In nature, diamonds are created from a complex process that involves super heated, highly-pressurized carbon molecules close to the earth's core. In a synthetic environment, lab grown diamonds are created in a HPHT (High Pressure High Temperature) environment that essentially mimics the natural process but in a laboratory.
Natural colored diamonds are created in the same fashion, save for one difference. Trace elements/foreign particulates trapped during the crystallization process in which diamonds are formed affects and alters the chemical process, thereby changing the outcome. The result of all this "intervention" is a rare and beautiful diamond with unique coloring. Thus, a natural colored diamond is born.
All colored diamonds owe their appearance to several fundamental scientific reactions.
Blue & Gray Diamonds
Blue diamonds get their color from the presence of Boron. This trace element bonds to Carbon in the crystal structure, absorbing red, yellow, and green areas of the color spectrum. Blue diamonds are particularly popular and gray are relatively common and affordable.
Brown, Pink, & Red Diamonds
While still buried deep in the earth's crust, intense heat and pressure cause the crystal lattice to distort and absorb a particular band of green light rays, thus reflecting a pink hue. Red diamonds are the rarest color identified whereas brown are readily available and comparatively inexpensive to own.
Green Diamonds
Just before the last leg of a diamond's journey as it prepares to leave the last layer of the earth's crust, it absorbs naturally occurring atomic radiation in the earth's soil which causes it to reflect a green hue by absorbing red and yellow light.
Yellow & Orange Diamonds
Nitrogen atoms within these gems assemble themselves in such a way that blue light is absorbed and yellowish light is reflected. A specific grouping of Nitrogen atoms is also responsible for the shading of orange diamonds, but will reflect light in both blue and yellow spectra. Orange diamonds are also known as peach, apricot, autumn, or cognac diamonds.
Purple & Violet Diamonds
Similar to red diamonds, purple colored diamonds are also the result of lattice distortion. However, emerging evidence has scientists believing that the presence of Hydrogen may also be responsible for their hue.
Colored diamonds can come in a myriad of hues and intensities as nature can possibly muster. A unique combination of variables such as the presence of trace minerals during crystal lattice formation, variations in the amount of pressure exerted to produce diamonds, and radiation levels in the earth's mantle all contribute to the unique chemical cocktail that produces a natural colored diamond. Thousands of variables must be present in just the right amounts, at just the right time to produce a particular hue.
As a result, even though there are only 12 base colors for diamonds, there are in reality hundreds of diamond color combinations. Trained professionals employ a three-part semantic means to identify the precise color(s) of a stone:
Once these characteristics are measured by diamond professionals, the diamond's specific grade on the color scale is then identified.
Natural colored diamonds are created in the same fashion, save for one difference. Trace elements/foreign particulates trapped during the crystallization process in which diamonds are formed affects and alters the chemical process, thereby changing the outcome. The result of all this "intervention" is a rare and beautiful diamond with unique coloring. Thus, a natural colored diamond is born.
All colored diamonds owe their appearance to several fundamental scientific reactions.
Blue & Gray Diamonds
Blue diamonds get their color from the presence of Boron. This trace element bonds to Carbon in the crystal structure, absorbing red, yellow, and green areas of the color spectrum. Blue diamonds are particularly popular and gray are relatively common and affordable.
Brown, Pink, & Red Diamonds
While still buried deep in the earth's crust, intense heat and pressure cause the crystal lattice to distort and absorb a particular band of green light rays, thus reflecting a pink hue. Red diamonds are the rarest color identified whereas brown are readily available and comparatively inexpensive to own.
Green Diamonds
Just before the last leg of a diamond's journey as it prepares to leave the last layer of the earth's crust, it absorbs naturally occurring atomic radiation in the earth's soil which causes it to reflect a green hue by absorbing red and yellow light.
Yellow & Orange Diamonds
Nitrogen atoms within these gems assemble themselves in such a way that blue light is absorbed and yellowish light is reflected. A specific grouping of Nitrogen atoms is also responsible for the shading of orange diamonds, but will reflect light in both blue and yellow spectra. Orange diamonds are also known as peach, apricot, autumn, or cognac diamonds.
Purple & Violet Diamonds
Similar to red diamonds, purple colored diamonds are also the result of lattice distortion. However, emerging evidence has scientists believing that the presence of Hydrogen may also be responsible for their hue.
Colored diamonds can come in a myriad of hues and intensities as nature can possibly muster. A unique combination of variables such as the presence of trace minerals during crystal lattice formation, variations in the amount of pressure exerted to produce diamonds, and radiation levels in the earth's mantle all contribute to the unique chemical cocktail that produces a natural colored diamond. Thousands of variables must be present in just the right amounts, at just the right time to produce a particular hue.
As a result, even though there are only 12 base colors for diamonds, there are in reality hundreds of diamond color combinations. Trained professionals employ a three-part semantic means to identify the precise color(s) of a stone:
- Hue - refers to the color tint in a stone.
- Tone - pertains to lightness or darkness of color.
- Saturation - refers to the purity or intensity of color.
Once these characteristics are measured by diamond professionals, the diamond's specific grade on the color scale is then identified.