Diamonds come in a whole range of colours, from flamingo pink to canary yellow, pewter grey to sky blue, chocolate brown and marmalade orange to new leaf green and stormy violet…and all shades in between.
While white diamonds are the stuff of most bride’s dreams, these stones are in fact rather common (as in not rare, not as in Benefits Street!) and it’s naturally coloured, or fancy coloured, diamonds that are the headline stealers, attention grabbers and jaw-droppers of the gemstone lovers’ world today.
You’ll have seen the headlines yourself – Ben Affleck gave a cherry-blossom pink 6.1ct diamond to Jennifer Lopez on their engagement (and I bet she didn’t give it back), Paris Hilton went for canary yellow and Mariah Carey also plumped for pink.
Naturally coloured diamonds are in fact nature’s errors – the colour in them is caused by a flaw in the creation of them, deep underground. A chemically pure and structurally perfect diamond is perfectly transparent, with no hue whatsoever. These are pretty rare. Colouration is caused by a chemical impurity – nitrogen atoms cause yellow, green and brown shades, boron delivers hues of blue while carbon impurities give us black diamonds – or structural defects – pink, red and brown shades come from deformation during the crystal growth while exposure to natural radiation can create green diamonds.
Of course, the colours that result from these defects can either enhance or detract from a diamond’s appeal and value. Muddy brown and sludge green aren’t the usual bride’s choice for an engagement ring, even for those looking for a really unusual engagement ring!
The rarest of coloured diamonds are highly sought after by gemstone collectors, and rarely therefore make the jewellery market. The most paid for a coloured diamond (so far) was $46m, for a 24.78ct intense pink diamond, while the most paid per carat was $2.4m, when a 14.28ct vivid orange pear shaped diamond sold for over $35m at Christies in Geneva in 2013.
You don’t have to be endlessly wealthy (or totally nuts) to get your hands on a beautiful, rare and unforgettable coloured diamond however. At Christopher Evans we use coloured diamonds in many bespoke jewellery designs, from brooches to pendants and, of course, to rings.
Brides looking for a really unusual engagement ring, but who still crave the traditional romance of a diamond, have their pick of shades and the only limit (apart, of course, from your budget) is your imagination.