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Definition of
Fancy Colored Diamonds - Facts and Information
What is the Definition
of a Fancy Colored Diamond? Pure or nearly pure diamonds are transparent and
colorless. Colored diamonds contain impurities or structural defects
that cause their color. Diamonds with a detectable hue (other than
yellow or brown) are known as coloured diamonds. If the colour is strong
enough, a stone may be referred to as a fancy colored diamond.
Fancy Colored Diamonds may conceal flaws and inclusions more easily than
colorless stones. The shades of Fancy Colored Diamonds include yellow,
brown, blue, pink, green, purple or red.
Natural Fancy Colored Diamonds
What are Natural Fancy
Diamonds? Natural fancy color diamonds obtain their coloring from
completely natural processes such as impurities or structural defects.
The impurities are caused by the presence of the element Boron (B) in
Blue Natural fancy colored diamonds and the presence of the element
Nitrogen (N) in natural yellow colored fancy diamonds. Red, Pink & Brown
Natural Fancy Colored Diamonds
are caused by crystal lattice defects during the formation of
the diamond.
Desirability of Fancy Colored Diamonds
Natural Fancy
diamonds are extremely rare and the more intense the color, the rarer
and more expensive the fancy colored diamond will be. The desirability
of natural Fancy Colored Diamonds has increased significantly over
recent years due to celebrities, such as Jennifer Lopez, purchasing
fancy colored diamonds and the amount of publicity that these events
attract. The vast majority of people cannot afford to buy natural fancy
colored diamonds so synthetic colored diamonds are increasing in
popularity - these are real diamonds, but they are created in a lab and
are therefore common and far less expensive.
Color - The Ranked Value of
Natural Fancy Colored Diamonds
Fancy Colored
Diamonds are ranked according to their rarity and value. What are the
rarest Fancy colored diamonds? The following
is the order in which Fancy Coloured Diamonds may be ranked in respect
of rarity & value:
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1 - Red
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2 - Green
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3 - Blue
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4 - Pink
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5 - Mauve / Purple
How are Fancy Diamonds
Categorised?
The Diamond Scale or
Grade for White Diamonds range from D
to Z (D = Colorless Z = Dark Yellow). Fancy colored diamonds have more
color than 'Z' color grade. Colors are comprised
of three elements:
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Hue - hue is the attribute of color such as red, blue or yellow
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Tone - tone describes the relative lightness to darkness from
white which is zero tone to black which is 100 tone
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Saturation - saturation describes the intensity of the color.
The saturation of color is in Colored Natural Fancy Diamonds is
categorised as:
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Faint
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Very Light
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Light
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Fancy Light
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Fancy
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Fancy Dark
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Fancy Intense
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Fancy Deep
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Fancy Vivid (
the most expensive and rare )
Secondary colors may also effect the final color of the diamond.
Fluorescence of Fancy Colored Diamonds
The Fluorescence of
Fancy Colored diamonds is also a factor to take into consideration. But
what exactly does the term 'Fluorescence' mean? Definition: A glow
which emanates from certain diamonds when exposed to ultraviolet light.
It is not usually noticed by the naked eye but as ultraviolet light is
the lighting frequently seen in dance clubs the fluorescence, or glow,
becomes apparent in this type of environment. Although fluorescence is
not usually desirable in a white diamond (it gives a hazy effect) it can
improve the appearance of diamonds that possess traces of color. The
strength of fluorescence of fancy colored diamonds is described by the
following abbreviations:
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Fluorescence |
Fluorescence
Abbreviation |
Level
of Fluorescence |
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N, NO, NON |
No
Fluorescence |
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F, FB, FT, FA |
Faint or Faint Blue Fluorescence |
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SL, SLB, SLT |
Slight Fluorescence |
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M, MO, ME, MD |
Medium or Moderate Fluorescence |
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S, ST, STB, STG |
Strong Fluorescence |
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E, EX, EXB, EF |
Extreme
Fluorescence |
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Fluorescence |
Color -
How are Fancy Colored Diamonds described? The "ish" factor
The tints and shades
of natural Fancy Colored diamonds are extremely varied and many
consist of a primary hue and a secondary color.
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If the primary and secondary color are virtually even throughout
the diamond these will be described using the two colors eg
"Purple Pink"
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If the primary color is dominant the secondary color will be
described as "ish" eg Purplish
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The description "
Purplish Pink" indicates that the primary, or dominant, color is
pink and the secondary color is purple. Note that the secondary
color precedes the dominant color in the description
Famous Fancy Colored Diamonds
Some of
the world's most famous diamonds are the colored ones, the heavy Dresden
Green, for instance, and the infamous Hope Diamond. The Hope Diamond,
which is blue in
color. For more detailed information on any of the subjects on this page
please refer to the links via the Index.
Natural - Desirability -
Fluorescence - Precious - Stone - Guide - Color - Facts - Information
-Info - Jewelry - Jewellery -
Colors - Natural - Desirability - Colors - Jewel - Fluorescence
Fancy Colored Diamonds
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