Colored diamonds, rare and precious stones for unusual jewels
You say diamond and you immediately think of the most precious, pure and transparent stone, but in reality they are there too, i colored diamonds, also called fancy color diamonds (English fancy colored diamonds, “fancy colored diamonds”). They show off shades ranging from yellow to brown, from pink to red, up to green and blue, they are as precious as colorless diamonds (and sometimes more) and have become protagonists of contemporary high jewellery.
What are colored diamonds
They are natural diamonds, which owe their color to different factors, for example the concentration of nitrogen atoms (in yellow diamonds) or boron (in blue ones), or to the natural environment in which the stone is formed.
For this reason i colored diamonds they are extremely rare: they are 1 in 10.000 diamonds mined. The most common are yellow and brown diamonds, the rarest are red and green diamonds. The shades also include blue, purple, pink, up to gray and black.
If in colorless diamonds the value is given precisely by the absence of color and transparency, in colored diamonds it is the opposite: the more evident the color, the more the value of the stone increases.
Know and evaluate colored diamonds
To understand the value of fancy color diamonds three factors must be taken into account:
- the shade of the main color of the diamond and its uniformity;
- saturation, which indicates the intensity of the color;
- the tone, which measures the brightness of the diamond.
Il GIA (Gemological Institute of America), the American gemological institute, has developed an officially recognized system for classifying gemstones colored diamonds, which is based precisely on these factors.
All colors of diamonds
- Il brown it is the most common color among colored diamonds, with a great variety of shades, from light to darker brown.
- Colored diamonds are also quite common yellow, due to the significant amount of nitrogen in the crystalline structure. They are mostly found in Australia, South Africa and Brazil.
- Il Verde in fancy color diamonds it is often light, with low saturation and rarely uniform color. The coloring comes from the stones' exposure to natural radiation over millions of years. They are extremely rare and come mainly from Africa and South America.
- even the blu it is a rare colour, given by the presence of boron: the greater the quantity inside the stone, the more intense the shade of blue. They are mined in Australia and South Africa.
- Color diamonds pink e red they are very rare, especially since the Argyle mine in Australia, which for several decades produced 2020% of these diamonds, closed in 90. Since then, producing countries have included India, Brazil, Angola and Russia.
- Finally, there are also colored diamonds Grey, given by the presence of iron inclusions.
We add that the size, shape and cut can also affect the shades of the colored diamonds. The color may be more intense in a larger diamond and some cuts, such as the radiant cut, can make some colored diamonds, such as yellow ones, stand out.
The perfect jewels with colored diamonds
I fancy color diamonds they are increasingly in demand both in traditional jewelery and in the more original and innovative ones.
A colored diamond can be an alternative to the solitaire and thus transform the traditional engagement ring in a unique jewel different from any other. It can also become the protagonist of other important occasions, such as anniversaries and anniversaries, and make classic jewelery such as diamond rings, the tennis bracelets, light point earrings, rings e pendants.
There are also special collections in which i colored diamonds they have a starring role, like Fancy Color & Beads by Daverio1933, who combines stones based on color and shape to create unique earrings, bracelets and pendants.
Multicolor diamonds are also perfect together with white ones, to create chromatic effects that enhance shapes and volumes, especially in important jewels. An example of this are the sculpture-jewels designed by Luca Daverio, as are the rings in the collections ForEverHugMe o Masterpieces and the most recent Ricci, where colored diamonds underline the original “amorphous shape” of rings and pendants.