Fancy Color Diamonds

Fancy color diamonds are gaining much popularity in recent years. There are few reasons for that, but the main one is that they are enabling adding color and creativity to jewelry. With fancy color diamond, one can create amazing colorful rings, earring and more unique looks and designs.

Fancy Color Diamonds Introduction

Fancy color diamonds are the kept secret of the diamond world. In terms of color, diamonds are divided into three main groups:

1. Industrial diamonds: most are black, gray and brown – this is the largest group in terms of global production (about 80%). They are not for jewelry purposes but only for industrial uses (mostly cutting and grinding tools).
2. White diamonds: The most common diamonds that are used in the jewelry industry. White diamonds are graded from D to Z in terms of color.
3. Fancy color diamonds: This group is the Elite of the diamond industry. Only one percent of the jewelry intended diamonds are considered Fancy. Fancy color diamonds come in 27 basic hues, some of which are Red, Blue, Green and pink colors. These colors are highly rare and very expensive.

Fancy Color diamonds basics and rarity

Fancy color diamonds besides being rare are also very unique looking. The fact that they come in 27 different hues and can also have a second, third and even fourth colors makes some of them very attractive. Over all, they come in more than 200 color combinations. The origin of color in fancy color diamonds can be attributed to the long diamond-forming period inside the earth. Diamonds gain their fancy color due to different chemicals that they came across during the forming period. For example, we know that the yellow and green colors are formed due to nitrogen and radiation exposure. The blue color is formed due to the existence of boron. Pink diamond color origin, however, remains unknown until today. Some argue that the color was formed as the stone was under high pressure for hundreds or thousands of years inside the earth. And as it was to surface, the stone experienced an altered structure state, allowing it to receive and absorb light and produce the pink color.

Maria Menounos wearing champagne diamond dress

Fancy color diamonds 4 C’s

Grading fancy color diamonds is done in the same manner (according to the 4 C’s) as white diamonds with one main difference: The color grading.
Fancy color diamonds are basically the same mineral as white diamonds with the difference of the way they were formed in nature. Red, blue, green and pink colors are the rarest colors and due to this rarity their price is less affected by the attributes of the other 3 C’s (carat weight, clarity, and cut). That means that in general, the rarity of color is affecting the value more than other features.

Fancy color diamonds color grading and pricing

Fancy color diamonds grading in terms of color is very different than the white diamonds. White diamonds are sorted from D to Z color grading. While D is the whitest (colorless), Z represents that the diamond has the most color (mostly yellow or brown shades) and is the border between white diamonds to fancy color ones.
Fancy color diamonds are basically graded by 9 grades based on how intense the color is.
The interesting fact is that while they are priced in a growing order from faint all the way to vivid, the two grades – Deep and Dark – are valued according to the specific features of the diamond color. And they are usually priced at the level of between the fancy and the fancy vivid grades.

Jessica Alba wearing yellow and white diamond Creole Hoop earrings

Natural VS. Treated Diamonds

Natural fancy color diamonds are unique in the way that they are 100% formed in nature and their color source is genuine. As this doesn’t happen often, it makes them rare and therefore expensive.

You can compare them to Monet, Van Gogh’s masterpiece, in terms of rarity and how they are collected and cherished by royalty for hundreds of years.

Different techniques can be applied to treat color diamonds. These include heating, external coloration, and a few others in order to alter their color from less expensive color (usually brown and grey) to more tradable one – depending on the market needs and the basic features of the treated diamond.

The GIA and other gemological labs are able to determine whether the diamond color source is natural or treated. Therefore, it is highly recommended to buy a certified diamond.

Beyonce wearing Lorraine Schwartz diamond-encrusted tassel earrings with black and colorless diamonds

How to buy the best Fancy color diamonds

In order to buy the best and genuine fancy color diamonds it is highly recommended to buy them from a respectably known firm. Ideally, you should buy one from an institution that is affiliated with the NCDIA (Natural Color Diamonds Association) and with a GIA gemological certification. When looking for a fancy color diamonds you should know they come in a very large ray of color possibilities and pricing.
Yellow diamonds with a fancy color grading are priced more or less as average white diamonds. However, when looking for higher yellow intensities (fancy intense or fancy vivid) the pricing is significantly rising. Blue, Pink, Orange and Red diamonds are much more expensive even from the high intensities of the yellow ones.
However if you are willing to go for the lower intensities or mixed colors, diamonds prices can be quite competitive and many of them have very unique color looks.