Welcome back to the Diamonds Hatton Garden blog where we bring you the last from our Hatton Garden jewellers and showcase the very best in diamond jewellery. As one of the leading dealers in the UK for fancy coloured diamonds we are excited to offer a wide a range of loose fancy coloured diamonds to suit each client’s requirements. If you are looking to buy fancy coloured diamonds it can be difficult to understand the various factors that contribute to the price of the stone. In a new series, we will cover all you need to know about buying fancy coloured diamonds, their history and their formation, why they are so highly valued as well as showcase some of our bespoke pieces.
In today’s post we will cover fancy coloured yellow diamonds. Buying any type of diamond, at first, can be intimidating and none more so than when dealing with fancy coloured diamonds. As with all diamonds, and we covered this in our blog what are the 4cs of diamonds, there are various factors that contribute to the price of a diamond. Whilst there are similarities in the pricing of fancy coloured diamonds e.g carat weight, cut, clarity and colour, fancy coloured diamonds also have their own scale associated with the various colours. For example, the GIA Colored Diamond Grading System assigns yellow diamonds one of six color grades: Fancy Light, Fancy, Fancy Dark, Fancy Deep, Fancy Intense, and Fancy Vivid. Within this scale, diamonds that appear towards the fancy intense and Fancy Vivid side of the scale are, generally, rarer and thus more expensive
Fancy coloutred yellow diamonds are assessed to be a coloured diamond and graded as “Fancy” when they do not appear on the standard the D-to-Z range that is used to grade colourless diamonds. This grading is ascertained when the yellow diamond being graded has more colour than a Z graded colourless diamond.
Where were yellow diamonds first discovered?
The history of yellow diamonds is interesting and mirrors the history of the diamond industry and that of discovery and intrigue. Indeed, so rare are fancy coloured yellow diamonds that they were hardly found until they were discovered in South Africa in the 19th century. However, throughout history these exquisite stones have been treasured and there are records of their existence dating back to the mid 17th century.
How are yellow diamonds formed?
Historically very little was known around how fancy coloured yellow diamonds were formed and it wasn’t until the advent of recent technologies that gemologists began to understand their formation and what causes the strong presence of the colour yellow. Yellow diamonds are yellow due to the presence of nitrogen in their formation. The greater degree of nitrogen present in the diamond results in a more intense, stronger colour yellow in the diamond as the nitrogen molecules absorb blue light and thus cause the diamond to be yellow.
Where are yellow diamonds found?
Whilst yellow diamonds were first discovered in South Africa they can be found across the world and are most commonly mined in Australia, Central Africa, Angola, Borneo, Brazil, Congo, and Sierra Leone.The most vivid yellow diamonds however are only found and mined in South Africa, thus making them quite rare.
Usually, yellow diamonds are cut in fancy shapes, a fancy shape being any shape other than a round brilliant cut, like the pear cut. As with the cutting of colourless diamonds, the skill of the cutter is of great importance and the final cut affects how intense the colour can be. The cutter will examine the diamond and assess where and how to cut it in order to maximise the intensity of the diamond’s colour.
Is yellow diamond jewellery popular?
Yellow diamond jewellery has become an increasingly popular item over the course of the last decades. Celebrities are notorious for starting trends and yellow diamond jewellery is no exception. Indeed, Heidi Klum and Sarah Jessica Parker famously have yellow diamond engagement rings. When choosing a mount for a yellow diamond it is important to understand the impact that the metal of choice can have on the colour of the stone and its appearance. A platinum or white gold engagement ring can highlight the colour of a yellow diamond, while a yellow gold ring will harmonise with the colour of the yellow diamond.
Recently, our jewellery workshop have been working a couple of beautiful yellow diamond pieces. Notably, the necklace below and a diamond tennis bracelet. Once these are complete we will update our website to include the finished images.
For more information on our yellow diamonds for sale or to arrange a personal consultation, contact our team via info@diamondshg.co.uk or on +44 (0) 7951 060238