:: SUWA/Dictionary-Gemstones,Quality and Value::

TYPES OF FANCY-COLORED DIAMONDS

Though usually somewhat light in tone, diamonds occur naturally in shades of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet, and purple. In yellows, which are mined in relatively large quantities, tones of 3 or darker are classified as fancy colors. In more rare colors such as blue, pink, or green, a tone level of 2+ or darker is referred to as a "fancy" color.

The colors in the photographs below start with orange at the top, continuing clockwise with yellow, green, blue, purple, and pink. Though light in tone, they are all of a quality that shows a distinct color when viewed face-up (from above).

Fancy-Colored Diamonds

A predominantly red round diamond, weighing 0.95 carat was sold at auction at Christie's in New York on April 28, 1987 for a hammer price of US $880,000. Per carat, it is the highest recorded price ever paid for a gemstone ($926,315 per carat). This attests to the extreme rarity of red fancy-colored diamonds. In the case of fancy blue diamonds, a 4.37-carat diamond was sold at a Christie's auction in Geneva on November 13, 1995 for a record price of US $569,000 per carat.

As can be seen in the photographs to the right, there are also diamonds that are milky, brown, or gray.