Depth of Color is defined as the combination of which two color properties?

• A. The lightness of the color.
• B. The combination of tone and saturation.
• C. The chroma plus hue.
• D. Hue alone.

Answer: (B)

Depth of color describes how strong or intense the color appears in a gem. That strength comes from two interacting properties: tone, which is the lightness to darkness of the color, and saturation, which is how pure or vivid the color looks. Hue tells you which color it is, but depth is about how dark and how saturated that color appears. So the combination of tone and saturation best defines depth of color. If the tone is deeper (darker) and the saturation is strong, the color reads as deeper and more intense; lighter tone or lower saturation reduces perceived depth.