Choco…Cognac…Champagne Diamonds?

[Diamond_Hawk]

So really, whether you call it champagne, or label it W-Y is probably not an issue to them and they know they are not buying a white diamond. However, they certainly might be surprised, or insulted, that someone else called it poo. There might be people out there that think anything lower than D-E-F VVs1-VVs2 is poo. Does that make it so?

Excellent point. We are all coming at it with a certain set of expectations.

 

[Diamond_Hawk]

I'm fond of brown diamonds; I don't own any, but when describing them to friends, I always use the often-heard terms: champagne, cognac, chocolate. I'd actually love it if whiskey, rum, and tequila started getting thrown around, too.

I think that for most laypeople, these terms provide a better mental picture of the stone's color. That said, once one decides exactly what color they're searching for, they should look to vendors for guidance using more color-specific language to accurately indicate tints and undertones. Because, as you know, there are so many variations of "chocolate", "cognac", etc.; people will have pretty specific preferences when it comes to choosing one over another.

Not sure if I addressed your inquiry in the way your were seeking, but there it is.

I have been around enough people in the trade - we don't need any MORE reasons to introduce whiskey, rum, or tequila!

And, yes - your answer is the type of thing that is valuable: You feel the names give the consumers something to relate to and opens the door for their own investigation into areas of specificity in regard to varying hues and subtleties in the diamonds. Great point.

 

[SteveWorks]

Ha, ha...never heard these terms but why not? One more reason to love alcohol!
_______________________________________
Steve Works
Check out Canard Duchene

 

[Rockdiamond]

When I think of brown a chestnut mare comes to mind.
There's so many subtle tones in the brown family.
Personally, I don't have a "hate" reaction to any color- though I certainly prefer some colors to others.
But I never really understood the negativity about the color brown in diamonds.
About the "flowery" names- yes, one company has even patented one of these flavored names.
A smart business move.
If there was an industrious patent lawyer at the time, I'm sure someone might have ponied up the dough to put a fight up about patenting the right to use the word "Chocolate" to describe a diamond

in gemological terms we have the Argyle scale- from C1-C9
More widely accepted is GIA's Fancy Colored grading systems.
In that regard, I find brown diamonds to be among the most fascinating, in terms of color- and also most difficult to categorize.
Going back to the chestnut mare, a brown diamond can have so many subtle undertones that two stones getting the same color grade- Fancy Yellow Brown, for example- can have totally different appearances.
Then we have browns with orangy tones- coppery colored.
Or pinkish browns- now those can fetch some serious buckeroos if the pink is noticeable.

The range of colors is astounding.
And for those of us who do love "brownies"- we can laugh all the way to the bank because this prejudice makes brown diamonds among the least costly of all diamonds colors.

 

[the_mother_thing]

I absolutely love my "ginger". I find it flashes so much color in a way my white ones do not. It's like the colors are a more vibrant range of primary colors. And being an OMC, they are chunky flashes of color, so even more distinct flashes in that regard. I have a few other smaller, loose ones (RB vs OMC though) that I want to set into an band, but that is a back burner project for now.

 

[Asscherhalo_lover]

One of the most beautiful diamonds ever, I don't know who owns it now....brownish yellow. This is when I fell in love with brownish yellow, I will own one someday!

 

[movie zombie]

I find white diamonds boring.....I mean very boring.
champagne diamonds if cut right can and do have something that I like.
for an ER? yes, if you know she's into it or likes color in stones.
no, if she's bought into the white is right mentality.......
at the end of the day it is what pleases her eye and what she wants.
mine is a .42 Argyle that I've had for some years and was very reasonable at the time but is as of yet unset [mokume gane calls for this stone!]

 

[kroshka]

It used to be that I was only obsessed with fancy color diamonds, but over time I have learned to love and appreciate some white diamonds. I have a bracelet that has different shades of brown, champagne, orange, and yellow diamonds in it. Variety is the spice of life!

Photos of it can be seen here, although I really should take new ones because these really don't do it justice.
https://www.pricescope.com/communit...d-halo-bracelet.122267/#post-2133536#p2133536

Kroshka

 

[Diamond_Hawk]

When I think of brown a chestnut mare comes to mind.
There's so many subtle tones in the brown family.
Personally, I don't have a "hate" reaction to any color- though I certainly prefer some colors to others.
But I never really understood the negativity about the color brown in diamonds.
About the "flowery" names- yes, one company has even patented one of these flavored names.
A smart business move.
If there was an industrious patent lawyer at the time, I'm sure someone might have ponied up the dough to put a fight up about patenting the right to use the word "Chocolate" to describe a diamond

in gemological terms we have the Argyle scale- from C1-C9
More widely accepted is GIA's Fancy Colored grading systems.
In that regard, I find brown diamonds to be among the most fascinating, in terms of color- and also most difficult to categorize.
Going back to the chestnut mare, a brown diamond can have so many subtle undertones that two stones getting the same color grade- Fancy Yellow Brown, for example- can have totally different appearances.
Then we have browns with orangy tones- coppery colored.
Or pinkish browns- now those can fetch some serious buckeroos if the pink is noticeable.

