Colored diamonds

Natural colored diamonds are some of the earth's rarest and consequently most valuable gemstones. As with most gemstones, the red variety is the most rare and valuable. True red diamonds are exceedingly rare and very expensive per carat, as they should be. Occasionally they are offered for sale. Blue, green, purple, pink and orange are probably the next rarest, and the more common fancy colors are yellow and cognac, with brown being the most commonly occurring.

In terms of valueing a variety of factors have to taken into consideration. The grading reports from GIA now have a comprehensive scale, that shows the hue (color), saturation of color and tone ( amount of grey included). This helps the buyer determine the rarity, now all that they have to do look at te diamond and decide if they like the look of it, as not all colored diamonds have the same effect with each person.

The clarity is also a determining factor, although, generally less so than in white diamonds. Certainly a high clarity colored diamond will command a bigger premium over it's more included sibling, but the color has the biggest influence on value.

Cutting, the style and execution, will also affect the value. Generally the parameters are looser for colored diamonds than white diamonds. Again a finely cut diamond will command a premium over a poorer cut gem of similar color.