The colored diamonds
The colored diamonds
When we think of diamonds, most of the time our minds immediately go to the white, colorless ones. But the world of diamonds contains much more than these traditional gemstones. There are diamonds that come in shades and intensities, across the spectrum of colors - called colored diamonds - and today, they are the most prized stones on the planet.
How are colored diamonds formed?
Traditional white diamonds (colorless diamonds) are created through a complex process involving superheated, highly pressurized carbon molecules near the earth's core. Natural colored diamonds are created in the same way, with one difference. When foreign particles are trapped in the diamond during the crystallization process, they alter the chemical process and thus change the result. Chemistry then becomes alchemy and boron colors the stone blue, nitrogen yellow, hydrogen red, pink or purple, and retroactive uranium salts give the stone a sublime shade of green.
Gem-quality colored diamonds are extremely rare and exceptionally beautiful. Only one in 10,000 diamonds possesses natural color and is called a colored diamond.
All naturally colored diamonds are rare, but some colors and shades are even rarer than others. They are classified according to their hue, tone and saturation (from Fancy Light to Fancy Intense and Fancy Vivid). When a diamond has two or three equally visible colors, this is indicated in its name - a pink-brown diamond is therefore a brown diamond with a pink tint.
Properties of colored diamonds – “the 4Cs”, the 4 main characteristics: coulour (colour), carat (carat), clarity (clarity) and cut (cut).
The color
The intensity, the depth of the color is the most important aspect when buying a colored diamond. The more intense this is, the rarer and more valuable the diamond will be.
Diamonds are naturally found in every color of the rainbow - red, blue, green, purple, yellow, pink, etc. How expensive a colored diamond is depends on its rarity and how in demand that shade is at any given time. Nowadays, the rarest color is red, therefore the most expensive diamond is red.
Carate
After color, carat weight has the biggest impact on price. Large diamonds are much less frequently discovered than small ones, which makes them much more valuable. Because of this, prices for colored diamonds increase exponentially with carat weight.
Clarity
Due to the nature of colored diamonds, clarity is a less important characteristic than it is with colorless diamonds, as inclusions tend to be masked by color.
The cut
Colored diamonds are cut primarily to emphasize their color. This contrasts with colorless diamonds, which are cut to maximize their brilliance.
The most beloved colored diamonds
The orange diamond
Called the “fire diamond”, it is one of the rarest, most valuable and beautiful colored diamonds and comes in a variety of shades and intensities (from a light orange to the shade popularly referred to as “pumpkin” ). They are rich in nitrogen, but what makes them orange remains a mystery of nature. The orange diamond evokes courage.
The Green Diamond
Most of the time, when we see a green stone in a piece of jewelry, we automatically assume it's an emerald, but maybe it's a diamond. While emeralds possess a vibrant green color, green diamonds are actually much stronger than emeralds and come in a wide range of shades. They were created because they were exposed to atomic radiation, more precisely to radioactive uranium in rocks close to the earth's surface. The intensity of the color is determined by three things: the size of the stone, the time it has been exposed to radiation, and the level of radiation it has been exposed to. This type of diamond is synonymous with balance and harmony, but also with a new beginning.
The pink and red diamond
Pink diamonds are among the hardest to find, but red diamonds are by far the rarest. The pink and red colors are due to a change in their microscopic atomic structure caused by intense heat and pressure. They have been associated with love, romance and femininity for centuries. The most expensive diamond in the world is the colored stone, "Pink Star" (a 59.60 carat oval stone with a very vivid pink hue, sold for $83 million).
The blue diamond
The presence of boron impurities is often responsible for the color of natural blue diamonds. The more boron, the more intense the blue. Their color can also be caused by exposure to radiation or by combining with hydrogen. Blue diamonds are very rare and are often seen as symbols of peace, calm and freedom. The most famous is the "Blue Moon" diamond which was sold for 48.4 million dollars, the highest amount ever achieved by a blue stone.
The brown diamond
From rich cognac tones to shades of chocolate, brown diamonds were among the first stones used in jewelry and are often associated in the collective imagination with stability and comfort.
The yellow diamond
The presence of nitrogen makes a diamond appear yellow, and the intensity of the color depends on the amounts of nitrogen. Yellow diamonds usually evoke feelings of cheerfulness and optimism.
The purple diamond
This diamond varies in levels of color intensity, ranging from light purple to vivid purple, to dark purple. The intensity of the color is due to the amount of hydrogen and boron in the diamond's structure or the amount of pressure it underwent during formation.
In addition to natural colored diamonds, there are also artificial ones, treated to make them colored. Many blue, green and yellow diamonds on the market today are actually inferior "normal" color diamonds that have been irradiated. A treated diamond has a lower value than a natural diamond because its hue is likely to wear over time, affecting its beauty and longevity. Therefore, such diamonds are less expensive (and less valuable) compared to natural ones.
