Everyone knows that a natural fancy color diamond is extremely rare, but do you
know how rare it is? For diamond mining, over 250 tons of rock needs to be blasted,
crushed, processed and x-rayed to yield just a 1-carat diamond. More than 120
million carats are mined every year and less than a quarter of them will end up in
jewelry based on their gem quality. Out of that amount, only one in a few hundreds
of thousands possesses enough color to be classified as a “natural fancy color
diamond”.
Yellow Diamonds
The positioning of fancy yellows is unique — they are the most popular natural fancy
color diamonds while relatively speaking of course, they are the most common
ones,. It is estimated that around 60% of all natural colored diamonds belong to the
fancy yellow category. As a “common” color diamond and a “rare” gem, many
customers regard yellow diamonds as their favorite stones. Let’s explore into these
irresistible diamonds.
I.
Formation
A diamond’s yellow color is the result of nitrogen molecules absorbing blue light,
making the diamond appear yellow, yellow being the complement of the color blue.
The higher concentration of the gas present in the formation period of the
gemstone, the more saturated the yellow coloring. The stronger the color of a fancy
color diamond is, the more valuable it is.
II.
Major Origins
South Africa and Australia are renowned for producing natural fancy color diamonds.
South Africa has seen the most notable production of large and intense yellow
diamonds.
III.
Popularity
Natural fancy yellows are popular diamonds that are frequently worn by celebrities
and featured in magazines. Hollywood actress Cate Blanchett wore a pair of earrings,
each with a 3-carat yellow diamond, in Oscars 2011.She also wore a magnificent
Tiffany yellow diamond necklace. These extravagant items captured the media’s
attention easily. A pair of earrings studded with natural fancy color diamonds is
always precious, because it is not easy to find a matching set due to the rarity of
these stones. Celebrities such as Penelope Cruz, Mary Hart and Kathy Griffin are also
in love with these exquisite stones and have shown up at various events with
stunning yellow diamond jewellery.
IV.
Famous jewellery with yellows
When it comes to jewellery with natural fancy yellow diamonds, jewel fans may
probably think of the Tiffany Diamond ― one of the largest fancy yellow diamonds
ever discovered. As a rough It weighed 287.42 carats and it was cut into a cushionshaped 128.54-carat stone. This diamond is known to have been worn by only two
women a of now: Mrs. Sheldon Whitehouse at the 1957 Tiffany Ball held in Newport,
Rhode Island, mounted for the occasion in a necklace of white diamonds; and it was
subsequently worn by Audrey Hepburn in publicity photos for the film Breakfast at
Tiffany’s.
V.
Nickname for Yellow Diamonds
Sometimes you may see “Canary diamonds” on jewellery-related articles and you
may wonder what they are. Actually, canary diamonds are not little-yellow-birdshaped gemstones. For diamond collectors, the term “Canary diamonds” usually
refers to fancy vivid or intense yellow diamonds.
Orange Diamonds
Natural fancy orange diamonds are somewhat of an anomaly. Being the ultimate
possession for diamond lovers, it is extremely rare to find a pure orange diamond. To
be classified as a “fancy color orange diamond”, there must be a complete absence
of brown in the gemstone. Although the orange hue is not as rare in nature as some
other hues, the GIA rarely grades an orange diamond as “pure” orange. As a result,
orange stones that receive this grade are even rarer than the natural fancy red
diamonds. However, why the market value of oranges is not as high as that of reds
or blues even though the orange gemstones are rarer? From the position of the
connoisseur, the only thing holding back the price of natural fancy orange diamonds
is that orange is not a primary color.
I.
Formation
Due to the rarity of orange diamonds, the gemological knowledge about the jewels is
limited. What is known is that most diamonds in the orange color range are
considered dark in tone and weak to moderate in saturation. As the color orange is a
mixture of the primary colors red and yellow, natural fancy orange diamonds range
from brown-orange to yellow orange, with most stones having brown or brownish
color appearance to the naked eye.
II.
Popularity
Natural fancy orange diamonds are very appealing to celebrities. Famous actress
Halle Berry wore a ring from high-profile jeweler, Harry Winston which adorned
“The Pumpkin Diamond”, one of the largest natural fancy vivid orange diamonds in
the world, to the 2002 Oscars where she won the Academy Award for Best Actress.
This year, actress Kelly MacDonald , nominated for best supporting actress for her
role in Boardwalk Empire , attended the 2011 Golden Globe Awards with a pair of
sparkling earrings encrusted with two oval orange diamonds. Hollywood’s A-list
actresses are definitely in love with orange gemstones, because we guess that those
jewels make them feel as unique as those stones.