Fancy Coloured Brown Diamonds
An introduction to fancy coloured brown diamonds
The colour and origin of brown diamonds
Intensely coloured brown diamonds, often referred to as "champagne", "chocolate" or "cognac" diamonds, derive their warm and rich hues from a unique origin intricately linked to the diamond's internal structure.
During the formation process, pressure can lead to the development of lamellae—structural deformation of the diamond lattice. This same structural deformation accounts for the colour of more valuable pink diamonds in the same way.
Brown colouration occurs frequently in natural diamonds. But, while brown diamonds are plentiful, very few go-to diamond grading laboratories for certification unless there is another contributing colour (for example, pink, yellow or orange). Due to the abundant supply of brown diamonds, they tend to be valued less than other diamonds.
Notably, the renowned Argyle Mine, situated in Australia, proved itself to be a significant source of these captivating gems. 72% of production at the Argyle Mine produced brown diamonds. Many of these diamonds were then cut and polished in India and then sold across the World.
Brown Diamond Colour Grades
Many jewellers apply a convention of colour grading separate from that used for white diamonds. The prefix "C" followed by a number describes the increasing intensity of brown from C1 (very light) to C8 (very dark) in colour.
Commercial jewellery terms lack the charm adopted by marketing campaigns. As a result, many jewellery manufacturers adopted attractive descriptions such as Campagne, Cognac and Chocolate—terms with greater allure than standard grades used by jewellers.
Grade | & Description |
---|---|
C1 | Very Light Brown |
C2 | Light Brown |
C3 | Fancy Light Brown |
C4 | Fancy Brown |
C5 | Fancy Dark Brown |
C6 | Fancy Intense Brown |
C7 | Fancy Deep Brown |
C8 | Very Dark Brown |
The value of brown diamonds used to be tricky because organizations like the GIA and other third-party assessors didn't evaluate them. To address this problem, Rio Tinto developed a grading system. In this system, C1 is the lightest colour, while C7 and C8 signify the darkest brown colours. This system makes it easier to understand and assign value to brown diamonds.
The following image shows the gradient of brown colouration and associated grades.
Popular precious metals for brown-coloured diamonds
Warm brown shades pair particularly well with warmer shades of Gold. For this reason, both 18-carat Rose Gold and 18-carat Yellow Gold enhance the beauty of brown diamond shades. For this reason, most of our clients choose Yellow Gold or Rose Gold for rings, necklaces, bracelets and earrings. Rose, or Pink Gold represents a popular choice as shown in our photograph below of a part-bezel set necklace created as a bespoke commission.
Brown diamond parcels
As a rule, brown diamond parcels feature various shades across multiple diamonds of smaller sizes. This presents no issue when used for single diamond jewellery items. But, for matching diamond sets, we source parcels for their consistency. For example, a diamond bracelet demands a very close colour match across the entire parcel of diamonds used within the bracelet. Our video below shows one of our bespoke diamond bracelets set with brown diamonds in 18-carat Rose Gold, created with brown princess-cut diamonds. The image at the top of this page shows the original diamond parcel used for the bracelet design shown in our video.
Brown diamond earrings
In addition to a variety of jewellery styles, diamond earrings make a unusual addition set with chocolate, cognac or champagne coloured diamonds. We take care to select each matching pair of diamonds with the same hue and saturation for consistency across each earring. Clients choose from our existing range of diamond solitaire earring styles or we create an entirely unique bespoke pair of earrings crafted individually.
We created the following pair of earrings with a substantially weighted rounded domed shape, rubover set with round brilliant cut C8 coloured diamonds.
Jewellery created from rough diamonds
We create jewellery from a variety of diamond types. From natural brown coloured diamonds in classic shapes to lab-grown and even rough brown diamonds. A rough diamond lacks the precision of a polished diamond. For some buyers, the appeal of a rough diamond aces the sharp faceted brilliant appearance of a cut gemstone. We set the following brown diamond into a Rose Gold engagement ring with accent white diamonds along each claw of the finished ring.
Rough diamonds come with their own set of unique challenges for bespoke jewellery designs. For example, consideration has to be given to the lack of symmetry when added to symmetrical settings. For this reason, we work with advanced CAD design techniques and build designs around the chosen diamond or gemstone.