FANCY COLOURED BROWN DIAMONDS

WHERE ARE FANCY COLOURED LOOSE BROWN DIAMONDS FOUND?

Fancy Coloured Loose Brown Diamonds are found mainly in Australia in the Argyle diamond mine. They are also found in Angola, Borneo, Brazil and the Congo.

WHAT GIVES FANCY COLOURED LOOSE BROWN DIAMONDS THEIR COLOUR?

Fancy Coloured Loose Brown Diamonds are caused by ‘plastic deformation’ which is basically dislocation within the crystal structure of the diamond when it is forming underneath the Earth. This occurs when growing pressures within the earth create a movement within the crystal structure that change the diamonds molecular structure. This deforms the crystal structure from its regular pattern and introduces vibronic colour centres with unbonded electrons so creating the brown colouration. Fancy Coloured Loose Brown Diamonds can also be caused by nitrogen, hydrogen and nickel defects within the structure of the diamond.

Fancy Coloured Loose Brown Diamonds generally contain lower levels of nitrogen than other which causes the yellow colouring than other Natural Fancy Coloured Diamonds, making them more susceptible to deformation. Those which are light in colour are sometimes referred to as champagne diamonds, whereas browns that contain a significant amount of orange combined with a dark brown hue are called cognacs. It is relatively rare to find a Fancy Coloured Loose Brown Diamond that it is pure brown (a fancy brown without a secondary colour).

WHAT SHADES AND INTENSITIES DO FANCY COLOURED LOOSE BROWN DIAMONDS COME IN?

Fancy Coloured Loose Brown Diamonds come in a vast array of shades and intensities and adopted different names that help describe their shades and tone. They can be found spanning the full spectrum of colour intensity on the GIA grading scale e.g. fancy light brown, fancy brown, fancy intense brown, and fancy deep brown (there are no fancy vivid browns).

Fancy Coloured Loose Brown Diamonds also come in many different varieties of colour combinations and overtones as Pink, Pinkish, Yellow, Yellowish, Purple, Purplish, Orange and Orangey.

WHAT ARE CHAMPAGNE AND COGNAC DIAMONDS?

Even though Fancy Coloured Loose Brown Diamonds were considered a natural beauty by some they were not widely accepted being predominantly used as industrial diamonds. In fact they were not even assessed on the GIA diamond colour scale.

However, the Australian Argyle mine where the majority of Fancy Coloured Loose Brown Diamonds are found changed the perception of Fancy Coloured Loose Brown Diamonds in the mid-1980s. They embarked upon a clever marketing campaign to change the consumer’s perception of Fancy Coloured Loose Brown Diamonds into an attractive and desirable item of jewellery by renaming these diamonds after aspirational luxury drinks that both men and women and can relate to.

The term ‘Champagne Diamonds’ was created to describe diamonds that are light brown, typically with a secondary tone of yellow, and ‘Cognac’ which are diamonds that are considered darker and deeper browns and often come with a touch of orange in them. An example of GIA colour descriptions that can be considered cognac diamonds: fancy orange brown, fancy deep orange brown, fancy dark orange brown, fancy dark brown.

ARE FANCY COLOURED LOOSE BROWN DIAMONDS RARE AND EXPENSIVE?

Generally speaking Fancy Coloured Loose Brown Diamonds are not considered to be a rare colour therefore according to market value demand; the prices of these diamonds are significantly lower than some of the more popular fancy colours making them a bargain for diamond collectors.

However, as with all Natural Fancy Coloured Diamonds there are some shades within the brown family which are considered rarer than others and large brown diamonds that receive a high clarity grade will always attract a higher price. It also goes without saying that the stronger the colour, the more expensive the diamond e.g. a dark or deep brown diamond will be more expensive than fancy brown that is more expensive than fancy light brown.

In addition the rarer the secondary colour is, the more expensive the diamond. Yellow is much more common than pink and therefore a yellow brown diamond aka a ‘Champagne Diamond‘ will be of a lower value than a diamond with similar attributes that is graded as pink brown. The same applies with yellow brown compared to orange brown as seen in a ‘Cognac Diamond’ as orange is rarer than yellow so a yellow brown diamond is of less value than an orange brown diamond.

WHICH CELEBRITIES ARE WEARING FANCY COLOURED LOOSE BROWN DIAMONDS?

Natural Fancy Coloured Diamonds are very much on trend with celebrities and Fancy Coloured Loose Brown Diamonds have recently become very much en vogue. Many A Listers have been seen wearing brown diamonds, particularly Cognac and Champagne diamonds, in various items of fashionable jewellery including necklaces, rings, bracelets, ear-rings etc.

Natural Fancy Coloured Diamonds have featured within the red carpet ensemble of many famous celebrities including Jennifer Lopez who wore a stunning pair of champagne and gray earrings, Hilary Swank who chose to wear a very elegant briolette in her hair made of brown diamonds, Gillian Anderson wore champagne diamond earrings, Cameron Diaz, and Jennifer Hudson who was seen wearing a beautiful ring with a brown diamond centre piece. Cate Blanchett wore a pendant and ear-rings made of Fancy Coloured Loose Brown Diamonds.

The famous English actress Helen Mirren owns a brooch of Fancy Coloured Loose Brown Diamonds and Taylor Swift wore exquisite long dangling ear jewellery made of cognac diamonds for the Grammys.

Style guru Sarah Jessica Parker owned a beautiful one of a kind brown diamond brooch which was designed for her by famed jewellery designer Cindy Chao.

Other celebrities seen wearing Fancy Coloured Loose Brown Diamonds include Kathleen Bird York, Ashanti, Halle Berry, Jessica Simpson, Emily Blunt, Carrie Underwood and Isla Fischer.

ARE THERE ANY FAMOUS FANCY COLOURED LOOSE BROWN DIAMONDS?

One of the most famous Fancy Coloured Loose Brown Diamonds is the ‘Golden Pelican’ which is an absolutely beautiful 69.93-carat Champagne diamond. It is a rectangular emerald-cut which was originally mined in South Africa.

Another famous Champagne coloured diamond is The Golden Jubilee Diamond which is the largest cut diamond in the world weighing a staggering 545.67 carats. It was found in 1985 in the Premier mine in South Africa and was given as a gift to mark the 50th anniversary of the coronation of the King Bhumibol Adulyadej in 1997. Its estimated value is between $5 and $12 million.

Other famous Fancy Coloured Loose Brown Diamonds include The Earth Star Diamond, The Star of the South, The Incomparable Diamond, The Excelsior Diamond, The Lesotho Brown and The Star of Sierra Leone.

DO FANCY COLOURED LOOSE BROWN DIAMONDS LOOK GOOD AS JEWELLERY?

Fancy Coloured Loose Brown Diamonds are very much in fashion and undoubtedly make a stunning centre piece within pieces jewellery for both women and men. The stunning earthy colours of these diamonds add a very contemporary twist to jewellery. Fancy Coloured Loose Brown Diamonds can be found in many shapes, such as Princess, Emerald, Asscher, Oval, Marquise, Pear, Radiant, Heart, and Cushion and therefore look beautiful within most designs of jewellery.

WHERE CAN I BUY FANCY COLOURED LOOSE BROWN DIAMOND JEWELLERY?

Like any diamond jewellery when selecting a piece of Fancy Coloured Loose Brown Diamond jewellery to add to your collection you would be well advised to consult a well-established and highly respected specialist jeweller such as Rêve Diamonds of Hatton Garden, London. We offer a wide selection of the most beautiful pieces of Fancy Coloured Loose Brown Diamond jewellery.