Colored diamonds are those which have noticeable body color. In natural colored diamonds, brown and yellow are the most common colors.
Prices of Colored Diamonds
The price of colored diamonds is very high due to its unavailability and high demand. These rare color diamonds may cost millions of dollars for one carat. Diamonds having colors natural yellow, brown or black costs a value similar to that of smaller diamonds on the D to Z color scale. Ranging from light brown to reddish brown, brown diamonds are available in a wide variety of colors. Black diamonds which is always people’s favorite choice is an affordable one with a fair price.
Who Buys Colored Diamonds?
People buy colored diamonds in loose for setting into their jewelry or as diamond jewelry. Other buyers of colored diamonds are museums. They buy colored diamonds for their gemstone exhibitions. Colored diamonds are one of the most popular exhibition objects in many museums. Gem collectors, Research institutions, etc., too are included in the list of buyers.
What Causes Color in Diamonds?
Natural diamond is a crystalline form of carbon. A diamond which contains carbon content and has perfect crystalline structure will be a colorless one. Perfect diamonds rarely exist and most diamond crystals will possess some defects. These defects in the diamond crystal can modify the passage of light through the diamond. This modification will cause the selective transmission of some wavelengths of light and selective absorption of other wavelengths. Since each wavelength of light represents selective colors, selective transmission and absorption can cause different colors to the diamond.
Defects That Lead to Colored Diamonds
- Atom Substitution Defects
This is the most common color causing defects of a diamond. This occurs when a carbon atom in the diamond lattice substitutes with another atom (not carbon) of an element. For example, yellow diamonds are a substitution of nitrogen for carbon.
- Vacancy Defects
While the diamond is located near radioactive elements during its time within the earth, its radiation may cause dislocation of a carbon atom from its lattice and result in the formation of vacant places. These vacancies cause select selective transmission and selective absorption of wavelengths of light and thus diamond appears colored.
- Graining Defects
Due to earth’s compressional force, a deformation may happen to the carbon crystal lattice. This deformation causes bands of dislocated atoms to appear as parallel color zones within the diamond. This is known as graining.