Colored Diamonds

[JoJoNAloha]

Ok, this may sound stupid to you who know diamonds, but on all these diamond expert sites you are told that colorless is better or whatever. I was watching a thing on some rich people in Hollywood or whatever...and they mention Ben got JLo a purple diamond...and something about a blue one later on. So these colors are more desirable? What is the difference...is there one? Why don''t I see much about them on these sites? Lol...sorry if I ask too many weird questions...but I figure that''s how I''m going to find out. Oh...and I''m a little slow...so if you could put it in lamens terms for me that would be great...lol.

 

[knowverylittle]

Not an expert view but:

When a diamond's color goes beyond the subtle shades of yellow into being very obviously yellow then it is termed a 'fancy'. These are rare and hence cost more. Other colors exist like Pink, Blue and Brown (ugh). Blue Diamonds looks fantastic - at a wild guess a Diamond crystal gets polluted with Cobalt while being formed (remebering my Chemistry from 17 years ago there!)

Think I heard Ben bought JLo a pink diamond.

If you are a run of the mill consumer you should be looking at a G/H/I color which are a slightly yellow shade but will look completely colorless under most Jewelery store lights. Drop below that range and prices really drop. Go up to a D or E and you pay a premium that may not be worth it.

The first ring on this page shows how yellow diamonds can look fantastic. Dread to think how long this took to design and what it cost:
http://www.mwmjewelry.com/recent-work.html

 

[mike04456]

----------------
On 1/23/2004 5:56:56 PM knowverylittle wrote:





Blue Diamonds looks fantastic - at a wild guess a Diamond crystal gets polluted with Cobalt while being formed (remebering my Chemistry from 17 years ago there!)

----------------

Not cobalt--boron. This creates absorption at the red end of the spectrum, which causes the blue appearance.

Diamonds in the "fancy" color range (i.e., beyond the D-Z scale) are generally more expensive than colorless (the exception being brown). Yellow diamonds are the cheapest, blue and red are the rarest and most expensive.

 

[The Joker]

JoJoNaloha:
You are right about there being little correct information about Fancy colored Diamonds on this site.

Try this site for information on famous diamonds:
http://famousdiamonds.tripod.com/

If you want to just look at Fancy colored diamonds try: www.icestore.com

You can also do searches at Sotheby's and Christie's auction houses.

The best book on the Subject is Stephen Hofer's "Collection and Classifying Coloured Diamonds." ($300)


Joker....

 

[knowverylittle]

>>Not cobalt--boron.
Huh. Thanks for the correction.

JoJoNAloha: As you probably guessed most regular folk get white ones. How many people in real life know about blue/yellow/red diamonds? Not many. My gf (Fiancé sorry) was horrified when I said that I would love to buy her a blue Diamond.

 

[JoJoNAloha]

Ok...cool...thanks you guys.

 

[winyan]

As an aside, there are *treated* colored diamonds available that are cheaper than natural colored diamonds. Blue is the most common, because heat treatment changes a brown (ish) diamond, at times, into a teal blue diamond.

I have 1/2 carat teal blue earring studs that are attractive, along with a blue/platinum tennis bracelet.

win

 

[valeria101]

----------------
On 1/23/2004 10:41:17 PM knowverylittle wrote:

>>
My gf (Fiancé sorry) was horrified when I said that I would love to buy her a blue Diamond.----------------

Shock!

Horror!

lucky you, man!

 

[knowverylittle]

She thought that Blue Diamonds were a cheap and inferior Diamond

This is probably the view of the public at large.

 

[Griffin]

Then you should buy her one of them thar gen-u-wine "Champagne" Diamonds like I done seen on TV.

 

[knowverylittle]

ROFL! People will market anything.

 

[mike04456]

I just got a press release about this organization in my email box:




Natural Color Diamond Association




The site doesn't (quite) have a wealth of information on colored diamonds, but it's a start for those who are interested.

 

[winyan]

I don't quite understand the snide comments some are making about champagne or cognac diamonds.

I realize beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but these are truly beautiful.

win

PS Also the set following...

 

[winyan]

This one:


win

 

[winyan]

I think this is the right one...

 

[Griffin]

That is some truly beautiful work.

What I think is funny are the things drilled into people by places like HSN.

Blue diamonds are a cheap second to white.
Champagne diamonds are ultra-rare premium stones.
"Real" Tanzanite is cloudy pale powder-blue.
The high quality mountings come in 10k.
"Frosted" diamonds (opaque) are hot right now.
"Unique, one-of-a-kind" cuts (free-form) are worth more, but today we are only selling them for the price of normal cuts. We must be insane....

It's so ridiculous, we can only laugh. I wasn't making fun of the color of stone - just the BS in general, and you have to admit Champagne diamonds are a prime victim of all the PT Barnum chicanery....