The range of colors is astounding.
And for those of us who do love "brownies"- we can laugh all the way to the bank because this prejudice makes brown diamonds among the least costly of all diamonds colors.

Rockdiamond,

I love this post! What a contrast to some of the earlier comments poo-pooing (intentional word choice) the FCD's with a brown tint. The considerations of the yellow vs. the coppery vs. the pinkish-browns are truly fascinating and it is great to see someone who is a passionate advocate of these types of diamonds.

 

[Diamond_Hawk]

I absolutely love my "ginger". I find it flashes so much color in a way my white ones do not. It's like the colors are a more vibrant range of primary colors. And being an OMC, they are chunky flashes of color, so even more distinct flashes in that regard.

JoCoJenn,

I echo my sentiments to Rockdiamond. PS customers, prosumers and trade members often focuses on science and parameters and on the analysis of angles and proportions. This is all valuable, but there is a danger that the pure love people have for their jewelry gets a bit lost. Seeing the passion for your diamonds puts a smile on my face. Awesome.

 

[Mnmuffin]

I think it's a matter of opinion. Some jewelers mistakenly confuse rarity with quality. I personally prefer a brown tint in a lower color diamond over a yellow one. My vintage diamond is a whitish ivory color in some lights and has a bit of a champagne tint in others, I plan to get a band that enhances this effect.
I find that D,E,and F diamonds look a bit too blue or fake to me, this is something that was created in the earth. I won't be wearing a stark white wedding dress though either, just not my style.
I also don't care for super saturated fancies (what the industry would call higher quality) and prefer more of a tint. Free to be you and me etc etc.....
It is pretty elitist and nouveau riche to call a brown tint a poop diamond or something equally infantile.

 

[chrono]

I don't like romanticized names because even within the different types of alcohol, the colour will vary from brand to brand and depend on the amount of liquid in the glass. I much prefer a standardized descriptor where all the FCDs are on the same playing field and I don't have to guess how brown this champagne diamond is compared to that champagne diamond. I see the new marketing name as another excuse to make it sound rare and exclusive and hence, another reason to charge higher pricing.

 

[Jambalaya]

I think that the color brown can have a number of rich and lovely tones. Champagne, tan, and chocolate diamonds can really pop when set off by a halo of white diamonds, maybe in a yellow gold setting for a bit of extra contrast. Given the right setting, I think these diamonds can look beautiful, mysterious, and unusual.

My opinion is from browsing online. I don't own any brown diamonds. Example: look at the ring on the top left. It's just stunning. http://www.diamondsbylauren.com/index.php/jewelry/semi-mount-double-baguette-in-white-or-yellow-gold

 

[Rockdiamond]

I'll admit, I was stunned when I got a registered letter about 5 years ago.
It was a notice that the term "chocolate diamond' was now a patented term.
Whatever chocolate diamonds we owned at the time immediately became "mocha diamonds" or "coffee diamonds"
Who knew a company could patent a phrase like that.

 

[blackprophet]

Fancy Light Browns anyone?

http://www.leibish.com/champagne-diamond/083ct-fancy-light-brown-radiant-vvs1-127517-18829
http://www.leibish.com/champagne-diamond/034ct-fancy-light-brown-round-si1-73769-14336
http://www.leibish.com/champagne-diamond/253ct-fancy-light-brown-round-i1-90071-15866
http://www.leibish.com/champagne-diamond/112ct-fancy-light-brown-round-vvs2-94791-16477

 

[chrono]

I'll admit, I was stunned when I got a registered letter about 5 years ago. It was a notice that the term "chocolate diamond' was now a patented term. Whatever chocolate diamonds we owned at the time immediately became "mocha diamonds" or "coffee diamonds". Who knew a company could patent a phrase like that.

David,
Is it a blond, medium or dark roast?

 

[Rockdiamond]

I do love that dark roast Chrono

 

[derbygal]

This is my Leibish stone. She's been in a temp solitaire setting for over a year now; can't decide on a permanent home for her. She has some faint blue fluorescence, so she flashes crazy pretty colors at times.

 

[Diamond_Hawk]

I don't like romanticized names because even within the different types of alcohol, the colour will vary from brand to brand and depend on the amount of liquid in the glass. I much prefer a standardized descriptor where all the FCDs are on the same playing field and I don't have to guess how brown this champagne diamond is compared to that champagne diamond. I see the new marketing name as another excuse to make it sound rare and exclusive and hence, another reason to charge higher pricing.

