Fancy Coloured Diamonds

Diamond Education › Fancy Coloured Diamonds

Fancy Coloured Diamonds — Pink, Yellow, Argyle, Blue & More

Fancy coloured diamonds are among the rarest and most extraordinary gemstones on earth. While most diamonds are valued for their lack of colour — graded on the D-to-Z scale — fancy coloured diamonds derive their value from the presence of colour. The more intense and pure the colour, the rarer and more valuable the stone.

At Diamond Imports, Daniel has been sourcing, selecting, and evaluating fancy coloured diamonds for over 45 years. His background as a GIA-trained gemologist gives him a depth of knowledge in coloured stone evaluation that very few Australian dealers can match. Whether you are looking for a pink diamond engagement ring, a yellow diamond dress piece, or an investment-grade stone, we can help.

---

How Fancy Coloured Diamonds Are Graded

Fancy coloured diamonds are graded on an entirely different system to white diamonds. Where white diamonds are graded D-to-Z based on the absence of colour, fancy coloured diamonds are graded on the intensity and purity of their colour. GIA grades fancy colour diamonds on the following scale:

GIA Colour Intensity Grade	Description
Faint	The weakest colour expression. Sits just beyond the white diamond scale.
Very Light	Delicate colour, subtle in normal lighting.
Light	Colour visible to the naked eye but not strongly saturated.
Fancy Light	The beginning of the commercially desirable range. Clear colour presence.
Fancy	Good saturation. Beautiful, noticeable colour. Excellent value grade.
Fancy Intense	Rich, vivid colour. Highly sought after. Significant price premium.
Fancy Vivid	The most saturated and brilliant expression. The rarest and most valuable grade.
Fancy Dark / Fancy Deep	Very deeply saturated, darker in tone. Different character to Vivid.

With fancy coloured diamonds, colour is the primary value driver. Cut quality, clarity, and carat weight remain important, but they follow colour in the hierarchy. A Fancy Vivid pink diamond of moderate clarity will be worth more than a Fancy Light pink of exceptional clarity.

---

Pink Diamonds — The World's Most Coveted Coloured Stone

Pink diamonds are the most sought-after fancy coloured diamonds in the world. Pure, intense pink with no secondary modifying colour — no orange, no brown, no grey — represents the pinnacle of rarity in the diamond world. Only red diamonds are rarer, and true reds are so uncommon that fewer than 50 are known to exist globally.

The pink colour in diamonds is caused by structural distortion in the diamond's crystal lattice — a rare deformation that occurs during the diamond's formation deep in the earth. Unlike blue or yellow diamonds, whose colour comes from trace elements, pink diamonds owe their colour entirely to this unique structural phenomenon. It cannot be replicated synthetically with the same authenticity.

The Argyle Pink Diamond — An Australian Legend

For 37 years, the Argyle diamond mine in the remote Kimberley region of Western Australia was the source of more than 90% of the world's pink diamonds. The mine closed permanently in November 2020.

This closure was one of the most significant events in the history of the diamond industry. With no comparable alternative source anywhere in the world, the global supply of new pink diamonds effectively ended overnight. The stones that exist are all that will ever exist — and their number diminishes every time one is purchased, set, and held.

The market responded immediately. In the year following the mine's closure, fancy pink diamonds rose around 23% in value, fancy intense pinks 29%, and fancy vivid pinks approximately 39%. Premium Argyle-certified pink diamond prices have seen an average annual increase of 28% since the mine's closure, outperforming all major equity markets over the past two decades.

Argyle also produced its own colour grading scale — the Argyle Scale — using a system of numbers and letters (P1 through P9 for pinks, PR for purplish-red, PC for pink champagne, and so on). Authentic Argyle diamonds were accompanied by an Argyle Certificate and, for the finest stones selected for annual tender, a laser-inscribed provenance code on the girdle linking the stone directly to the mine. These certificates and inscriptions are now among the most sought-after provenance documents in the gem world.

---

Yellow Diamonds — Warmth, Brilliance & Outstanding Value

Yellow diamonds are the most commonly occurring fancy colour and, as a result, the most accessible entry point into the world of fancy coloured diamonds. Their colour comes from the presence of nitrogen within the crystal structure during formation — the more nitrogen, the more intense the yellow.

A Fancy Vivid yellow diamond — sometimes called a “canary” diamond — has a deep, golden-yellow colour that is extraordinarily striking. Set in yellow gold, it creates a seamless, warm, luminous look. Set in white gold or platinum, the contrast is dramatic and architectural.

Yellow diamonds are graded on the same GIA intensity scale as all fancy colours. The key grades to understand:

• Fancy Light Yellow — warm, golden tint. A beautiful alternative to a white diamond at a significantly lower price point.
• Fancy Yellow — clear, unmistakeable yellow. Excellent value and strong visual impact.
• Fancy Intense Yellow — rich and saturated. Comparable in impact to a Fancy Vivid but more attainable.
• Fancy Vivid Yellow — the deepest, most brilliant expression. The “canary” grade. Commands a significant premium.

