Diamonds come in a wide variety of colors, and diamond grading laboratories like the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), The European Gem Laboratory (EGL), and the International Gemological Institute (IGI) use a list of 27 colors. Most diamonds fall in the normal color range of pale yellow or brown. Nevertheless, diamonds also can be found in a more pronounced yellow, brown, grey, blue, orange, red, green, pink, purple and black.
These rare colored diamonds are called fancy color diamonds. There are also colored diamonds, which are modified in a laboratory by nuclear restructuring, called “treated”; as compared to those created by Mother Nature, or natural fancy colored diamonds, to which we are referring in this article.
Unlike colorless and near-colorless diamonds, which are valued for their lack of color, fancy color diamonds are valued for the intensity of their color.
Fancy color diamonds range from “Faint” to “Fancy Vivid.” In the lower color grades of “Light” and “Faint” colored diamonds usually cost only a slight premium over near-colorless stones due to their washed out appearance in color. In the middle color grades, ”Fancy” through “Fancy Intense” there are many fancy color diamonds that are more saturated in color intensity, yet still affordable. As diamonds approach the top color grades, ”Fancy Deep” and “Fancy Vivid” their rarity and cost increases sharply.
Red Diamonds
Red diamonds are considered to be the rarest, with less than 20 certified specimens of “natural” red diamonds in the world, some having sold for more than $1 million per carat. Red diamonds have the same makeup as pink diamonds and are thought to be created simply by an imperfection in the crystal lattice.
Green Diamonds
Green diamonds are caused by exposure to natural radiation such as uranium ore. Green diamonds are also very rare evidenced by most jewelers having never even seen one. Green diamonds sell for more than $500,000 per carat because of their rarity.
Blue Diamonds
Blue diamonds are considered to be a coveted hue due to their rarity, with a cost of $50,000 per carat for a 1 carat fancy dark blue diamond. Natural fancy blue diamonds are usually classified as either gray-blue or green-blue. The color in gray-blue, grayish blue, blackish blue or black-blue colored diamonds is caused by the presence of small amounts of boron in their structure. Green-blue or greenish blue colored diamonds usually contain nitrogen impurities.
Black Diamonds
In contrast to conventional diamonds, which are composed of a single crystal, black diamonds are made up of millions of tiny crystals bonded together. Numerous inclusions and microscopic deposits of sulfides between these bonds are responsible for the black diamonds’ dark color. Unlike traditional diamonds, black diamonds are composed of carbon atoms and small amounts of hydrogen.
Pink Diamonds
A pink diamond is one of the rarest and most expensive colors of diamond. It is found in a range of colors, from light to dark pink and is graded on a color scale. A diamond with a perfect carbon molecular structure is clear in color. A pink diamond results from imperfections forming within the crystal lattice. There are three color classifications for a pink diamond: magenta pink, reddish pink and brownish pink.
Yellow Diamonds
Yellow diamonds, also known as canary diamonds, are naturally yellow and occur in various color grades, ranging from faint yellow to fancy vivid yellow. Canary diamonds get their yellow shading from an increase of nitrogen atoms that are dispersed throughout the diamond’s structure.
The physical conditions necessary to color a diamond naturally occur very seldom, making natural color diamonds extremely rare. For every natural fancy color diamond, there are 10,000 colorless ones that have made the trip from the earth’s depths to its surface. Therefore, when a diamond sparkles with brilliant, intense color, it is a gem of great rarity and beauty.
