Natural Fancy Yellow Diamonds - The Facts

Natural yellow diamonds are fairly common amongst fancy colored diamonds, nevertheless they are a lot rarer than white diamonds. There is a common false impression that anatural yellow diamond is less valuable than a colorless diamonds. Whilst very light or slightly yellow diamonds are considered to be fairly common and not of a very great value, yellow diamonds such as intense and vivid are quite valuable.



The pure yellow stones are much more valuble than yellow diamonds with secondary brown hues, however, if the diamond happens to have secondary colors of green-yellow or orange yellow, this could increase the price of the stone quite significantly. The reason being that these diamonds are even more difficult to find than yellow diamonds.



Natural yellow diamonds are graded by their strength and intensity of color. The highest-quality grade is the Vivid Yellow, followed by the Intense Yellow diamond. The lowest quality of natural yellow diamond is the Light Yellow diamond, closely followed by the Fancy Yellow. A number of shades of Vivid Yellow diamonds as well as the more rare Intense Yellow diamonds are called Canary Diamonds. Canary diamonds are the most rare amongst yellow diamonds and thus they cost much more and are desirable both by collectors and classy buyers. The canary diamond has a very unique tone of yellow, and even if you have never observed a Canary Yellow, once you see it, you will “recognize” it immediately!



Yellow diamonds look wonderful when they are combined with white stones and usually yellow diamonds are set in yellow gold. A 3-stone ring should include white diamonds and the yellow stone should be set in the center. White stones in trapeze, oval or triangle shapes will make a beautiful setting.



Just as with other natural fancy color diamonds the color remains the main thing that influences the value of the diamond, after this comes the size and clarity of the diamond. Clarity is also important in the evaluation of fancy yellow diamonds, though this is much less than in white diamonds.



Fancy colored diamonds are most frequently found in the Radiant cut. This is considered the ideal shape for increasing the color. Yellow diamonds can be also in the Cushion cut, Oval cut, and Pear and Heart shapes. The rarest are the Emerald, Square Emerald and the Brilliant cuts (round shape). The price for these shapes are substantially higher for all fancy diamonds and not merely for yellow diamonds.



Colored diamonds have completely different standards to white diamonds in regards to cut quality. The objective when cutting a color diamond is to maximize the depth and saturation of color while, at the same time, managing to strike a balance between carat weight and brilliance. If you intend to purchase a natural yellow diamond or any other fancy color diamond, it’s vital to verify that the stone is accompanied by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) grading report, or other trustworthy laboratories like HRD, IGI, EGL, stating that the color is natural. The report should also state the intensity of color, along with how the color is distributed throughout the stone.



The biggest naturally formed octahedral diamond in the world is the Kimberley Octahedron and this is a Canary Diamond weighing 616 carats. This stone was found in 1964 in the Dutoitspan mine, situated in the Kimberley region of South Africa. The Kimberley Octahedron continues to be uncut, which means that the color and distribution grades cannot be given to this magnificent diamond. The owners of the mine, Da Beers Consolidated Mines Ltd., chose to maintain the diamond in the state that it was found. This diamond is on display at the Kimberely Big Hole mine.