Coloured Diamonds

Select a diamond from thousands of certified coloured diamonds in our collection. Browse our coloured diamond inventory, book a diamond viewing, or explore our coloured diamond engagement rings.

Natural Fancy Coloured Diamonds

NATURAL FANCY COLOURED DIAMONDS

Coloured diamonds, also known as “fancy diamonds”, are a stunning type of natural diamond available in an array of colours and tones. In the world of diamonds, rarity undoubtedly equals value, and fancy coloured diamonds are far rarer than traditional white stones.

With only one in 10,000 diamonds having a fancy colour, it’s clear why many experts consider natural fancy coloured diamonds to be the most highly prized of gems. Coloured diamonds boast dazzling brilliance and are available in several exquisite colours, from popular pinks and yellows to the rarest green, blue, orange and purple hues.

Colourless diamonds are valued upon their absence of colour using GIA’s D-to-Z colour-grading scale, decreasing in value as the colour becomes more obvious. Fancy diamonds are the opposite, with their value increasing as the depth of colour intensifies. Coloured diamonds, or “fancies”, exhibit colour beyond the Z range, with vivid fancy coloured diamonds extremely rare.

There are 12 colour variations of natural coloured diamonds and over 90 secondary hues, nine intensity levels, and more than 230 colour combinations. Their colours are typically muted rather than pure and strong, as they are often blended with other colours and muted by greyish or brownish tones. When you buy coloured diamonds, you’ll find large vivid coloured stones are the most valuable as they are so difficult to obtain.

The rarest and most valuable natural coloured diamonds are said to be red, green, purple and orange, with medium to dark tones and moderate saturations. These are followed by blue and pink diamonds. The most common colours are browns and yellows.

Black, grey, and fancy white are also variations of natural fancy coloured diamonds. Perhaps the most famous coloured diamond is the “Black Orlov” or “Eye of Brahma”, a 67.50-carat cushion-cut black diamond.

FEATURES AND GRADING OF NATURAL COLOURED DIAMONDS

Within the international jewellery trade, there is a consensus that fancy coloured diamonds should display certain features to be classified as true “fancies”. These features are the presence of either a yellow or brown colour (with a higher colour than a Z master stone) or a colour other than yellow or brown.

Grading natural fancy coloured diamonds is a specialised and complex task. This is because coloured diamonds come in so many shades and there are simply too many variations to make a complete set of master stones. When the highly trained diamond graders at the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) grade fancy coloured diamonds, they use a combination of comparison stones and printed standard colours to assist them in accurately identifying a diamond’s characteristic colour.

Features And Grading Of Natural Coloured Diamonds

The GIA system for grading the colour of natural fancy coloured diamonds has been designed to consider the fact that not all coloured diamonds have the same depth of colour. For example, yellow diamonds are more widely found, while blue diamonds are rarer.

Once the diamond's characteristic colour has been determined, it will be assigned a colour grade. This consists of a characteristic colour modified by one of these grade terms, which signifies colour intensity:

  • Faint
  • Very Light
  • Light
  • Fancy Light
  • Fancy
  • Fancy Intense
  • Fancy Vivid
  • Fancy Dark
  • Fancy Deep

Faint, very light and light are applied to all colours excluding yellow. Any diamond with a natural yellow colour stronger than the Z master stone will be termed “fancy light yellow”.

WHY OUR CLIENTS LOVE RÊVE

At Rêve Diamonds, we offer an unrivalled level of service and have an extensive inventory of high-quality diamonds to choose from. By sourcing and polishing our own diamonds, we cut out the middleman and pass on the savings to our customers.

Through our virtual and in-person consultations, we’ll help you find the perfect coloured diamond and talk you through your options for using it in a custom setting. Our expert jewellers can also create a bespoke engagement ring or another piece of jewellery to your exact specifications. Take a look at what our customers say about us:

SPEAK TO AN EXPERT

If you’re looking for natural fancy coloured diamonds, our jewellery experts would love to help. Contact us with any questions or arrange an appointment at our London showroom. You can also reach us using the Live Chat facility on our site or by getting in touch via WhatsApp.

