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Fancy diamonds are a rare type of diamonds characterized by bright colors - yellow, brown, blue, green, pink, red, black. It is much rarer than colorless diamonds, as about 1 in 10,000 diamonds belong to the fancy diamond category and is of gem quality.
In colorless diamonds, the total absence of color is what that makes the gemstones more expensive (at least in terms of color). On the contrary, for fancy diamonds the more intense the color is, the more expensive the gem is. Even small differences in color can significantly affect the value of a diamond. Fancy Diamond evaluation and classification is a fairly complex process and is done by specialized assessors in specific laboratories.
Brown and yellow diamonds are more common, whereas green, blue, and mostly, red diamonds with medium or dark tones are far rarer. The diamond color is influenced by the presence of foreign elements in very small quantities in their composition. Even a minimal amount of foreign elements can change the color of a diamond.
The purity of fancy diamonds, as opposed to colorless diamonds, does not significantly affect their value. A diamond that has a bright color will be sold at a high price even if its purity is not ideal. Inclusions could decrease a fancy diamond's value only if they affect the gemstone's durability.
The cut can significantly affect the value of a fancy diamond as the shape of the gemstone and its depth affect the way the light is reflected from the diamond. As with colorless diamonds, large fancy diamonds are quite rare and therefore more sought after and more expensive.
Chameleon diamonds
Chameleon diamonds are a special category of fancy diamonds that temporarily change color affected by heat or lack of light. Although gemologists do not yet know why chameleon diamonds react like this, they are recognized as a particular category of fancy diamonds and are considered more special and more expensive than fancy diamonds that do not change their color.
There are two categories of diamond chameleons - the classic and the reverse. Classic chameleon diamonds have a dark green/brown color and when heated they temporarily get an orange-yellow color. Reverse chameleon diamonds do exactly the opposite, from yellow they become dark by taking a greenish color. In this case, the color change is due to the lack of light, in both cases the color change is temporary and can take from a few minutes to a few hours.
Golden Jubilee Diamond
Golden Jubilee Diamond is a 545.67 carat diamond and is the largest diamond that has been found to date. It was discovered in 1985 in South Africa and in the late 1990s it was bought by Thai businessmen to be offered to the King of Thailand by his citizens for his 50th anniversary on the throne (Golden Jubilee), which gave the diamond and his name.
The Allnatt
The Allnatt diamond is Fancy Vivid Yellow and weighs 101.29 carats. The diamond's history begins in the 1950s when Major Allnatt bought the gem and it was named after him. In 1996 it was auctioned by Christie's in Geneva and the sale price was over $ 3 million. Then the Allnatt diamond was 102.77 carats and was classified as Fancy Intense Yellow. fter the sale, the diamond was cut again and reached its present weight while its color was upgraded.
Moussaieff Red Diamond
Moussaieff Red Diamond is the largest red diamond that has been found so far and weighs 5.11 carats. It was found in the 1990s by a Brazilian farmer in a secondary pond and his original weight was 13.9 carats. Today it belongs to a private collection and is rarely exposed to the general public.
Pink Star Diamond
The Pink Star diamond, formerly known as Steinmetz Pink, is a Fancy Vivid Pink Diamond, weighing 59.6 carats, that was mined in 1999 in South Africa. In 2017, it was auctioned by Sotheby's and the sale price was $71.2 million.
Hope Diamond
The Hope diamond is one of the most famous diamonds in the world. It weighs 45,52 carats and is identified as Dark Grayish Blue color. It was found in a diamond mine in India and was purchased in 1666 by the famous gemstone merchant of the time, Jean-Batiste Tavernier, who later sold it to King Louis IV of France. In 1791 it was stolen and since then it has come into the possession of many powerful people in Europe and America. In 1949 it was bought by Harry Winston, who then donated it to the Smithsonian Institute's Natural History Museum, where it is exhibited to date.
