Overview

Fancy Yellow

Fancy Pink

Fancy Green

Fancy Blue

Fancy Orange

Fancy Brown

Fancy Coloured Diamonds

The Real and the rare
Diamonds come in every possible size, shape and colour and the rarest and most cherished of them all are fancy colored diamonds, which are now making the headlines as kings, captains of industry and movie stars alike willingly part with millions of dollars for the privilege of purchasing a single colored diamond.

As marvelous and precious, not to mention dazzling as colored diamonds are, many of them are quite affordable. And each year more and more sophisticated buyers are discovering the unique magic of these natural wonders. As curious as it is, with clear diamonds, the less color they possess the greater their value increases and when it comes to colored diamonds, the more color they possess the greater their value increases.

Volcanic Origin
Nothing exceeds the rarity of vividly colored fancy diamonds, spewed out of volcanic eruptions two hundred miles beneath the earth’s surface. Yellow and brown natural colored diamonds are among the most common and affordable while pink and blue diamonds are rarer and considerably more costly. Orange, green, purple and red diamonds are the rarest of all.

Colored Diamonds Today
Today calling a diamond one’s very own is limited only by one’s finances as well as the stones availability. Natural colored diamonds have always been appreciated by a select few. Now, with the parade of celebrities adorned with fancy colored diamonds on ‘the red carpet’ of award shows and increased awareness of the marvelous investment potential colored diamonds offer, their popularity continues to expand with each passing year.

Words like prestige and dazzling perfection come to mind when describing a fancy colored diamond but it isn’t until you actually slip one of Damasci’s colored diamond rings on your finger that you feel the joy of actually owning one of nature’s most precious creations.

Fancy Yellow (Canary) Diamonds

Natural yellow diamonds often referred to as canary diamonds, are the most popular and common of fancy diamonds. They make up well over half of all colored diamond varieties due to their being mined the world over.

Diamond Color and Intensity Grading
With colorless diamonds, graded on a scale D – Z, yellow diamonds begin where colorless diamonds leave off. No other colored diamonds bear a connection to the colorless diamond scale.

Natural yellow diamonds are graded according to their colored hue, beginning with Fancy Light Yellow, containing traces of white in them. Higher up the scale, Fancy Yellow color is perceived as more intense with a higher percentage of pure yellow content followed by Fancy Intense Yellow and the very fine Fancy Vivid Yellow as well as the Fancy Deep Yellow.

The intensity grade of a diamond can also be improved upon by the quality of its cut.

Secondary Colors
No two yellow diamonds are exactly alike and they are sometimes found in combination with 1 to 3 of the color hues, including but not limited to green, brown and orange tones. The pure yellow varieties still remain the most valuable, although exotic combinations like intense yellow/orange are much appreciated for the hypnotic appeal.

The Fancy Yellow Diamond Ring Phenomenon
For generations the classic, colorless diamond engagement ring has been the most popular choice by far. In more recent years however, natural yellow diamond engagement rings are growing in popularity due to their moderate cost when compared to other colored diamonds and their exceptional beauty.

Investment Value
More readily available for purchase than other colored diamonds, yellow diamonds continue to increase in value, especially when the clarity grade and color intensity are at the highest and also where the size is two carats or more.
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Fancy Pink Diamonds

Fancy pink diamonds are among the most breathtaking, luxurious and highly valued in the world today and they represent one of the rarest diamond colors known. Scientists remain uncertain as to how exactly these diamonds attain their superb pink coloring. Although theories abound, no one theory has completely been proven with certainty.

“Of the millions of diamonds mined each year, only .001 percent can qualify as fancy colored and only a handful can achieve the top grade of Intense Vivid.” (quote from GIA)

The Color and Intensity of Pink Diamonds
When it comes to fancy colored diamonds, color is the most important characteristic although cut, clarity and carat weight are also significant.

Natural pink diamonds are found in many intensity grades from Faint, Very Light, Light, Fancy Light, Fancy Intense, Fancy Vivid and Fancy Deep to Fancy Dark.

Secondary Colors
Sublimely beautiful purplish pink diamonds are the most highly rated of the secondary hues. Other notable secondary hues of pink diamonds include orangey, brownish orange, brownish, brownish purple and purple undertones.

Australia’s Argyle Mine
Although pink diamonds are occasionally found in diamond mines around the world, Australia’s Argyle mine has produced a profusion of glorious pink diamonds for years. And so fine is the coloration of these that the term Argyle Pink is used to describe diamonds from this one legendary source. Pink diamonds in general and Argyle Pink diamonds in particular are outstanding, top performing investments.

Who’s Who in the Pink Diamond World
Many celebrities freely admit to wearing pink diamond rings and jewels and they are frequently seen on the red carpet of the Academy Awards.

Iconic pink diamonds around the world are occasionally offered for sale including a very rare 24.78 carat Graff Intense Fancy pink diamond sold in Geneva for an unheard of $46 million dollars. And another legendary pink diamond known as the Princie Fancy Intense pink diamond sold for $39,300,000. One other pink diamond of distinction is known as the Steinmetz and weighs in at almost 59.6 carats with an internally flawless grading and is considered one of the most important pink diamonds in the world.
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Fancy Green Diamonds

Fancy Green Diamonds are rarer than yellow and pink and only the illusive red diamond is rarer still. Green diamonds displaying a pure green color without secondary hues of yellow and blue are almost unknown they are so rare, not to mention costly.

With the color green being a blend of blue and yellow, natural green diamonds usually range in color from blue-green to yellow-green. Occasionally these diamonds have brown or grey mixed in with them. The origin of color green is caused by exposure to radio activity, making it challenging to distinguish between the natural and the treated.

