Your Guide to Diamond Color

When most industry experts discuss a diamond's color, they are typically referring to a diamond's transparancy, or lack of color. Diamonds composed of 100% pure carbon without any impurities render completely colorless diamonds. However, almost all diamonds contain some degree of color impurity caused by lingering traces of nitrogen, boron, hydrogen or other elements. Most diamonds are affected solely by nitrogen traces, which create pale yellowish or brownish tints.
When shopping for a diamond, be aware that the most valuable diamonds have the least amount of color, no diamond color. However, it is important to note that there is a class of diamonds known as fancy diamonds which are actual colored diamonds, including blue diamonds, pink diamonds and even yellow diamonds, if in fact you are looking for colored diamonds.

Pieces of fine jewelry have long been some of the most versatile accessories in the world of fashion design. The use of different shades of diamond color has increased the versatility of those pieces even further. It seems that colored diamonds continue to become even more popular with each passing year. This brief overview will familiarize you with some of the most popular options available.

Blue

Blue diamonds range from light blue (like the sky) to deep blue (like the ocean). Most of them come from the Cullinan mine and the Golconda region of India. The 45 carat Hope Diamond is the most famous blue diamond in history. The blue color of these diamonds comes from the presence of Boron in them. As the color becomes more intense, so does the value of the diamond. (That is the case with all colored diamonds.)

Pink

Pink diamonds are slightly more common than blue ones, and they are arguably more popular as well. They have a similar range to blue diamonds, spanning the spectrum from the softest of pastels to a deep raspberry color. These colors are popular because of their association with romance and their popularity among Hollywood luminaries. Today, most pink diamonds are mined in western Australia. There is a mine there called the Argyle mine that is especially famous for producing plenty of hot pink gems.

Brown

Brown diamonds are also known as chocolate diamonds. A strong case could be made that they are currently the most popular of the colored diamonds. Many of them come from the same mine as the pink diamonds, but they are also mined in Siberia and Southern Africa. Their color comes from a distortion of the crystal lattice. Brown diamonds can be further categorized into champagne, latte, and cognac.

 

Red

Red diamonds are among the rarest of colored diamonds. Essentially, they are pink diamonds with deep, brilliant coloring. Here again, crystal distortion is the cause of that colorization. This particular depth of color is so rare that most gemologists have never seen a naturally-occurring red diamond in person. Red diamonds are so small that the largest one known to exist weighs only 5.11 carats.

Black

Naturally-colored black diamonds are very rare as well. The black color comes from dark impurities within the diamonds themselves (usually graphite). Most black diamonds are very small, but one as large as 67.5 carats (the Black Orloff) is known to exist. Because of their opacity, their beauty comes from the luster that reflects light off their surfaces. They are often combined with colorless diamonds in the creation of extremely fashionable pieces of jewelry

These colors are not your only options. Purple, violet, olive, gray, orange, yellow, and green are also available. Perhaps one of these colors holds some special meaning for the recipient of your piece. If so, they will be all the more delighted with it.

What Color Grade Should I Choose?

Zoara suggests that you do some window shopping for certified diamonds, take a look at diamonds of all color grades and compare and contrast. The difference in appearance between colorless diamonds and near colorless diamonds may not be detectable, but the price difference can be quite considerable. If you find that you are sensitive to low color grades, then we suggest you choose a diamond with the color grade that satisfies you. However, if you have difficulty differentiating between different color grades, then you may want to consider a nearly colorless diamond.
Assuming that you are looking for a round brilliant diamond, you have a bit more flexibility in your color grade, because the brilliance makes it more difficult to detect color. In this instance, anything over I color is usually more than adequate, and will appear completely colorless to the untrained eye unless held up against a diamond that is at least 3 color grades above it, such as an F or E colored diamond. Therefore, you may want to consider the hundreds to thousands of dollars that you can save by going lower on the color scale. For example, you can use the difference towards the carat weight and get a larger diamond, or consider a diamond with a better cut, thus providing you with a more sparkling and dazzling stone.
There are also many gemologists and diamond experts who claim that a completely colorless diamond provides light refraction that is too harsh and is unpleasant to the eye. Imagine if you are looking into a very bright spotlight- other than the glare, you can’t really see anything. However, when the light is slightly dimmed you can actually see more detail and the viewing experience is more comfortable. These experts suggest getting a diamond that has a small amount of color, which will soften the light and make it easier to view the entire spectrum of color that is given off when the diamond scintillates. If your setting is in yellow gold, you have even more flexibility in the color. Since the color of the diamond is usually only noticed when comparing it to an item that is white or colorless, if held up against a yellow gold background, there will be far less contrast, and the color will be even less noticeable. In this instance, you can even get a diamond with a J color, and it will still appear to be colorless to the untrained eye.
There are exceptions to the rule however. For example, diamonds with pointed ends, specifically marquis, radiants, trillion, pear and sometimes even princess shaped diamonds tend to focus the color on these points. In this case, it is usually best to stay with a color grade of H and higher. However, if you have a pronged setting, the prongs will usually hide this color concentration In addition, when you are perhaps looking for a loose center diamond for a 3 stone ring, it is important to make sure that the color ranges are at least within 1 grade of each other.