Chrono - between you and SteveWorks, I'm going to need a nice bourbon at the end of the day. And, unlike diamonds, the brand name will be much more important than the color when I choose...

 

[diamondenvy1]

This is my Leibish stone. She's been in a temp solitaire setting for over a year now; can't decide on a permanent home for her. She has some faint blue fluorescence, so she flashes crazy pretty colors at times.

This diamond is a perfect example of why some people like to use the fluffy terms for brown diamonds. It's a fancy dark yellow-brown but looks so lively that it hardly deserves to be called brown or poo.

I also agree that using terms like "champagne" to describe light brownish yellow stones, "cognac" to describe orangy brown stones and "chocolate" to describe dark brown stones certainly helps someone visualize the color.

To answer the initial question - when helping a client (especially one new to fancy colors) find a stone, the fluff terms are helpful because it helps us narrow down the GIA color grade they might like. So we do use them in some cases but when things are more technical, we use the GIA color grade.

 

[distracts]

I call them "brown." I have seen some brown diamonds I like. Between the cut and the secondary colors there are some that are very attractive out there. It helps when they are not so dark that you can still see the faceting. I don't like the silly color names, if only because a lot of the time the color they conjure in my mind is not actually the color the stone is when I look at it.

 

[woofmama]

This is my Leibish stone. She's been in a temp solitaire setting for over a year now; can't decide on a permanent home for her. She has some faint blue fluorescence, so she flashes crazy pretty colors at times.

I call that gorgeous I would love a stone like yours! Another diamond on my ever growing wish list

 

[Texas Leaguer]

This is my Leibish stone. She's been in a temp solitaire setting for over a year now; can't decide on a permanent home for her. She has some faint blue fluorescence, so she flashes crazy pretty colors at times.

May it please the court, I enter into evidence an actual cognac diamant

 

[Demon]

This is my Leibish stone. She's been in a temp solitaire setting for over a year now; can't decide on a permanent home for her. She has some faint blue fluorescence, so she flashes crazy pretty colors at times.

This diamond makes my heart stop like no white diamond ever could! Gorgeous!

 

[cbird]

Here is my Leibish stone!

http://www.leibish.com/champagne-diamond/125ct-light-brown-round-vs2-95290-16528

Going in this:

 

[diamondenvy1]

This is my Leibish stone. She's been in a temp solitaire setting for over a year now; can't decide on a permanent home for her. She has some faint blue fluorescence, so she flashes crazy pretty colors at times.

May it please the court, I enter into evidence an actual cognac diamant

That is pretty spot on!

 

[blackprophet]

This is my Leibish stone. She's been in a temp solitaire setting for over a year now; can't decide on a permanent home for her. She has some faint blue fluorescence, so she flashes crazy pretty colors at times.

Lets see it in its setting
and in the sun
and in indirect sunlight
and on a flower...

 

[blackprophet]

I find white diamonds boring.....I mean very boring.
champagne diamonds if cut right can and do have something that I like.
for an ER? yes, if you know she's into it or likes color in stones.
no, if she's bought into the white is right mentality.......
at the end of the day it is what pleases her eye and what she wants.
mine is a .42 Argyle that I've had for some years and was very reasonable at the time but is as of yet unset [mokume gane calls for this stone!]

Ummm I think that Mokume would be perfect for this. RG, WG, SS
Would you like me to call James Binnion, or George Sawyer for you?

 

[movie zombie]

I find white diamonds boring.....I mean very boring.
champagne diamonds if cut right can and do have something that I like.
for an ER? yes, if you know she's into it or likes color in stones.
no, if she's bought into the white is right mentality.......
at the end of the day it is what pleases her eye and what she wants.
mine is a .42 Argyle that I've had for some years and was very reasonable at the time but is as of yet unset [mokume gane calls for this stone!]

Ummm I think that Mokume would be perfect for this. RG, WG, SS
Would you like me to call James Binnion, or George Sawyer for you?

lol!

the problem is I sort of told hubby i'd have it set for him in that mokume gane....can you find a way for me to wiggle out of that one?!
i'm thinking tension set....
maybe I could tell him he can have the AU sapphire I bought instead?!

love that page 2 of this thread has brought out posters that appreciate these stones......and bourbon as well!
that cognac stone is spot on!

eta: cbird: that is going to be stunning! what color gold is the head surrounding your diamond?

 

[RandG]

This is my Leibish stone. She's been in a temp solitaire setting for over a year now; can't decide on a permanent home for her. She has some faint blue fluorescence, so she flashes crazy pretty colors at times.

Wow-- love the color! Can't wait to see how you maximize it! I've been eyeing one of their champagne stones for a while now. I love these colors in rose gold or oxidized metal.