By Collin Albertsson
Doyle Auctioneers & Appraisers
Diamonds are crystals of pure carbon that are formed under extreme pressures and high temperatures miles beneath the Earth’s surface billions of years ago. Occasionally, different elements such as boron, nitrogen and hydrogen accidentally find their way into the crystal lattice structure and create a multitude of dazzling color combinations. Colored “fancy” diamonds can be yellow, orange, pink, blue, green, purple, brown or black. Unlike a colorless diamond which is priced according to its absence of color, the value of a colored diamond is determined by the intensity and purity of color.
Colored diamonds are often described using multiple colors and it is important to understand their significance. Very few diamonds have a pure hue such as red, pink, yellow or blue. Most have a combination of two, three or sometimes four different colors. For example, a stone could be described as orangy yellow pink which means the predominant color is pink with underlying hues of orange and yellow. To further complicate the matter, the intensity and the tone of the color can be described as Faint, Very Light, Light, Fancy Light, Fancy, Fancy Intense, Fancy Vivid, or Fancy Deep. The variations of color and intensity are endless! Doyle Auctioneers & Appraisers recently offered a very rare Fancy Intense Orangy Pink Diamond. Doyle sends diamonds to the GIA (Gemological Institute of America) which is the world’s most trusted color grading laboratory. One should obtain a certificate even for stones with faint color. A diamond that has pale blue, pink or green can be very valuable.
One fact that may be surprising is that brown diamonds are the most common type of diamond, even surpassing colorless diamonds. Clever marketing of “Champagne” or “Cognac” colored diamonds has increased their popularity. Brown diamonds are the most affordable of all colored diamonds.
Yellow diamonds are a very popular color of fancy diamonds. They are created when nitrogen atoms take the place of carbon in the crystal lattice structure. Although yellow diamonds are found throughout the world, the most intense hues are mined in South Africa. Doyle sold a lovely Fancy Yellow (22.96 carats) that belonged to the Estate of Barbara Wainscott of Palm Beach for $384,500.
Red diamonds are the rarest and most valuable of all colored diamonds. Typically found as smaller carat weights with the largest red diamond in the world being The Moussaieff Red Diamond, measuring only 5.11 carats. The color is likely caused by deformities in the crystal lattice structure due to incredibly intense seismic pressure. Less than 30 red diamonds have been found and they were mined in Australia, Brazil and Montana. They very rarely come to the auction market and sell for well over $1 million per carat.
Blue diamonds are particularly lovely, rare and very desirable to collectors. They come in a wide range of color intensities and are formed when trace amounts of boron are included within the lattice structure. A few of the modifying hues include greenish blue, grayish blue, and violet blue. Blue diamonds are formed and mined in the deepest depths of the Earth’s mantle. The most famous blue diamond is the Hope Diamond – a 45 carat diamond mined in India in the 17th century and notable for being cursed. Interestingly Palm Beacher, Mildred “Brownie” McLean, had ties to this famous diamond. Brownie McLean was offered the magnificent stone by her mother-in-law, socialite Evalyn Walsh McLean, and famously turned it down after claiming to see red sparks come out of it (and she very well might have, the Hope Diamond exhibits a rare red fluorescence when placed under ultraviolet light)! Doyle has been honored to sell several blue diamonds in the past year for very high prices. A Fancy Blue, 1.52 carats, sold for $855,000 and a smaller Fancy Blue, .80 carats sold for $212,500.
Green diamonds are almost as rare as red diamonds and have powerful modifying hues which can result in shocking colors. The color is caused by exposure to radioactive materials during formation. Careful microscopic study must be performed by the GIA to confirm the color was formed naturally and not in a laboratory. The most expensive green diamond sold in Hong Kong in 2016 for $3.3 million per carat.
Making up approximately .1% of produced diamonds, orange diamonds absorb green and blue light, typically resulting in intense orange and brownish and yellowish orange hues. Gemologists have not yet determined the defect that produces orange and the impurity may differ from one stone to another. Several years ago, the largest and most expensive orange diamond, a 14.82 carats Fancy Vivid Orange, was sold in Geneva for a whopping $35.54 million or $2.4 million per carat!
Driven by collector demand and limited supply, the prices of high quality fancy diamonds have increased dramatically over the past decade. Gem enthusiasts will continue to marvel at the unique color combinations and beautiful imperfections the Earth created billions of years ago.
Collin Sherman Albertsson is Senior Vice President, Director of Florida Operations for Doyle Auctioneers & Appraisers, a full-service auction house headquartered in New York City. She received her B.A. in Art History and History from Southern Methodist University and her M.A. in European Decorative Arts from Parson’s School of Design. Her specialty is jewelry and silver. Ms. Albertsson regularly travels throughout Florida to provide private collectors, heirs, families and fiduciaries advice on the sale of a single item, estate or collection.