The Hues Of Diamonds

Coloured diamonds are diamonds that have a noticeable bodycolour when viewed in the face-up position. Brown and yellow are the most common colours in natural coloured diamonds. Diamonds with natural pink, blue, orange, green, red, and violet bodycolours are extremely rare.

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Coloured Diamonds: Diamonds can occur in a variety of beautiful colours Images in the wonderful collection of coloured diamonds shown above are used with permission of IBD Fancy Colours LLC. They include from top left, going clockwise: a heart-shaped diamond with a Fancy Vivid pink colour weighing 0.70 carats; a Fancy Vivid yellowish-orange pear-shaped diamond weighing 0.85 carats; a Fancy Vivid yellow radiant cut diamond weighing 0.56 carats; a Fancy Deep brown radiant cut diamond weighing 1.00 carat; a Fancy Intense blue radiant cut diamond weighing 0.53 carats; and a Fancy Vivid green radiant cut diamond weighing 0.17 carats. They represent some of the finest hues of Fancy-colour diamonds.

Blue, green, and pink diamonds are much more rare than yellow diamonds. Another step up in rarity are orange, violet, and red diamonds. These colours often sell for over $100,000 per carat, and those of finest colour and quality will sell for over $1,000,000 per carat.

The price of a coloured diamond depends on more than its hue. Colour saturation and the uniformity of colour across the face of the gem are also important. Those with a pure hue are generally more desirable than those with modifying colours. As with all diamonds, the size of the gem and the quality of the cut are also very important.