Are Yellow Diamonds Valuable?

Although rarer than white diamonds, the yellow diamond is fairly common among fancy colored diamonds. It is a common false impression that ayellow diamond is less valuable than a clear diamonds. While very light or slightly yellow diamonds are thought to be quite typical and not of a really high value, yellow diamonds for instance intense and vivid are really quite valuable.



Yellow diamonds with secondary brown tones are worth considerably less than pure yellow stones. However, secondary colors of green-yellow or orange-yellow can significantly raise the value of the stone due to the fact that these diamond colors are even scarcer than fancy yellow diamonds.



Natural yellow diamonds are graded by their strength and intensity of color. The highest-quality grade is the Vivid Yellow, closely followed by the Intense Yellow diamond. The lowest quality of natural yellow diamond is the Light Yellow diamond, followed by the Fancy Yellow. Several tones of Vivid Yellow diamonds plus the rarer Intense Yellow diamonds are called Canary Diamonds. Canary diamonds are the most rare among yellow diamonds and consequently they cost much more and are desirable by both investors and sophisticated clients. The canary diamond has a very special shade of yellow, and even if you have never seen a Canary Yellow before, once you see it, you will realize that it is a Canary Diamond.



Yellow diamonds are usually set in yellow gold. When it comes to the diamond setting, yellow diamonds look superb if they are combined with white stones, as the white diamonds create a strong color contrast. If you choose a yellow diamond to be a center stone for a three stone ring, then it is a good idea to add white side stones and trapeze, triangle or oval shapes can be a perfect match.



Like in other fancy color diamonds the color remains the main criterion that affects the value of the diamond, after this comes the size and the clarity of the diamond. Clarity is also important in the evaluation of fancy yellow diamonds, though much less than in traditional white diamonds.



The ideal cut for fancy colored diamonds is the Radiant cut. This is the perfect shape to take full advantage of 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 and not just with regards to the yellow diamonds. This refers to all fancy color diamonds..



The cut quality of a colored diamond is very different to the traditional white diamond. The objective when cutting a color diamond is to make the best us of the depth and saturation of the diamond's color while, at the same time, managing to strike a balance between carat weight and brilliance. It is crucial that the diamond is purchased with a grading report from a reliable diamond laboratory such as GIA, HRD, IGI or EGL. This report must declare that the diamond color is "Natural". The report must also state the intensity of color, and also the color distribution throughout the diamond.



The Kimberley Octahedron is the largest naturally formed octahedral diamond in the world at 616 carats and is a Canary Diamond. This stone was discovered in 1964 in the Dutoitspan mine, located in the Kimberley region of South Africa. The Kimberley Octahedron continues to be uncut, which means that the color and distribution grades cannot be applied to this diamond. The owners of the mine, Da Beers Consolidated Mines Ltd., chose to preserve the diamond in the condition is as discovered. The Kimberley Octahedron is on display at the Kimberely Big Hole mine.