From Pink to Green and from Red to Brown, Fancy Color Diamonds capture the imagination – their color alluring and their mystique endless.

What are Fancy Colored Diamonds?

Fancy Color Diamonds come in every color of the rainbow and more, as slight molecular differences are responsible for color changes.

For instance, Blue Diamonds have the same exact chemical composition as White Diamonds (100% carbon) and are only blue due to the presence of boron molecules. Green diamonds get their color from radiation, while yellow diamonds turn yellow because nitrogen atoms bond with the diamond's carbon atoms.

While color differences can be as clear as day, Fancy Color Diamonds also come in a variety of hues– for instance, some colored diamonds will not be considered “Fancy Color”, as the presence in color is too faint. A “Light Pink” Diamond, for example, may come in at 10% of the price of a “Fancy Light Pink” Diamond, as the “Fancy” diamond contains more color and distributes it more evenly. Within Fancy Colored Diamonds, there are also “Fancy Light”, “Fancy”, “Fancy Deep”, “Fancy Intense”, “Fancy Vivid”, and more. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another point of fascination with fancy color diamonds are their color variations. Fancy diamonds are graded for for tone and hue.

A specific yellow diamond, for example, falls under the “Fancy Intense” range of color tone, but is a slightly more green-ish yellow color than pure yellow: Therefore, the diamond would be graded as “Fancy Intense Greenish Yellow”.

These color combinations are quite common and are part of the mystique of fancy color diamonds. The graphic above covering the diamond hues does not include every hue, such as gray, violet, black, and more. Some color grades even go up to three color combinations, such as the “Fancy Deep Brownish Greenish Yellow” (known as “Chameleon” Color) diamond pictured below. 

Are Fancy Diamonds more rare?

While strong color goes a long way in lending value to a gemstone, the ultimate measure of value is rarity, and Fancy Color Diamonds have become increasingly rare to find. The “CTF Pink Star”, a nearly 60 carat, Internally-Flawless, Fancy Vivid Pink Diamond, sold for a whopping $71 Million USD in 2017– a record for any diamond (or gemstone) at auction.

Fancy color diamonds are typically far more scarce than white diamonds. Yellow Diamonds, perhaps the most mainstream of the Fancy Colored Diamonds, are far more rare than White Diamonds – though they trade at similar prices due to demand. 

While fancy diamonds are still, in their essence, diamonds, fancy color diamonds are a completely different class of gem. They are graded based on the 4 C’s, but the color grades are more complex than nearly any other type of gemstone grading. With all the tones, hues and color combinations, these are not your standard diamonds.