Colored diamonds are making a comeback and have been for the past 10 years. If you read the tabloids, you will see that many celebrities, like JLo, who briefly wore a Pink Diamond engagement ring, Carrie Underwood and Kelly Clarkson, who both opted for yellow diamonds as their center stones and Kristen Bell, who sports a gorgeous peachy brown diamond on her left hand all chose to buck the traditional diamond trend for the colored diamond trend. What you might not know is that sometimes buying a colored diamond, such as yellow diamonds can be just as affordable as buying a white diamond, and that your engagement ring will set you apart from the rest and you will have a piece that you will truly treasure for life.
What Makes a Diamond Yellow?
Yellow diamonds belong to a special family of natural, fancy color diamonds. They are regular diamonds that due to trace elements found in them change their color during their formation process. Yellow diamonds get their color due to the existence of nitrogen molecules which absorb blue light.
The Shades of Yellow Diamonds
Yellow diamonds are a family of colors on their own. When the GIA grades a colored diamond it states the exact color description. This color description can be comprised of two and even three colors plus the intensity level.
The most common color combinations found in yellow diamonds are: Brown Yellow, Green Yellow and Orange Yellow. The last color that is mentioned in the color description is considered the dominant one.
This means that if a diamond is graded as a green yellow diamond it is a diamond that is yellow and has a secondary tone of green in it while a yellow green diamond is a green diamond with a secondary tone of yellow. It is important to understand that between the two diamonds mentioned here there is a vast difference in appearance, in rarity and in pricing.
Besides determining the color or color combination of the diamond, the color is also graded for intensity. Same goes for grading yellow diamonds.
There are yellow diamonds with a very strong color and there are yellow diamonds that the yellow shade is quite weak – yellowish or even just a yellow tint. For that purpose an intensity color scale was invented.
The intensity scale of colored diamonds goes as follows:
Faint, Very Light, Light, Fancy Light, Fancy, Fancy Dark, Fancy Deep, Fancy Intense and the fancy vivid.
Pricing of Yellow Diamonds
There are many factors that determine the actual price of yellow diamonds.
- Carat size
- Depth and tone of the color
- Clarity of the diamond and where the imperfections lie
- Secondary color present
- Fluorescence
- Shape
Here are some examples to put it into a better frame of reference for you…
Fancy Light Yellow diamonds, for example, will price out similar to a J color white diamond, and will run in the price range $4,500-$5,000.
Fancy Intense Yellow diamonds, on the other hand, will price out similar to G color white diamonds, and the price for a 1 carat good quality Intense Yellow is currently in the range of $6,500 – $8,000.
It’s all about the intensity of the color!
Yellow Diamonds, The Affordable Alternative
You are probably wondering with all this talk about how expensive these rare stones are, how yellow diamonds can be affordable. Easy! The trick is in the setting. If you take yellow diamonds that are Fancy Light Yellow and set them in bright gold, even if the rest of the setting is in white or platinum, then you will intensify the color of the stone and bring out the yellow. You can afford a beautiful yellow diamond that looks like a Fancy Intense Yellow, but with a trick of the setting is actually not.
The next way to make yellow diamonds affordable is to visit a wholesaler like Jonathan’s Fine Jewelers. Our customers are surprised at how reasonably priced our yellow diamonds are and they are delighted with the variety of ways in which a yellow diamond can be set. We have a beautiful selection of cuts and colors of yellow diamonds from under 1 carat to over 5 carats to choose from and the know how to help you design the best setting.
Are you ready to take a look at yellow diamonds? Call us today to set up an appointment!
