4C'S LEARNING CENTER

BEYOND THE 4CS

FANCY COLOR DIAMONDS

"Fancy Color" is a term used to describe any colored diamond that is more saturated than the 'Z' color.

Diamonds occur naturally in nearly every color of the rainbow-yellow, orange, red, green, blue, pink to purple, brown, steel gray, white and black. These colors can also be produced artificially through treatment processes.

Naturally colored fancy diamonds are some of the rarest and most expensive gems in the world. The value differences between naturally colored and artificially colored fancy diamond is enormous. Only purchase a naturally colored diamond with a grading certificate from a reputable lab that states its authenticity.

What color diamond is the most expensive?
In the 'D' to 'Z' color range, the most valuable color is 'D', completely colorless, but in Fancy Color Diamonds, the more color the better. Highly saturated, vivid hues are the rarest and most valuable. It's arguable which color is actually the most expensive -pink, blue, red or green. Extremely rare diamonds are often sold at international auctions. Records are set by both the total sale amount and the 'per carat' price, meaning the total sale price divided by the carat weight. A few recent record setters include:

THE PINK STAR (formerly known as the Steinmetz Pink), a 59.60 carat, Fancy Vivid Pink Internally Flawless, oval mixed cut diamond set a world record for any jewel sold at auction, $71.2 million USD, at Sotheby's Hong Kong sale in April 2017.

THE OPPENHEIMER BLUE, a 14.62 carat Fancy Vivid Blue rectangular-cut diamond, held the previous world record for any jewel sold at auction. It sold for more than $58 million USD at Christie's Geneva Magnificent Jewels sale in May 2016.

THE BLUE MOON, a 12.03 carat Fancy Vivid Blue Flawless cushion-cut diamond held the world record for the highest price per carat of any diamond sold at auction from its sale in November 2015 at Sotheby's Geneva until October 2022. It sold for over $4 million USD per carat, total sale $48.4 million USD.

THE WILLIAMSON PINK STAR, an 11.15 carat Fancy Vivid Pink Internally Flawless cushion-cut diamond sold for $57.7 million USD at Sotheby's Hong Kong in October 2022 and is the current world record holder for the highest price per carat of any diamond sold at auction, at $5.17 million USD per carat.  

What causes the color in diamonds?
The wide range of colors seen in diamond is caused by chemical impurities that replace carbon atoms in their crystal structure, such as nitrogen that produces yellow diamonds, or by structural defects, such as the deformation that produces pink and brown diamonds.

Can the color of a diamond change?
Yes, diamonds can be enhanced to artificially change their color. Treatment processes include coating, irradiation, annealing and high pressure/high temperature (HPHT). Read more about Diamond Treatments

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ELEMENTS OF A GUARANTEED CERTIFICATE
Each panel of a GCAL Certificate tells a story to the customer.
  • Panel 1

    Verifies the identification process

  • Panel 2

    Verifies the 4C's quality grading

  • Panel 3

    Illustrates the quality of cutting and proportions revealing the skill of the diamond cutter

  1. 1Gemprint
  2. 2Laser Inscription
  3. 34C's Grading
  4. 4Photomicrograph
  5. 5Hearts & Arrow
  6. 6Optical Brilliance
  7. 7Optical Symmetry
  8. 8Proportion Diagram