What are naturally coloured diamonds?

Naturally coloured diamonds are diamonds that got their colour from minerals in the earth like nitrogen or carbon. Colours vary from pink to yellow, blue, brown, and sometimes red. Only one in 10,000 diamonds is naturally coloured, making them even more exclusive (and expensive).

Colour

The cause for the colour in coloured diamonds varies from colour to colour. For instance, yellow diamonds owe their cheerful hue to the presence of nitrogen. Blue diamonds, on the other hand, contain boron, which causes a blue colour. The cause of pink and red diamonds' remarkable colour is unknown for certain, though speculations state that they are variations of the result of fractures in the crystal lattice. The rarer the colour, and the more intensely the colour shows, the higher the value. Yellow and brown diamonds are most commonly found, while red, blue, and green diamonds are among the rarest of all fancy colours.

Intensity

Colour intensity, namely the deepness or richness of the colour, is the most important parameter when purchasing a fancy coloured diamond. The more intense the colour, the rarer and more valuable the diamond will be. Diamonds with lighter colour intensity levels such as faint, very light, light, fancy light, and fancy are more common than diamonds with the richer intensities of fancy intense, fancy vivid, and fancy deep, and thus less in value.

All fancy coloured diamonds of BNT Diamonds are 100% natural, and not treated.

Below you can find some examples of different colours and intensities:

Fancy pink-brown

Fancy brownish pink

Fancy light pink

Fancy pink

Fancy deep pink

Fancy brownish greenish yellow

Fancy grayish/greenish yellow

Fancy light yellow

Carat

After colour grade, carat weight has the most impact on price for fancy coloured diamonds. One carat equals 0.2 gram. The word "carat" comes from the "carob" seed, the original unit of measure for diamond traders. As the carat of a diamond increases, the diamond's price increases at an exponential rate because it becomes rare and rarer. Fewer than one in one million mined rough diamonds are large enough to produce a polished 1 carat diamond. The diamond prices for fancy coloured diamonds, too, rise exponentially with carat weight.

Clarity

As diamonds are formed deep within the earth, under extreme heat and pressure, they often contain unique birthmarks, either internal (inclusions) or external (blemishes). Clarity grading goes from LC (loupe clean) or IF (internally flawless) to I3 (included). The higher graded on the clarity scale, the more precious and special, and the higher the price.
Due to the nature of fancy coloured diamonds, clarity is less important than it is in their colourless counterparts. This is true because inclusions tend to be masked by the diamond's colour.

Cut

Fancy colour diamonds are primarily cut to emphasize their colour. This contrasts with colourless diamonds that are cut to maximize their sparkle or brilliance. While fancy coloured diamonds still exhibit brilliance, colour is the most important characteristic considered when they are being cut.

Shape

Shape refers to the overall outline of the diamond when viewed from the top (e.g. round, princess or cushion). A lot of fancy coloured diamonds are cut into non-common shapes to enhance their natural colour. Because of the rarity of fancy coloured diamonds, not all colours are available in any shapes at any given time.

If you are looking for a specific fancy coloured diamond, please contact our experts through info@baunat.com or +32 3 201 24 90.

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