Yellow diamonds pair beautifully with white accent diamonds — in a halo setting, a yellow centre stone surrounded by white brilliant-cut diamonds creates one of the most striking combinations in fine jewellery.

---

Champagne & Cognac Diamonds — Warm, Distinctive & Deeply Australian

Champagne and cognac diamonds are brown diamonds with warm golden undertones. They were once considered inferior to white diamonds and priced accordingly. Today, they are recognised as a distinctive and beautiful choice in their own right — particularly in Australia, where much of the world's champagne and cognac diamond supply came from the Argyle mine.

Argyle developed its own colour scale for these stones, ranging from C1 (lightest champagne) through C7 (deepest cognac). The stones at the deeper end of the scale — C6 and C7 — have a rich, warm, whisky-like colour that is exceptional in yellow gold settings.

Champagne and cognac diamonds offer outstanding value compared to equivalent-quality white or pink diamonds. For buyers who appreciate warmth, character, and individuality over convention, these stones deserve serious consideration.

---

Blue Diamonds — Extraordinarily Rare

Blue diamonds are among the rarest coloured diamonds in existence. Their colour comes from trace amounts of boron within the crystal structure — a geological occurrence so uncommon that blue diamonds generally have a slight hint of grey, making them rarely as highly saturated as blue sapphires. A pure, saturated blue diamond without grey undertone is extraordinarily valuable.

The world's most famous blue diamond — the Hope Diamond, weighing 45.52 carats — is a Fancy Dark greyish-blue, and its value is incalculable. Even small blue diamonds in the Fancy Intense or Fancy Vivid range command prices that rival or exceed those of equivalent pink diamonds.

Blue diamonds are occasionally available through Diamond Imports. If this is something you are interested in, please contact us directly to discuss what we are able to source.

---

Other Fancy Colours — Green, Orange, Red, Violet

Beyond pink, yellow, champagne, and blue, diamonds occur in a remarkable range of other colours — each with its own rarity profile and market:

• Red diamonds — the rarest of all. There are only around 40 to 50 true red diamonds known in the world. They have never appeared in our stock, but their existence is worth understanding.
• Green diamonds — extremely rare. Colour is caused by natural radiation exposure during formation. Verification of natural colour is critical — green colour can be induced artificially.
• Orange diamonds — rarer than yellow, less rare than red. Pure orange without brown is exceptional.
• Violet diamonds — produced almost exclusively by the Argyle mine. Now essentially unavailable in new supply.
• Grey / Silver diamonds — a fashionable contemporary choice, often described as “salt and pepper” when featuring visible inclusions.
• Black diamonds — heavily included, opaque stones with a dramatic and architectural look. A distinctive alternative to conventional diamond jewellery.

---

Natural Colour vs Treated Colour — A Critical Distinction

This is one of the most important things to understand when buying any fancy coloured diamond.

Diamond colour can be artificially induced or enhanced through various treatment processes — irradiation, high-pressure high-temperature (HPHT) treatment, and coating among them. A treated fancy coloured diamond can look virtually identical to a natural fancy colour diamond to the naked eye, but it is worth a fraction of the price.

The only reliable way to confirm natural colour is through a certificate from GIA, DCLA, or HRD that specifically states the colour is natural. The certificate must explicitly say “natural colour” or “colour origin: natural” — not simply describe the colour grade.

At Diamond Imports, every fancy coloured diamond we sell carries certification confirming natural colour. Daniel will not handle treated colour diamonds and will explain the distinction clearly for any stone he presents.

---

Fancy Coloured Diamonds as an Investment

Natural fancy coloured diamonds — particularly Argyle pinks and high-intensity yellows — have demonstrated consistent long-term price appreciation over the past two decades. The global pink diamond jewellery market, valued at USD 1.46 billion in 2024, is projected to reach USD 2.32 billion by 2030, driven by the inherent rarity of pink diamonds and increasing consumer interest.

For buyers considering coloured diamonds as part of a broader investment or wealth preservation strategy, several factors matter:

• Certification — GIA, DCLA, or HRD certification confirming natural colour is non-negotiable for investment-grade stones.
• Colour intensity — Fancy Intense and Fancy Vivid grades historically outperform lower intensity grades in price appreciation.
• Argyle provenance — for pink diamonds, an authentic Argyle certificate adds significant provenance value and market recognisability.
• Pure hue — stones with pure pink, pure yellow, or pure blue without secondary modifying colours command premiums and are more liquid in the market.
• Expert guidance — fancy coloured diamond evaluation is highly specialised. Working with someone who has assessed these stones first-hand for decades makes a critical difference.

---

Explore More

Browse & Enquire