Natural Fancy Colour Diamonds

In the magical world of precious stones, natural fancy colour diamonds hold a place of their own.

They are a miracle of nature, revealing themselves in incredibly beautiful hues, intensities, and colours, such as blue, yellow, orange, green, pink, purple, violet and red. Over 300 colours have been identified so far.

For every 10,000 colourless diamonds found, only one natural coloured diamond will have made the trip from the depths of the earth to its surface.

They acquire their colour from special conditions during their formation, such as the presence of trace elements, distortions to the diamond crystal due to pressure, or exposure to natural radiation.

Natural Fancy Blue Diamonds

Extremely rare and valuable, these fascinating stones are synonymous with great honour and spiritual tranquility, and throughout history have been associated with nobility and royalty.

Blue diamonds are classified as either blue, greyish blue, greenish blue, turquoise or aquamarine.

The color of blue diamonds is caused by the presence of boron atoms; the higher the concentration of boron, the more intense the color.

Some exceptional and very rare turquoise and aquamarine colored diamonds, found only in Guyana, get their color due to exposure to natural radiation.

Blue diamonds are mined predominantly in the Cullinan mine near Pretoria in South Africa, as well as in Lesotho, Botswana, Guyana and until recently Australia.

In the past, historically famous blue diamonds were sourced from the mines of the Golconda region in India.

Natural Fancy Yellow Diamonds

Natural fancy yellow diamonds are the most commonly available, making up around 60% of all fancy color diamonds. Because of their pleasing yellow color, these stones are gaining huge popularity and are frequently associated with sunlight, happiness and prosperity.

Diamonds with more depth of color than Z on the GIA grading scale fall into the the range of fancy yellow color diamond.

The most desirable and valuable gems are those with a pure, intense yellow color. They are also found with secondary color combinations such as brownish yellow, greenish yellow and orange yellow.

The color in yellow diamonds is due to the presence of nitrogen in the atomic structure.

Yellow diamonds are sourced in South Africa and other African countries, as well as Brazil, Russia, Australia and India. In addition, it’s worth mentioning that Sierra Leone is the source of the Zimmi diamonds, which are in a class of their own due to their strong saturation which creates a unique, stunningly vivid yellow.

Natural Fancy Orange Diamonds

Prized for their beauty and rarity, pure orange diamonds are among the most sought after colors.

They are found in a variety of color combinations and intensities. Modifying colors are yellow, brown, and pink.

The unique coloration of fancy orange diamonds is created by the presence of nitrogen atoms arranged singly within the atomic structure. This classifies orange diamonds as Type 1b, in distinction to yellow diamonds which are Type 1a, where the nitrogen atoms are arranged in groups.

Orange diamonds are sourced from South Africa, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Russia, and also Australia.

Natural Fancy Brown Diamonds

Brown diamonds are found in abundance with a huge range of modifying colors.

Until recently they were not very desirable in the jewellery industry, and in fact these stones were used mainly for industrial purposes.

But thanks to a brilliant marketing campaign, these stones began to attract more attention and popularity with consumers after being given attractive names:

Champagne diamonds combine light yellow or pink along with the brown.
Cognac diamonds feature a secondary tone of orange.
Chocolate brown diamonds are pure dark brown.

Often, greenish, yellowish, orangey or reddish modifying colors can be present as well. The brown color is caused by internal graining, which is due to distortion to the crystal lattice.

These diamonds are sourced from Russia, Brazil, Borneo, Australia and various countries in Africa.

Natural Fancy Green Diamonds

Natural fancy green diamonds are extremely rare and of exceptional beauty, especially those with no secondary hues or modifiers.

Most natural green diamonds span a range of colors from green-blue, yellow-green, and dark-grey greenish yellow.

These diamonds get their color from structural defects produced by radiation, and/or from more complex defects involving nitrogen, hydrogen, or nickel impurities.

Green diamonds are sourced from Brazil, Guyana, south-central Africa, and Borneo.

Natural Fancy Chameleon Diamonds

Chameleon diamonds are one of the greatest mysteries in the diamond world, fascinating and rare and possessing the unique ability to change color. They can do this in response to heat (thermochromism) or light (photochromism).

There are two types of chameleon diamonds: classic and reverse.

All chameleon diamonds include a combination of any of these colors: green, yellow, brown, and grey.

Most chameleon diamonds are the classic kind, with a stable color of greenish grey to greyish-greenish yellow (olive), with brown or yellow undertones.

When these gems are subjected to heat at around 200° C, the lighter stable color changes to an unstable darker color of yellow, orange yellow, or olive-green yellow.

Reverse chameleon diamonds, which are even rarer, behave opposite to the classic type when left in the dark for around 24 hours. Their darker stable color is yellow and they change to the unstable lighter color green.

These color changes in both classic and reverse diamonds are temporary, and the original stable colors are soon restored when the heat and light conditions return to normal.

The source of the color in chameleon diamonds is natural radiation and hydrogen in their atomic structure, however the precise mechanism that causes the changes is still unknown.

Chameleon diamonds are sourced from India, China, central Africa, Australia, and Brazil.

