Fancy Color Diamonds: Are They Worth the Investment?

Fancy-colored diamonds can be imperfect for those who desire colorless diamonds. But, they can represent beauty and uniqueness.

Diamonds are not just clear, sparkling gems. Even if the most popular diamonds are colorless ones, there are fancy colored diamonds that are in high demand.

What Are Fancy Color Diamonds?

The fancy color diamonds are diamonds that have an obvious body color. They can be classified as being ‘very light’ or ‘vivid’.

The normal color range included in the GIA color chart for diamonds is D-to-Z. The fancy colored diamonds go beyond the Z color or exhibit another color when they are face-up.

Here are some fun facts about fancy colored diamonds that you should know:

They are very rare in nature.
They represent less than .01% (1 in 10,000) of all the diamonds mined in the world.
The rarer the fancy diamond color, the more expensive and valuable it is.
The most common fancy colored diamonds are brown and yellow diamonds.
A diamond should have considerable saturation for it to be valuable.
Other fancy colored diamonds include black, gray, and fancy white.

The rarest fancy colored diamonds are:

Purple
Red
Orange
Green
Pink
Blue

The color saturation of fancy-colored diamonds differs greatly, and it is least likely to find a fancy-colored diamond with deep saturation.

The color grading scale for fancy colored diamonds includes distinct categories of saturation and intensity described as follows:

Faint – with negligible colors,
Very light – with barely any color,
Light – with very delicate colors,
Fancy light – with delicate colors,
Fancy – with obvious colors,
Fancy Intense – with strong colors,
Fancy Dark – with dark strong tone and strong colors,
Fancy Deep – with Rich obvious color
Fancy Vivid – with Vibrant color

Are Fancy Diamond Colors More Expensive?

In the color chart, the more colorless a diamond’s color, the more expensive it is. However, for fancy-colored diamonds, the stronger and the purer the color, the more value is placed on the diamond.

This means that when a fancy colored diamond has a very vivid or strong color, the more expensive it is. Although, these types of fancy-colored diamonds are very rare.

Here are examples of the fanciest colored diamonds in the world and their worth:

The Hope Diamond – a dark grayish-blue diamond valued at approximately $250 million.
Blue Moon Diamond – internally flawless vivid blue diamond valued at $48 million.
Wittelsbach Graff Diamond – grayish-blue diamond re-polished to deep blue valued at $23.4 million.
Moussaieff Red Diamond – red diamond valued at $7 million.

The value of a fancy-colored diamond will depend on several factors that come into play together. A diamond that is rarer and more sought after can be more expensive.

To determine if a diamond is rare, several elements are considered.

These elements include:

Carat weight
The primary color of the diamond
Saturation
Purity of color
Clarity

The more intense the color of a fancy-colored diamond, the rarer and more expensive it becomes.

The desirability of fancy colored diamonds will depend on generally accepted guidelines, industry standards, and the perception of consumers. The more common, the less expensive. Yellow and Brown fancy-colored diamonds are the most common, and hence the least valuable among all the other colors.

The most desirable fancy colored diamonds according to desirability are:

Yellow
Pink
Orange
Green
Purple
Blue
Red

Fancy colored diamonds that are graded Flawless (F) and Internally Flawless (IF) are more expensive than the other color grades. The Clarity GIA standards for fancy colored diamonds range from Flawless (FL) to Very Slightly Included Level 1 (VS1).

The shape of a fancy-colored diamond can affect color saturation, and thus, the price. The most prolific colors are expressed with Radiant and Cushion cuts followed by Oval, emerald, Asscher, Round Brilliant, and Pear-shaped fancy-colored diamonds.

The less popular a shape is, the more expensive the diamond. Emerald and Asscher fancy colored diamonds are sold at a more premium price compared to the common shapes like Radiant and Cushion.

Which Diamond is Best For Investment?

Fancy colored diamonds can be more attractive than colorless ones for some consumers. They can be eye-catching and rarely beautiful. Some consumers buy them as individual pieces to be specially designed into jewelry that is custom-designed. Others buy them already set in jewelry designed in the way they like.

When you want to invest in fancy colored diamonds, consider those that belong to these colors in the color grading scale for diamonds with fancy colors:

Fancy with obvious colors,
Fancy Intense with strong colors,
Fancy Deep with rich obvious colors (for certain fancy colors)
Fancy Vivid with Vibrant colors

These are the fancy color diamonds that have investment potential. Also, choose the rarest fancy colors which will have greater value. Make sure that the fancy diamond colors that you purchase are natural colors. Remember vivid fancy-colored diamonds, which are rarest, have the greatest value.

According to diamond experts, red diamonds are the most expensive per carat. Their selling price is over one million dollars per carat. It is reported that the largest fancy-colored red diamond ever sold was worth $8 million. It weighed 5.11 carats.

Are Fancy Colored Diamonds a Good Investment?

Most people consider colorless diamonds a good investment because they are the most popular type of diamond. However, some of the rarest diamonds have fancy colors. This makes investing in fancy colored diamonds a wise decision.

Some of the best reasons that prove that investing in fancy colored diamonds is worth it includes:

Durability
It is the most concentrated form of wealth.
Easy to store and transport.
Salable and valuable anywhere in the world
Exceptionally rare
Steady appreciation

Records show that many of the rarest diamonds increase to twice their value every 5 years. This proves that fancy colored diamonds have real appreciation value that makes them a good medium to long-term investment. No wonder many investors are attracted to natural, fancy colored diamonds.

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Visit our wholesale diamonds store in Dallas or contact us today for more information!