Diamonds are not only of the most abundant precious stones found on our planet but are also available in a wide variety of different types and color. While colorless diamonds constitute almost 99 per cent of the millions that are mined every year, only 0.001 per cent are titled the label of fancy colored diamonds out of which a handful make it to the top grades of color and quality.
When taking pink diamonds into consideration, it can be fairly assumed that their fraction in the already minuscule percentage is even lesser, hence making it one of the rarest and priciest stones around the world.
What causes a diamond to be pink?
The underlying cause for coloration of diamonds is known for every color except for the color of pink, which proves to be one of the greatest mysteries for gemologists to date. Pink diamonds do not contain any impurities either from the source where they receive their color from hence making it harder to derive the origin of the shade.
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The process of colored graining is generally assumed to be the primary cause that leads to anatomical irregularities in the combination with impurities. The distortions caused are said to be the reason behind the coloring of diamonds in pink for 99.5 per cent of cases.
While some suggest that the antique diamonds undergo a massive amount of pressure during their process of formation which results in the pink hues, others argue that this occurrence is related to seismic shocks that ultimately bring about changes in the molecular structure and the rare shades of pink are found in such diamonds.
History of Pink Diamonds
Pink diamonds are known to be possessed by various famous men and women throughout history. Although they were adorned in massive sizes and deep colors in ancient times to make a statement of power and dominance, pink diamonds have reduced to smaller sizes in the current times wherein they are mostly sees embedded in engagement rings and sometimes as pendants or earrings.
The most famous pink diamonds include the Daria-i-Noor, a 186-carat light table cut pink diamond which was worn by several kings until its retrieval by the Persian Army, Noor-ul-Ain, a 60-carat oval-cut diamond decorated in the wedding tiara of an Empress of Iran and the Steinmetz Pink which was a 59.60 carat mixed oval cut diamond discovered in Southern Africa and declared as the finest pink diamond throughout the world because of its impeccable clarity grading of IF (internally flawless).
Other well-known examples are the Rose of Dubai which is a 25.02-carat pear-shaped pink diamond that was recently sold at 6 million dollars and the Graff Pink Diamond with a grading of fancy intense pink and carat weight of 24.78 which was sold at whopping 46.14 million dollars which is also titled as the most expensive diamond ever sold at an auction.
Shapes of Pink Diamonds
Cut and shape
Although cut and shape are treated the same by some customers, it is important to remember that these two aspects are different
The cut of a diamond refers to the manner in which it has been carved by a diamond cutter to enhance the brilliance and amount of reflected light. While this is considered as the most important C for the white diamonds out of the 4Cs that is used for diamond inspection, it is not the same case for colored diamonds, especially the pink diamond.
In this case, color is acknowledged as the most critical attribute since fancy colored diamonds are cut for the best color instead of the best cut. Therefore, customers should always prioritize color above the cut when purchasing a pink diamond but still avoid a poorly cut piece since they result in poor symmetry and cheap polish.
When talking about shape, it is generally known that the round colored diamonds fall into the category of expensive but customers usually find difficulty while searching for these since they are quite uncommon. Although the round shape is ideal for the case of white diamonds since the reflection of light in this shape results in the diamond to appear whiter, this is not considered a good sign for fancy colored diamonds since a whiter shade in this case simply means paler and weaker. Hence, shapes of cushion, radiant, heart, triangle, and marquise are much more preferred when it comes to fancy colored diamonds like a pink diamond since they hide any other flaws created by the other aspects and help in flaunting the color.
Shades of Pink Diamonds
Every shade of a pink diamond is evaluated on the basis of its intensity and strength. While the primary hues of pink are the primary factors for assessment, the presence of overtone or secondary colors is also assessed.
GIA grades
The following range of the scale is used by GIA to grade pink diamonds:
- Faint
- Very Light
- Light
- Fancy Light
- Fancy
- Fancy Intense
- Fancy Vivid, Fancy Deep or Fancy Dar
The pink diamonds could also be evaluated on the Argyle color grading system which is a point scale from 1 to 9. A diamond expert must be approached when it comes to the selection of pink diamond based on color since it is a difficult task for a customer to do on their own.
Secondary hues
The commonly occurring secondary colors are orange, purple, brown, grey and in some uncommon cases even brownish-purple. These combine with the pink in the diamonds to form brownish pink, orangish pink, and purplish pink which is regarded as the most popular diamonds.
A range exists in this case too wherein the pink diamonds could be faint purplish-pink or a fancy deep purplish-pink which are of different value and price. This can be roughly explained in terms of percentage wherein a faint purplish-pink diamond would have 25 per cent purple and 75 per cent pink and a fancy deep purplish-pink will have 40 per cent purple and 60 per cent pink.
Keeping both the factors of color in mind, the pink diamonds are generally described with labels that contain ranges from both the primary intensity of pink and the secondary hues, for example, fancy pink, fancy purplish pink, fancy brownish pink, fancy intense pink etc.
Rarity of Pink Diamonds
Natural pink diamonds are the second most rare diamonds found in the world with red diamonds topping the list. Since their popularity has seen an exponential rise in the past decade or so, a hike in price can also be observed.
Very few diamond mines around the world produce pink diamonds, the most popular of them all being the Argyle mine of Australia and other locations including Russia, India, South Africa, Brazil, and Canada. Around 90 per cent of the total production of pink diamonds originated from the Argyle mine and the diamonds found here include the most vibrant and intense shades of pink.
Price of Pink Diamonds
Natural, high-quality pink diamonds are regarded as the second most expensive diamond color in the market today, first being the red diamonds. Yet, these prices are high enough to make anyone’s jaw drop. These values fall in the range of $10,000 per carat to $700,000 per carat, depending on the intensity and color combinations of the stone.
It is generally observed that the prices of these diamonds are directly proportional to the intensity of pink found in them and their carat weight. Prices also hike when the pink diamonds show a combination with rarer secondary hues. Diamonds with the grade of intense or vivid are the highly valuable ones whereas lower grades cost lesser.
Therefore, a fancy light pink diamond will cost around $10,000 whereas a fancy pink one would be purchasable only at a price higher than $50,000. Same way, fancy intense purplish-pink diamonds touch the upper range of $59,000 and the fancy vivid purplish-pink round diamond reached an even higher rate of $170,000, but the brownish-pink stones will fall at a more affordable value, although the affordability of pink diamonds is still relatively high when compared to other precious gems.
Keeping the other Cs in mind, clarity, carat weight and cut bring about variations in prices too.
Higher the carat weight more is the price of the pink diamond as observed in the case of a 0.50 carat stone priced at $50,000 whereas a 2 carat stone would be available for $500,000.
Clarity is not as important an aspect as the other Cs since diamonds of lower clarity levels but excellent color will still sell at high prices since color tends to high the imperfections created by clarity.
Cut too, in the case of pink diamonds, should only be considered as a measure to enhance the color of the diamond since the color is the most important aspect and even a diamond that has not been expertly cut but shows brilliance in color will be purchased by customers at expensive rates.
Also Read: Frequently Asked Questions about Rose Cut Diamonds
Conclusion Thoughts
In today’s day and age of modern technology, customers can always approach natural diamonds with enhanced color and brilliance to get the nearest effect of a natural once at a lot more affordable prices.
Customers no longer have to look at the expensive pink diamonds and wish to possess once since they too can get their hands on a replica made brilliantly enough to resemble the real ones.
With the growing popularity of pink diamonds and the emergence of new ways to make them affordable as seen in the case of natural pink diamonds, it can be evidently seen that more and more people are opting for the pink diamonds to decorate not just their hands but also their necks and ears!
