A new auction by Christie’s will highlight the latest trend in diamonds. Colored diamonds are one of the latest trends seen by jewelers. The rarer colors are the most popular. Christie’s will be featuring a selection of 365 jewels that will include many rare colored diamonds. One of the main diamonds to be featured will be a 13.39-carat fancy intense blue diamond. Another diamond to be auctioned is an internally flawless 21.40-carat vivid yellow diamond. The auction will be held in Geneva.The rare collection of colored diamonds is a reflection of the high demand that has been shown for these types of diamonds. Blue diamonds have been in particularly high demand. Record prices have been set in recent months for all types of high quality diamonds. Colored diamonds are a rarity and as such bring in high prices.
Diamonds get their color from the types of minerals that are in the earth at the time they are formed. Diamonds were formed millions of years ago. They were made deep inside the earth. Pockets of carbon dioxide existed deep beneath the earth’s crust. Extreme heat and pressure caused this carbon dioxide to crystallize forming diamonds. The diamonds eventually worked their way closer to the surface of the earth, likely through pressure created from volcanic eruptions.
Diamonds are composed of carbon atoms that are arranged in tetrahedral lattice formations. If the formation is perfect it creates a structure that does not absorb any light. This diamond would be perfectly white or colorless. These types of diamonds are quite rare. Most likely the structure changes or twists during formation of the diamond. This is because of the great pressure and heat that was used in the creation of the diamond. The pressures are estimated to be about 1,000,000 pounds/in2. The temperatures likely ranged form 2300 to 3600 degrees Fahrenheit. With these conditions the atomic structure of the diamonds was changed or twisted. In some cases this allowed the absorption of other atoms into the structure.
As a result most diamonds do not reflect all the light they receive. Some of the wavelengths are absorbed causing the diamond to take on a color. The color the diamonds take on is dependent on the type of light they absorb. There are two types of diamond classifications – Type I and Type II diamonds.
Type I diamonds are diamonds that have absorbed some nitrogen atoms. Nitrogen absorbs blue light. Type I a diamonds are those where the nitrogen atoms clustered together. Because they absorb blue light the diamonds have a pale yellow color. Approximately 98% of all diamonds in the world fall into this classification. This is why you will see that most diamonds have a slight yellow color to them. Type 1 b diamonds are those that have nitrogen atoms spread out evenly throughout the structure. These absorb blue and green light making the diamonds appear darker in color. These diamonds may appear canary yellow or can range in the orange, brown or greenish color ranges. Type 1 b diamonds are very rare and make up only .1% of all diamonds.
Type II diamonds are diamonds that absorb little to no nitrogen atoms. Type II a diamonds contain no or very tiny amounts of imperfections. The vast majority of these diamonds are colorless. Sometimes Type II a diamonds had their molecular structure twisted as they were rising to the surface of the earth. In this case the diamond may absorb some light giving it a yellow, pink, brown or red color. Fewer than 2% of all diamonds are found to be Type II a diamonds. Type II b diamonds are those that don’t contain nitrogen but have instead absorbed boron. Boron absorbs red, orange and yellow light causing the resulting diamonds to have a blue or gray appearance. These are quite rare with only about .1% of all diamonds falling into this category.
Because of the rarity of colored diamonds many people are now collecting them. Diamonds can be found with almost any natural hue. Since the rarest of the diamonds are colored it makes them sought after. The prices for colored diamonds are high due to how rare they are. Most often colored diamonds are small sizes. The larger the colored diamond the more rare and the more expensive it is. The 13.39-carat blue diamond that is going up for auction is one of the rarest diamonds in the world because of its color and size. Gemologist have stated that any blue diamond over 5-carats is a very rare find. The vivid yellow diamond at more than 21-carats is also extremely rare because of its color and size. These types of diamonds don’t often come up for auction. Collecting colored diamonds is a popular trend that has most likely not yet hit its peak, making this auction a landmark event.
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