Natural Fancy Pink Diamonds

Pink diamonds are highly valuable and extremely rare.

Their stunning beauty makes these gems most desirable and people are mesmerised by their allure, evoking a sense of romance and luxury.

A pure pink color with no trace of secondary modifying colors is exceptionally rare and valuable, usually found in small-sized stones.

Its secondary hues and additional modifying colors are purple, orange, and brown.

Their color is caused by distortion of the crystal lattice, or graining, and possibly nitrogen.

They are sourced from Brazil, Canada, Russia, South Africa, Tanzania, Borneo, and Australia. All historical pink diamonds are from India.

Natural Fancy Red Diamonds

Fancy red diamonds are among the rarest gems found in nature, especially if red is their only color. Their secondary hues are purple, orange and brown.

Red diamonds are mostly found in sizes below one carat, and it is almost impossible to come across them above this size.

The red color is caused by distortion of the crystal lattice, or graining.

Natural fancy red diamonds are sourced from Russia, Brazil, South Africa and Australia.

Natural Fancy Purple Diamonds

Pure purple color diamonds are almost non-existent, and they are the second rarest color after red diamonds.

Purple has always been associated with royalty, and also has qualities of spirituality and enlightenment.

Purple diamonds come in a variety of shades, and most of them have a secondary color of pink, brown, or grey.

Purple diamond shades are described as: lilac, lavender, mauve, and deep purple.

The purple color is caused by deformation of the diamond’s crystal structure.

They are sourced from Russia, Canada, and until recently Australia.

Natural Fancy Violet Diamonds

Natural violet diamonds with no secondary overtones are extremely rare and have only recently been recognised by the GIA as a separate color from purple.

They are usually not found in sizes larger than one carat.

The most common overtone combinations are pinkish, bluish, purplish and greyish violet.

Their color is due to the presence of hydrogen in the atomic structure.

Violet diamonds are sourced from Russia and until recently Australia.

Natural Fancy White Diamonds

Fancy white diamonds should not be confused with colorless diamonds as there is an inherent snow-white color to these gems.

They can have a brownish, bluish, yellowish or greyish appearance. Pure fancy white diamonds with no secondary colors are rare and highly desirable.

The white color may be due to a high concentration of inclusions, micro-sized crystals, and small traces of nitrogen that scatter light, yielding a translucent ‘milky’ white appearance.

Some are even described as “opalescent” because their dispersion of light looks somewhat similar to that of opals.

They are sourced from India, Brazil, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Zimbabwe.

Natural Fancy Grey Diamonds

A combination of black and white, grey is a non-spectrum color.

In their purest form, grey color diamonds come quite close to colorless stones. They offer a remarkable range of modifying color combinations in grey, bluish grey and greenish grey.

The grey color is caused by the presence of hydrogen and, on rare occasions, a small amount of nitrogen, while bluish grey is generally thought to be caused by boron.

They are sourced from Russia, Brazil, South Africa, the Democratic Republic of Congo, India, and Australia.

Natural Fancy Black Diamonds

Natural black diamonds are rare and very dramatic, and differ from most other diamonds in that most of them are opaque. Some may be translucent. They possess a high lustre which gives them a brownish, greyish, or black metallic appearance. There are three types of natural black diamonds, whose varieties are distinguished by where they were found and the cause of their color.

Black diamonds from the Marange deposits in Zimbabwe get their color principally from graphite inclusions, traces of hydrogen, and the presence of radiation stains.
Black diamonds uniquely from Siberia owe their color to non-carbon inclusions containing magnetite, hematite and native iron.
Carbonado diamonds are grey in color, but are commonly known as black diamonds. They are one of the toughest forms of natural diamond.
It is a form of polycrystalline diamond consisting of diamond, graphite, and amorphous carbon, with many tiny black crystals and occasional metal inclusions.
Carbonado diamonds were formed in supernova explosions. After coalescing and drifting through outer space for eons, a large mass fell to earth as a meteorite approximately 2.3 billion years ago.
Carbonado can be found only in Brazil and the Central African Republic, and it is worth noting that not a single carbonado diamond has been discovered in the world’s diamond mines.

Natural black diamonds are sourced from Brazil, Russia, Zimbabwe, and the Central African Republic.

The majority of black diamonds on the market today are treated or laboratory grown to achieve their black color. For that reason, it is very important that all natural black diamonds should have a Colored Diamond Identification and Origin report from a gemological laboratory, not least because of the huge difference in prices between natural ones and those that are treated.

Natural Salt and Pepper Color Diamonds

Salt and pepper diamonds have recently started growing in popularity as a more affordable alternative to traditional white diamonds. Each one is unique and very striking in appearance.

Their beauty lies in their imperfection. The inclusions throughout the stone are celebrated as one of a kind patterns that reveal the stone’s history and natural composition which reveal our planet’s past.

The cause of their color and appearance is due to numerous opaque mineral inclusions like graphite, hematite, and pyrite. These inclusions create the black and white marks that give salt and pepper diamonds their name.

They are sourced from Canada, Botswana, and South Africa.