Fancy Coloured Violet Diamonds
Fancy Coloured Loose Violet Diamonds have a very romantic appeal with touch of mystery perhaps due to their elusive nature. These diamonds are extremely rare and belong to the purple diamond family.
In short: Violet diamonds are extremely rare — fewer than 100 GIA-graded violets exist worldwide above 0.50ct. The colour comes from hydrogen impurities in the crystal lattice, distinct from blue (boron) or purple (different lattice distortion). Argyle supplied most market stones before its 2020 closure. Prices for Fancy Vivid Violet typically run £75,000-500,000+ per carat. Pair with 18kt white gold or platinum for maximum contrast.
Although violet is recognised by the GIA as a colour in its own right and comes in different hues and intensity, the colour appears as a combination of blue and purple diamonds. The scarcity of Fancy Coloured Violet Diamonds results in very high prices for these stones and as with Fancy Coloured Loose Orange Diamonds, the GIA rarely grades diamonds as pure violet.
WHERE DO FANCY COLOURED LOOSE VIOLET DIAMONDS ORIGINATE FROM?
The vast majority of Fancy Coloured Violet Diamonds originate from the famous Argyle Mine in Kimberley, Western Australia.
HOW ARE FANCY COLOURED LOOSE VIOLET DIAMONDS FORMED?
Like all diamonds within the family of Natural Fancy Coloured Diamonds, the colouration of Fancy Coloured Loose Violet Diamonds is created by natural impurities which change the colour of the diamond during formation. It is thought that Fancy Coloured Loose Violet Diamonds get their colour from the presence of hydrogen when they are forming beneath the earth.
ARE FANCY COLOURED LOOSE VIOLET DIAMONDS A SEPARATE COLOUR FROM FANCY COLOURED LOOSE PURPLE DIAMONDS?
Fancy Coloured Loose Violet Diamonds have only recently been recognised by the GIA as a separate colour. A degree of controversy still surrounds the classification of violet as a separate colour as many believe that is a member of the purple diamond family.
From a scientific and gemological perspective the existence of two distinct colours violet and purple is proven on the basis of how the colour is created within the diamond. The presence of the colour purple is caused by deformities in the diamond's atomic matrix whereas the colouration of violet is due to the presence of hydrogen, wo distinct processes and therefore two distinct colours of diamond – violet and purple.
WHAT SHADES AND INTENSITIES DO FANCY COLOURED LOOSE ORANGE DIAMONDS COME IN?
Fancy Coloured Loose Violet Diamonds only show in a few levels of colour intensity as defined by the GIA grading scale. They are present only in fancy violet, fancy dark violet and fancy deep violet. They usually exhibit gray or blue as a secondary hue, and whilst these are without doubt beautiful diamonds in their own right, they do not attract high prices.
Pure Fancy Coloured Loose Violet Diamonds with no secondary overtone very rarely occur naturally and the violet coloured diamonds that are found in nature usually appear with gray or blue as a secondary hue. The most common overtone combinations found in violet diamonds are Pink, Pinkish, Blue, Bluish, Purple, Purplish and Gray, Grayish.
ARE FANCY COLOURED LOOSE VIOLET DIAMONDS RARE AND ARE THEY A GOOD INVESTMENT?
Pure Fancy Coloured Loose Violet Diamonds are extremely rare and when found they are generally of less than one carat in size. In fact in 32 years of mining for Fancy Coloured Loose Violet Diamonds, only 12 carats of polished stones have been produced. Place this figure in comparison to over 133 million carats of other coloured and colourless diamonds produced during the same time scale and this shows just how rare Fancy Coloured Loose Violet Diamonds are.
However, even though pure Fancy Coloured Loose Violet Diamonds are very rare they are not considered as rare as fancy red diamonds and fancy blue diamonds by investors and collectors.
What must be borne in mind when considering the investment potential of Fancy Coloured Loose Violet Diamonds is that the value of any of the colours of Natural Fancy Coloured Loose Diamonds is largely determined by the purity of the colour. Therefore as the vast majority of Fancy Coloured Loose Violet Diamonds contain secondary hues; their value for investment will not be as great as those coloured diamonds which exhibit greater purity of colour.
ARE THERE ANY FAMOUS FANCY COLOURED LOOSE VIOLET DIAMONDS?
Until very recently there had not been any famous Fancy Coloured Loose Violet Diamonds of note, however this changed with the discovery of an incredibly rare pure violet diamond in The Argyle Mine in Western Australia in May 2016.
The ‘Argyle Violet’ has been heralded as possibly one of the rarest gems ever found. When it was pulled from the ground at The Argyle Mine it weighed a staggering 9.17 carats and has now been polished down to 2.83 carats.
The ‘Argyle Violet’ was described to the world’s media by Patrick Coppens, General Manager of Sales for Rio Tinto Diamonds (the owners of The Argyle Mine) as: "Impossibly rare and limited by nature, the Argyle Violet will be highly sought after for its beauty, size and provenance. This stunning violet diamond will capture the imagination of the world's leading collectors and connoisseurs."
DO FANCY COLOURED LOOSE VIOLET DIAMONDS LOOK GOOD AS JEWELLERY?
Fancy Coloured Loose Violet Diamonds have the romantic appeal of pink diamonds with a contemporary twist. They look fabulous within the setting of an engagement ring for a lady who dares to be different and move away from traditional Colourless Diamonds.
Fancy Coloured Loose Violet Diamonds look equally as stunning within a necklace, bracelet, cocktail ring, wedding band or any other piece of jewellery to create a timeless classical look.
WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO CARE FOR MY FANCY COLOURED LOOSE VIOLET DIAMOND JEWELLERY?
The very best way to care for your item of Fancy Coloured Loose Violet Diamond Jewellery is to entrust the cleaning process with a diamond specialist jeweller who will carefully power steam your violet diamond jewellery to remove the build-up of any dirt and grime that inevitably occur during wear.
If you wish to clean your Fancy Coloured Loose Violet Diamond Jewellery yourself then only use the very softest brush such as a toothbrush and a gentle soap ensuring that you rinse the item thoroughly under warm water and dry carefully with a polishing cloth after cleaning.
WHERE CAN I BUY FANCY COLOURED LOOSE VIOLET DIAMOND JEWELLERY?
To view the very widest selection of Fancy Coloured Loose Violet Diamonds of your dreams contact the team at Rêve Diamonds London.
