Fancy Color Diamonds Catch Public Fancy
By Russell Shor

Consumers have become enamored with colored diamonds, thanks to the enormous publicity of Jennifer Lopez’ pink diamond engagement ring and the blue diamond that actress Halle Berry wore to the Golden Globe Awards last year.

“The fascination with colored diamonds that began in earnest in the 1980s has grown considerably in the 1990s, through to today,” said GIA Laboratory Projects Officer John M. King, keynote speaker at GemFest Hong Kong Sept. 20.

The Smithsonian Institution’s Splendor of Diamonds exhibit, which featured seven significant diamonds of various colors, and the De Beers Millennium Collection, featuring several blue diamonds, have also raised public awareness, he added.

And colored diamonds aren’t just grabbing the public’s attention, they have also fetched some of the highest prices in the gem market. King told the audience of about 150 at the Hong Kong Convention Center that colored diamonds have anchored many of the world’s major auction sales in the past 15 years.

“Over 80 percent of the 38 highest per-carat prices realized at auction just a couple of years ago have been for colored diamonds – many of them sold for over $100,000 per carat,” he said.

Two record breakers were the 0.95 ct. Hancock Red, which drew $926,000 per carat in a 1987 sale, and a 4.37 ct. Fancy Deep blue diamond, which realized $569,000 per carat eight years later.

As a consequence of this growing interest, demand for colored diamond services at GIA’s Gem Laboratory has increased 68 percent in the past five years, King said. The vast majority of the diamonds submitted to the Lab are yellow, he said, and over this period graders have seen a much wider range of sizes than before – resulting in a decline in the average size of colored diamonds going through the Lab.

Fancy-color diamonds remain rare – less than 5 percent of the stones submitted to GIA are so classified – but they have become more abundant in the past 20 years. This is primarily because of Australia’s Argyle mine, which produces a large number of brown goods and a small, but steady, supply of pinks.

“Argyle’s champagne and cognac diamond promotions [for attractive browns] helped raise public awareness of such diamonds,” King said. “And, today, it is the only consistent producer of pinks. Supplies were very sporadic before Argyle came on line.”

Improved cutting techniques that emphasize diamond face-up color appearance also helped increase the number of fancy colors in the market, he explained, adding that a round brilliant that grades very low on the GIA D-to-Z (colorless to light yellow) diamond scale may get a fancy color grade if fashioned into a radiant, for example.

It is important to understand the key aspects of color, which include hue, tone and saturation, in order to understand how GIA grades colored diamonds, King said. It’s also important to remember that color appearance can be affected by lighting and surroundings, as well as by differing individual color perceptions.

The growing popularity of such diamonds, however, has generated a great increase in treated goods in the market, creating identification challenges. Irradiated diamonds, which began to appear commercially in the 1950s, offer an affordable alternative to what can be very costly natural colors. More recently, HPHT treatment, which produces some colors that are similar to naturally colored diamonds, have entered the market.

Factors that will affect the future popularity of colored diamonds, King said, include education and understanding color “space,” meeting identification challenges, continued promotion, and disclosure of treatments to preserve integrity and trust.