A Rainbow of Diamonds: Fame, Fortune and Colour.
Solitaire Magazine Asia-Pacific
June July 2005 Archive
STORY MARC BRAUNER
MANY people will tell you that the most desirable diamonds are colourless or near-colourless. To them, the less colour one can see, the higher the value. Intriguingly enough, this is only true to a certain extent.
Unlike gem species like sapphire, tourmaline and garnet, which are known for their rainbow-like variety of colours, diamond is the only gem that occurs in all 12 basic colours, namely pink, red, orange, brown, yellow, olive, green, blue, purple, grey, black and white. Based on their colour intensity, some of these diamonds qualify for classification within the ‘Fancy Colour’ range.Most consumers know about the four C’s that determine the value of precious stones – colour, clarity, cut and carat weight. In the case of fancy colour diamonds, colour is by far the most important value factor. Carat weight and cut don’t count as much as they would for white diamonds.
Colour is king.
For fancy colour diamonds, more colour equates with more value. A diamond with fancy intense pink or blue colour can have visible internal characteristics determining clarity or purity and still be worth tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands of dollars per carat. No colourless or near-colourless diamond with visible imperfections will ever come close to these values. The reason for this lies in the rarity of natural fancy colour diamonds. Indeed, natural red, purple or green diamonds in small sizes will carry huge price tags simply because of their rarity.During mining and extraction, more than 5 tonnes of earth and gravel have to be screened in order to find one carat of rough diamond of jewellery quality which yields, on average, 50% or half a carat of polished diamond. Of that, it is estimated that mines generate fancy colour diamonds at a rate of 1 to 2cts for every 3,000cts extracted of jewellery quality. About 85% of these are brown or yellow, a mixture of both, or orange. The rest are red, pink and blue. These command much higher prices per carat than any other gemstone, including emerald, ruby and sapphire. A record auction price of over USD900,000, in fact, was set at Christie’s in 1987 for a purplish-red diamond weighing just below 1 carat. There are probably not more than 15 of these intense red diamonds in the world, which make them serious collectors’ items.Fame and fortune
The stunning colours of rare fancy colour diamonds triggered a sudden awareness during the late ’60s to early ’70s. Their fame was boosted by jewellery auctions at Christie’s and Sotheby’s, and as a result, prices have risen significantly over the past 30 years. Pinks and blues, in particular, have seen an increase of 30 to 40 times since the early ’70s.
Diamonds occur in all colours of the rainbow, from red all the way to violet-purple. Certain colours have a geographical relationship to the location where they were mined: African mines mostly generate the yellow ranges of colours; Congo yields yellow, orange and orange-brown diamonds; Sierra Leone and Angola mainly yellow; South Africa is known for its pink, blue and yellow stones; while in the Central African Republic of Bangui, mixtures of green-yellow and green-brown can emerge. These are known to have ‘electric’ colours. Meanwhile, the Australian Argyle mine produces mostly the pink and brown colours; and Brazilian mines produce a variety ranging from yellow, green to blue and pink.
Expressing colours
Natural fancy colours are described according to international standards and are determined by 3 elements. First is hue, which is the attribute of colour such as red, yellow or blue. Second is tone – the relative lightness. Third is saturation, the intensity of colour. Often, though, difficulties arise in describing colour, especially when there is a secondary or even third colour, also called modifier(s). In such cases, the predominant colour is expressed as a noun and the modifier precedes the main colour, as in ‘brownish pink’. When both colours are present evenly, colour is expressed with 2 nouns, as in ‘orange-yellow’.
In some cases, the presence of a secondary colour can increase the value of the stone. This is seen in purplish pink diamonds, where purple significantly enhances pink.
Affordable alternatives
If a natural fancy colour diamond does not fit your budget, you may want to consider an interesting alternative. These are diamonds whose colours are noticeable but are too light to be called fancy. Also called ‘Capes’, most of them are light yellow and light brown, and have been and are often undervalued. Although less desirable than fancy colours and much less expensive than whites, Capes often display unmatched sparkle and fire, since they are almost always cut with the highest possible precision.
Description & Authentication
Virtually all fancy colour diamonds are accompanied by a reputable and internationally recognised grading report, where accurate colour description, origin-of-colour authentication and other relevant details are documented. Although infrequent, colour alteration treatments and synthetic diamonds can occur. These must be identified and properly disclosed as such. When looking over the content of a gemological report, Natural diamond under Description and Natural fancy colour under Colour are key aspects to positive identification of natural and untreated diamonds.
As people inevitably associate colours with emotions, the diamond’s magic fire and sparkle, known universally as symbols of ‘eternal love’, can also be experienced in every shade of the rainbow.
View Source: http://www.solitaire.com.sg/magazine/jun_jul05/story5.html
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Tags: orange brown, rough diamond, ~ Green Diamonds
Red Diamond on Sale for Over $2.6m
At 0.54 carats with a diameter of 5.13mm, the brilliant-cut diamond named “The Lady in Red” is not going to set any records for its carat weight.
It’s not going to set any records in clarity, either, being rated as an I1, meaning it has inclusions or flaws visible to the naked eye.
But what it lacks in those respects, is more than made up for in colour, said Cameron Robinson, managing director of Bruce Robinson diamonds.
He bought the stone, mined in Western Australia’s Kimberley region, as one of 65 in the 2006 Argyle Pink Diamond Tender, which is held by invitation only.
Less than one per cent of all the diamonds mined are classed as pink and the chances of finding a red stone have been estimated at one in 60 million, Mr Robinson said.
The purchase price will remain a secret, but it’s for sale again.
“This is a very rare and unique diamond,” he said.
“It started out as a 1.46 carat rough crystal and was cut back to a 54 point (0.54 carat) rough diamond.”
“It’s one of only seven ever found world wide and is exquisite, like a full-bodied red wine.”
The last red diamond sold went for $980,000 a carat 20 years ago, he said.
But Mr Robinson dismissed suggestions a would-be red diamond owner without the cash could pass off a red cubic zirconia costing a few hundred dollars at most as the real thing. It wouldn’t have the “bling”.
“There is a case that could be built for the lustre of the diamond.
“The only thing in the world that has this adamantine lustre is the diamond.”
Its inclusions would also mark it out as the genuine article, unlike the cz which was manufactured flawless.
Mr Robinson says he might part with it, if the price was right.
“It’s not necessarily for sale but I am a bit of a (gemstone) tart and I have grown fond of this diamond.
“And at the end of the day, I am a jeweller still and all reasonable and serious offers will be considered.”
Mr Robinson said he was prepared to look at offers over $US2 million ($2.6 million) and has had three offers already “over seven figures”.
“We only talk US (dollars) when you get into this sort of material because diamonds in essence are an international currency.
“The Argyle tender is in US dollars for this reason.”
The Lady in Red, accompanied by an “escort” of armed guards will be displayed in the window of Bruce Robinson jewellers in the inner Brisbane suburb of New Farm tomorrow.
Source: http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,20671174-5005961,00.html
Posted by ColorDia Date: Thursday, September 6, 2007
Categories: Color Diamond Investing, Diamond News, ~ Rare Diamonds, ~ Red Diamonds
Tags: brilliant cut diamond, pink diamond, red diamond, rough diamond
