Canary Diamonds

  Canary Diamonds

When Ben Affleck proposed to Jennifer Lopez, the act generated the expected amount of media attention. However the majority of that coverage wasn't focused on the total number of the couple's prior marriages, or that "Bennifer" name smashup the couple had been adorned with. No, the focus of the majority of the mass speculation was the color of Jennifer's diamond. The very happy couple had much to consider and ponder on in there choice of diamond including the Canary Diamonds range. On investigating the availablitiy of Diamonds and the ranges of diamonds available they ended up choosing a Canary Diamond.

Ms Lopez's engagement ring was topped with a tremendously large fabulous 6-carat pink diamond. The word that people seemed to cling to and be facinated by was that she chose pink. The realization that diamonds come in some awsome colors started to spread, contradicting everything taught about diamond color: the closer to clear, the more valuable the diamond. So the speculation was is Jennifer's "pink diamond" actually a diamond?

Are Pink Diamonds Still Diamonds?

In a word, yes. While the common color grading scale used for diamonds runs from D (completely clear) to Z (obviously yellow) there is an entire subset of diamonds which fall beyond the Z rating into the umbrella grade of "Fancy." Fancy diamonds still hold all of the other characteristics and pizzaz of  traditional white diamonds - the hardness, the technical measure of clarity, the cut, and carat are all the same. Colour has no bearing on quality.

Colored diamonds that fall outside of the white grading scale, still have to have a subjective color grade assigned to them. However, the grading scale for colored diamonds is considerably easier for the layman to understand. Colored diamonds with the faintest hints of color are given a grade of Faint. Lightly colored diamonds are either Very Light, or Light. The bolder colored diamonds, your truly fancy and ornate gems, are graded along a scale ranging from Fancy Light to Fancy Dark, with Intense, Vivid, and Deep breaking up the middle. So after studying the grading in this paragraph should give you the buyer a better understanding of the colour grading.

A Stone of Many Colors

As you might have guessed, pink isn't the only color for diamonds. The infamous, Hope Diamond is a 45.52 carat dark grayish blue diamond. Canary diamonds are a brilliant yellow. Both brown and black diamonds are both real and growing in popularity in todays modern society lately. Other colors include orange, red, green, and purple. According to the Gemological Institute of America and the International Gemological Institute 2 very reputable organisations there are 27 official hues which span the color spectrum, and there are fantastic diamonds to fill each of those hues.

Not to Get Too Technical

How those diamonds gain those hues is a bit of a technical process. Essentially, when the diamonds are forming from pure carbon, the molecules arrange themselves into a cage called a crystal matrix. As the diamonds are crushed and formed under the earth's pressure, that matrix closes in on itself. Occasionally, during that process, atoms from other elements such as boron, nitrogen, or hydrogen, will be trapped inside of those diamonds as their respective matrices close and develop. The end result is the colored diamond. As one would expect, when multiple gases are trapped in the diamond, you get diamonds of blended colors, like pink champagne diamonds which are absolutely fasinating.

Still Really Rare

While color is certainly one reason why people prize fancy exquisite diamonds, it's certainly not the only one. Fancy diamonds are exceptionally rare. Colored diamonds, with a Fancy or deeper color grade, account for a mere 1.8% of the entire world's diamonds. When that percentage is broken down by color, those percentages get even smaller. Canary diamonds, diamonds which are known for their brilliantly yellow hue, account for less than 0.1% of the world's diamonds. Factor in the other common diamond factors - the size of the stone, the inherent shape, and the sense of clarity, and colored diamonds of significant size and quality get even rarer still. Imagine the value of such a diamond as a family hierloom.

Why Choose a Colored Diamond?

Colored diamonds aren't for everyone or even for every type of jewelry. However, they do have some very strong selling points. The rarity of colored diamonds makes them special. The variety of colors means that colored diamonds can be used to convey not only the emotions of love, adoration or repect associated with a traditional diamond, but also to cater to the specific tastes of the recipient. It's those strengths that allow colored diamonds to fill jewelry niches and markets that traditional white diamonds could not. In the end, a colored diamond provides a new and unique spin on a familiar and classic idea.

Jill Renee, President of DanforthDiamond.com has years of experience and expertise in the jewelry market, and has helped many satisfied customers in finding the right piece of jewelry from loose diamonds, canary diamonds,wedding rings and engagement rings. Let Jill and her experienced staff help you,