The Color and Intensity of Green Diamonds
Green diamonds are found in the following color range: Faint Green, Very Light Green, Light Green, Fancy Light Green, Fancy Green, Fancy Intense, Fancy Vivid, and Fancy Deep. Overtone colors are blue, blueish, brown and brownish.

Natural green diamonds are formed under intense heat and pressure, thousands of miles beneath the earth’s surface, taking millions of years to transform from a simple carbon state.

In human terms green diamonds symbolize restfulness, stability, peace and timeless endurance and for this reason are popular choices for diamond jeweler of all kinds.
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Fancy Blue Diamonds

Early records indicate that natural blue diamonds were first mined in India. The Argyle mine in Australia in more recent years has yielded some truly wonderful blue diamonds and the Pretoria mine in South Africa, as well. Ranging in color from light to dark navy blue, Fancy Blue diamonds are extremely rare and very costly. Is it any wonder that the color is most often associated with royalty and prestige. In fact, it is royalty who most often purchase these truly rare wonders of nature. Natural Fancy Blue Diamonds are traditionally found in all cuts and shapes, including Emeralds, Pear, Round, Cushion, Marquise, Oval and Princess.

The Color and Intensity of Blue Diamonds
Natural Blue diamonds are intensity graded as Faint Blue, Very Light Blue, Light Blue, Fancy Light Blue, Fancy Blue, Fancy Deep Blue, and Fancy Vivid Blue.

Secondary Hues
Rarely found in their pure state, blue diamonds usually contain green-blue or grey-blue overtones. It is boron found within the crystalline structure of blue diamonds which is responsible for the secondary tones of grey and violet.

Investment Potential
Very rare Fancy Blue diamonds are in short supply and prized as exceptional investments which retain their value no matter what the economic climate. In fact, they have never decreased in value.

Iconic Blue Diamonds
The regal and gorgeous color of blue diamonds is the stuff of legends and the most famous of all blue diamonds is the world renowned 45.52 carat Hope Diamond, the property of Kind Louse XIV of France, valued at between 200 and 250 million dollars.

The internally Flawless Wittelsbach Graff Blue Diamond sold recently for 24.3 million dollars.
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Fancy Orange Diamonds

Fancy Orange diamonds are one of nature’s most intriguing mysteries. Far less common than yellow or pink diamonds, the Gemological Institute of America only occasionally certifies a stone as being pure orange in color without any secondary hues. Most orange diamonds originate at the Argyle mine in Australia, renowned for its pink diamonds. Orange diamonds are also mined in South Africa.

The Color and Intensity of Orange Diamonds
For grading purposes, orange diamonds come in Faint Orange, Very Light Orange, Light Orange, Fancy Orange, Fancy Intense Orange, Fancy Vivid Orange, Fancy Deep Orange and Fancy Dark Orange.

The orange color is caused by nitrogen in the diamond’s internal structure, formed more than a thousand miles beneath the earth’s surface. Orange diamonds are referred to as orangey only when a small percentage of the stone is actually orange in color. If an orange diamond has traces of brown, it cannot be classified as a true orange diamond. The cost of orange diamonds increases along with the strength of their orange color.

Iconic Orange Diamonds
Only a few outstanding Vivid Orange diamonds have ever been found and these are relatively small less than 4 carats in weight. There is, however, an important Vivid Fancy Orange diamond simply called The Orange. This rare diamond sold for 35.5 million dollars and is considered miraculous in its size weighing 14.82 carats, four times the size of other diamonds of this color and quality.
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Fancy Brown Diamonds

Natural Fancy Brown diamonds have been gaining in popularity in recent years. This is due to their beauty as well as comparative value, as the cost of colored diamonds continues to rise.

The Argyle mine in Australia is a major source for many handsome, brown diamonds sold the world over. The mine decided to shift the traditional name of brown diamonds to the more intriguing…Champagne. With a clear connection to luxury, sophistication and pleasure associated with champagne, the name change has successfully attracted a whole new following to these previously overlooked but nevertheless worthy diamonds.

The warm, earthy tones of Fancy Brown diamonds, as with many other diamond colors, is the result of the passing of light through the internal structural imperfections of the diamond crystal. Each diamond mine producing Fancy Browns or Champagne diamonds is known for a different and unique shade of Champagne color. The famous Argyle mine in Australia produces very fine Champagne colored diamonds. These stones when pure in color are very scarce. As a rule the lighter shades of brown diamonds are known as Champagne and brown diamonds with orange and other hues are referred to as Cognac diamonds.

Important Fancy Brown Diamonds
There are a number of famous Fancy Brown or Champagne diamonds. The Golden Jubilee is a stellar example. Originally mined in the Premier mine of South Africa, it weighs in at an amazing 545.67 carats, making it the largest cut diamond in the world. With a value of up to 12 million dollars, the Golden Jubilee diamond was originally a Golden Jubilee gift to the King of Thailand, hence its name.

Another distinguished stone, The Earth Star diamond, was discovered at a DeBeers South African mine in 1967. The rough gem weighed 248.9 carats and was cut into a 111.59 pear-shaped gem, with bold brown coloration and exceptional brilliance.

Equally famous is the diamond known as the Incomparable, one of the largest ever found in the world, weighing 890 carats. It was discovered by a young girl in 1984, in a pile of rubble near the MIBA Diamond Mine in the Congo. Before cutting, the stone was the largest brown diamond known. It was eventually cut to 407.5 carats, in order to reduce the number of internal flaws.
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