our materials page: stones of 0.1 ct and over ship with a GRA certificate; smaller stones ship without one.

Keep reading: what is moissanite · how to test a moissanite at home · is sterling silver good for a moissanite ring