The Allure Of Fancy Diamonds
by Jackie Bridgford
http://www.ablediamonds.com
Everyone knows what a diamond looks like - clear, briliant
sparkle that flashes fire with every touch of light. In
general, the most valuable diamonds are clear white, but
there is an exception to that. Jewelers recognize a class of
diamonds known as 'fancy', colored diamonds that are rare,
beautiful and valuable.
Fancy diamonds range in color from pale yellow to black,
with an endless variation of shadings between. While the
source of the color may be the same as the 'inclusions' that
detract from the value of clear diamonds, in fancies the
color is more than a tinge that discolors the purity of the
stone. In this case, the coloring is intense and
unmistakable under any light.
It's estimated that somewhere between 1 in 1000 to 1 in
10,000 diamonds mined are true, natural fancies. In size,
they are nearly always smaller than conventional diamonds.
It's rare for a fancy diamond to weigh more than one carat.
Despite that fact, it's interesting to note that some of
most well-known diamonds in the world are actually fancies.
These include the Hope Diamond, which weighs in at 45.52
carats, and is a deep, opaque blue. Others are the Dresden
diamond, 40.70 carats, which is an intense apple green in
color. The Tiffany diamond, on display at Tiffany's Fifth
Avenue in New York City, is a canary yellow diamond that
weighs 287.42 carats.
As important as size is, it is only one of the four C's that
determine the value of a particular diamond. The traditional
'four C's' are Carat, Color, Clarity and Cut, and each
contributes to the final value placed on an individual
diamond.
A diamond's quality is judged on the '4 C's' - carat, color,
clarity and cut. Carats are described above. A high quality
diamond should be complately colorless. The clearer the
diamond, the more it will be worth. The final C, cut, refers
to the way that the stone is faceted and cut. While the
style of a diamond's cut may enhance its value, there is no
'more valuable' cut for a diamond.
While jewelers often refer to clear diamonds as 'white',
there are also real white diamonds. They are colored by tiny
inclusions that can give them an opalescent inner fire. They
are not as rare as red/pink diamonds, which, until recently,
were only found in one place in the world. Still, truly pink
diamonds with intense color are rare enough that a 3/4 carat
pink diamond can cost upwards of $25,000.
Colored diamonds are the exception. They're called 'fancy'
diamonds, and the clarity and intensity of the color will
modify the price. Generally, you can expect to pay a premium
for diamonds that are pink, violet or 'champagne', a sparkly
brown in shades from tan to brown.
A rough diamond resembles nothing so much as a greasy, grey
pebble. It takes the artistry of a jeweler to bring out the
brilliance and fire that is inherent in the stone. And, as
any jeweler will tell you, the right cut can make the
difference between a common stone and a breathtakingly
beautiful gem. The Round Cut has been the most popular
diamond cut for centuries, but the squared off Princess cut
is gaining in popularity. New tools like lasers are making
fancy shapes like hearts, birds and flowers more and more
common, though they are still rare.
Like fancy diamonds, but not the price? It's now possible
for gemologists to create synthetic fancies by exposing the
diamonds to the impurities that cause the colored tinges in
natural fancies.
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