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COLOURED DIAMONDS QUESTIONS

What is a fancy coloured diamond?

Natural fancy coloured diamonds are rare specimens that exhibit colour beyond the Z range of the GIA colour grading scale. The characteristics used to describe the colour of these stones are hue, tone and saturation. Coloured diamonds come in almost any colour you can imagine, with red, green, purple and orange being the rarest, followed by pink and blue. Yellows and browns are the most common fancy colours.

Are fancy coloured diamonds real?

Yes, natural coloured diamonds are completely authentic. The colours exhibited by these stones have developed in nature over millions of years, formed when other elements interact with the carbon atoms during a diamond’s creation. Studies suggest nitrogen, boron and radiation can all affect the colour of a natural diamond.

Are fancy coloured diamonds more expensive?

Natural coloured diamonds are more expensive than white diamonds due to their rarity. The rarest coloured diamonds are significantly more expensive than traditional white diamonds, with a value that rises exponentially with each improved attribute. Intense or vivid diamonds have a strong colour and a much higher value than white diamonds of a similar size and clarity. Coloured diamonds range in price from thousands to millions of pounds, with value depending on the stone’s carat weight, cut, clarity and colour.

What is the rarest coloured diamond?

Red diamonds are the rarest fancy coloured diamonds, with only 20 to 30 natural red diamonds known to exist. If you want to buy coloured diamonds and have your heart set on natural red stones, you’d have to pay in excess of one million dollars per carat.

Are fancy coloured diamonds a good investment?

Unlike white diamonds, which tend to depreciate over time, coloured diamonds have consistently increased in value over the past few decades. Due to their rarity and high demand, fancy coloured diamonds have shown significant appreciation in their value compared to stocks and bonds.

Got more questions? Speak to an expert today.

We know that picking a diamond is a big decision. If you’ve got any questions, we’re here to help.

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Fancy Coloured Diamonds London UK

COLOURED DIAMONDS

Coloured diamonds are primarily valued based on the intensity and distribution of their colour. All Rêve Diamonds coloured diamonds have a natural colour, ranging from yellow and pink to grey, black, brown and beyond. When you buy coloured diamonds from us, they are always accompanied by an official GIA report. Our coloured diamond education pages will help you understand the unique properties of coloured diamonds and assist you in selecting the stone that is right for you.

Using the search tool above, you can browse an up-to-date inventory of diamonds and find the perfect one for your bespoke jewellery or engagement ring. Just like our white diamond search tool, you can select the shape, carat, cut and clarity of our fancy coloured diamonds, but you must also choose the colour and intensity to find exactly what you’re looking for.

Available coloured diamond hues include yellow, pink, blue, red, purple, grey and black. Intensity refers to how deep the colour is, with higher intensity coloured diamonds being rarer and more valuable.

Ready to shop? Explore our full range of fancy coloured diamonds, or browse lab-grown coloured diamonds for the same colour at a lower price.

Fancy coloured diamonds: frequently asked questions

What are fancy coloured diamonds?

Diamonds with a natural body colour — such as yellow, pink, blue or green — graded on their colour intensity rather than the D-to-Z scale used for white diamonds.

Which coloured diamonds are the rarest?

Red is the rarest, followed by blue and pink. These command the highest prices; yellow and brown are more accessible.

How are fancy coloured diamonds graded?

By hue, tone and saturation, from Faint through to Fancy Vivid — the more intense and pure the colour, the rarer and more valuable the diamond.

Are coloured diamonds expensive?

The rarest colours (pink, blue, red) can cost many times a comparable white diamond, while fancy yellows are far more affordable.

Can you buy lab-grown coloured diamonds?

Yes. Lab-grown fancy colours offer the same vivid look at a fraction of the price of natural fancy-colour diamonds.

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