Fancy Color Diamonds
A rough diamond is far from dazzling. Its angular carbon composition was formed billions of years ago through the fury of mother nature. The right amount of heat and pressure, in the right geological conditions must operate in harmony to chemically create a raw carbon crystal. The chance of that crystal becoming the sparkling diamond beauty that we know and love? Even more rare as 80% of the world’s diamonds are used for industrial purposes in tools, drills and lasers. The vast majority of the world’s diamonds are not worthy to be fashioned, polished and cut into a finished diamond.
TICKLE YOUR FANCY
While the allure of a finished white diamond is irresistible, it’s the revered fancy colored diamonds that have come to hold a special place in society. These pastel beauties are infinitely more rare than white diamonds. According to GIA, the world’s foremost authority in gemology, only 1 in every 10,000 gem-quality diamonds are considered to be fancy. The term “fancy” denotes that the diamond is a rare colored diamond, which can be found in every color of the spectrum, including the most recognized yellow, pink and blue. Within these hues, the strength of color is graded using terms such as vivid, intense and faint. The purer and more singular the color, the more valuable the diamond.
Clarity, shape and size are key as well, but the color of the diamond is the single most important attribute in determining value. Its hue is what will set the diamond apart from its peers. The color is formed through trace elements, such as nitrogen and boron, or as a result of the formation process and the crystal’s surrounding environment. There is an undeniable mystique to the pure, untamed beauty of a rough and uncut fancy colored diamond. From here, 1.6 billion years of formulative conditions are handed over to a diamond cutter to unveil mother nature’s masterpiece.
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Stage 1: While a rough diamond may be nature’s gift, it must be cut with extreme care and precision to showcase its most desirable attributes.
Stage 2: A master gem cutter must carefully analyze and plot their initial cuts to ensure the rough crystal transforms into a dazzling finished diamond.
Stage 3: With pink diamonds, even the smallest nuances to the cutting process can dramatically affect appearance and value.
Stage 4: Diamonds of this importance are only handled by master diamond cutters with decades of experience.
CRAVE-WORTHY COLOR
Pink, yellow, blue or green, every hue is precious and magnificent in its own right. What begins as an ordinary crystal will slowly be transformed into an extraordinary diamond of incomparable beauty. Modern technology helps to plot out the ideal facet placement to amplify the stone’s color and maximize carat weight. Many master artisans still finish the process by hand letting every scintillating sparkle of the diamond speak to them throughout the process. One slight misjudgment by a diamond cutter can mar or shatter the stone, an irrevocable outcome. Plotting, cutting and polishing a fancy colored diamond is both a science and an art with the end result a sparkling, wearable reward that was millenniums in the making.
Pink diamonds are in a league of their own, and they are only becoming increasingly more rare and more desired. One of the marvels of nature is the modest size that pink diamonds are often found in. The production for pinks over one carat in size has been less than a handful annually. Due to their limited availability, pink diamonds are worth 10 to 100 times more than a classic white diamond. A 14.83-carat stone, dubbed “The Spirit of the Rose,” sold in November 2020 for $26.6 million. This incredible diamond is internally flawless and graded as Fancy Vivid Purple-Pink. Only 1% of all pink diamonds are larger than ten carats, and only 4% of all pink diamonds are graded ‘Fancy Vivid’ which display a truly spectacular color.
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BEYOND RARE
Diamonds found in Australia’s Argyle Diamond Mine are globally recognized among the world’s finest diamonds, and 90% of the world’s supply is from this mine. The Argyle mine officially closed in October 2020, which ensures that rose-hued diamonds are set to become even more desirable. Pink diamonds are so rare that it is known as one of the most valuable and investment-worthy stones in the market.
The rarity of fancy colored diamonds is bringing global attention to these glittering pastel beauties. Worldwide collectors, investors and jewelry connoisseurs have become aware of the hypnotic power of pink, yellow, blue and other fancy colored hues. This awareness is driving demand at a fevered pace and setting record prices at auction. To date, the top five most expensive jewels ever sold at auction are colored diamonds—three pink and two blue. While it’s difficult to estimate the long-term supply of natural colored diamonds, one thing that remains certain– their intrinsic beauty, rarity and value will forever be impossible to ignore.
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