If you are looking for the most rare and exotic stones on Earth, then look no further than a Fancy Color Diamond. Diamonds are created under the most extreme conditions. To alter the color of a diamond, a small number of additional elements must interact with the carbon atoms as the diamond is created.
It is estimated that there is a 1 in 10,000 chance that a diamond can be created naturally with any color on the spectrum. For instance, less than one Boron atom in a million carbon atoms can alter a diamond’s color to blue.
4 Cs of Fancy Color Diamonds
Cut
When accessing the quality and value of a fancy colored diamond, nothing creates more value than the color of the diamond. However, a fancy color diamond’s cut adds value through enhancing the size of the diamond through weight. When a fancy diamond is cut, the size of the stone and the shape of the cut can influence how deep the diamond’s color comes through. The larger the diamond is, the deeper than diamond can be cut to allow light to travel through it. This enhances the intensity of the color of the stone.
A round cut diamond is by far the most popular cut in the colorless realm, because of its brilliancy. In the fancy diamond realm, mixed cuts such as radiant or cushion will add intensity of color in fancy diamonds and even in lower graded M-Z colored diamonds. This can improve the price per carat of the diamond and increase its value.
Clarity
Clarity does not add as much value in fancy colored diamonds because a diamond’s color is most sought after. Even a diamond with visible inclusions to the naked eye are pursued by collectors and aficionados if the specific color of a diamond is desired. The only time that clarity may play a role in assessing a fancy diamond’s value or desirability is if its clarity may play a role in that diamond’s durability. Some fancy diamonds may contain different shades of one color (i.e. shades of lighter blue and darker blue), which is also may be considered an inclusion in the grading.
Carat
The larger the carat weight of a fancy colored diamonds will certainly add value, similar to diamonds in the D-Z scale.
Color
When it comes to diamonds, the rarer a diamond is, the greater the value will be. Since fancy color diamonds are the rarest on earth, they carry the most value no matter how slight the color is. Certainly, the more saturated or deep that a color is within the diamond, the greater the value will be.
The color type will also play an impact on a diamonds value. While fancy diamonds with yellow or brown color are still unique compared to colorless diamonds, the highest value fancy diamonds are ones that carry red, greens, or blues in different shades.
Diamond Color chart
These are extremely rare. Blue diamonds will not have the deep blue color that you find in sapphires. Generally, they will be a lighter shade of blue and have a hint of grey. The blue color itself is caused by Boron impurities within the diamond. The higher the percentage of Boron, the deeper the blue color.
Pink diamonds are among the most popular of the fancy colored diamond class. Many diamond connoisseurs believe the pink diamond is the ultimate symbol of love, affection, femininity, and grace.
The Argyle mine in Northwestern Australia is considered the only mine in the world to have a consistent output of pink diamonds. However, pink diamonds have been found in India, Brazil and Tanzania as well. These diamonds are so rare, that for every million carats of rough mined, only one carat is deemed suitable enough for selling quality.
Red diamonds are the rarest diamonds on Earth. Their color is synonymous with strength and confidence. Unlike other fancy diamonds that have impurities containing chemical elements such as Nitrogen or Boron, red diamonds are created by a deformation in their atomic structure known as plastic deformation.
As of today, the red diamond carries a magnificent value. A red diamond at 0.20 carats typically starts with a $100,000 price tag and grows exponentially from there.
Fancy green diamonds are typically light in tone, low in saturation, and often muted with slight grey and/or brown. The hue is generally in the yellowish green category. In most green diamonds, the hue is confined to the surface, and rarely extends through the entire stone. That’s why cutters try to leave as much of the natural rough around the girdle as possible.
Green diamonds naturally occur when a diamond deposit rests near radioactive rocks. When the radiation displaces the carbon atoms from their normal position within the crystal, the light will disperse in a green hue towards the surface of the diamond.
Naturally colored green diamonds are extremely rare. With the rarity and the very real possibility of treatment, green diamonds are always regarded with suspicion and examined carefully in gemological laboratories. Even so, advanced gemological testing can’t always determine color origin in green diamonds.
These are the most common of the fancy colored diamonds and were the earliest diamonds to be used in jewelry. They can be dated back as early as the second century when Romans set these diamonds in rings.
Brown diamonds gained popularity in the 1980’s when an abundance of brown diamonds became available from Argyle mines. To market these rings and increase popularity, they were given names such as “cognac” and “champagne” diamonds leading them to be continually used in jewelry pieces to this day.
Yellow diamonds are the second most common fancy colored diamond because of its abundance of stones found throughout the world.
Black diamonds have increased in popularity in recent years due to use in contemporary jewelry. A black diamond is created due to impure forms of polycrystalline containing elements of diamond, graphite, and amorphous carbon. These diamonds are typically mined in Brazil and Central African Republic.
Grey diamonds come in a variety of shades from light to dark, and a variety of hues including yellow, green, blue, and violet. The grey found inside the diamond is due to high levels of hydrogen within the diamond itself.
Yes! There are also fancy white colored diamonds. For the most part, these diamonds will have a frosty white color, similar to refined sugar.
Interesting Facts
1 in 10,000
Only one in 10,000 diamonds has a fancy color.
$71.2 Million
In April 2017, the Pink Star diamond,
59.60 carats, became the most expensive
gem ever auctioned.
HOPE DIAMOND
The 45.52-carat Fancy Deep grayish blue Hope Diamond is the world’s most famous gem.
Diamond Specs
MINERAL: Diamond
CHEMISTRY: C
COLOR: All colors
REFRACTIVE INDEX: 2.42
BIREFRINGENCE: None
SPECIFIC GRAVITY: 3.52
MOHS HARDNESS: 10