Diamonds: The High of Champagne

Diamonds:
The High of
Champagne

Diamond is the best known

gem. Its history is long and

complex, with its beginnings

being lost in antiquity. India was the

source of many of the world’s most famous

diamonds. Diamonds were traded

in India as early as 4th century BC, with

many gems reaching Ceylon (now Sri

Lanka) and the Middle East, and others

finding their way into the Roman Empire.

Arabian and Persian merchants

brought diamonds to China.

Diamonds occur in a wide range of

colours. The most familiar are basically

white or colourless, usually with a tinge

of yellow or grey. Richly coloured stones,

called fancies, are rare and highly

prized. Fancy colours include goldenyellow,

blue, green, pink and amber.

Brown and coffee-coloured diamonds

are not as rare, but are seldom seen in

the trade. Orange diamonds are popular

in South Africa, but few are sold in the

United States. Green diamonds are very

rare, the most famous being the Dresden

Green of 48.5 carats. Blue diamonds

are extremely rare.

Pale-blue and violet diamonds are

also occasionally found. Pale-red and

pink diamonds are very rare. Brownishred

diamonds, on the other hand, are

sometimes seen with diamond traders.

Brown diamonds are more common

than yellow, and to make such stones

more appealing, diamond merchants

will quote astronomical sums for such

shades. The most prized diamonds in

the brown family are the “coffee

browns”, with only a hint of black in

them. A still more intense shade is

termed “chocolate brown”. If the brown

is deep but has a yellow tinge, the stone

is called a “Cognac” diamond. (Cognac

is a deeper, richer brown than champagne

brown).

The Argyle mines – the world’s largest

producers of natural coloured diamonds

– also produce brown diamonds

in champagne and cognac shades, for

which they have developed a scale of

colour categories running from C1 to C7

in order to provide clarity on terminology

and grading. Giving names such as

champagne and cognac adds to the appeal

and market value of these stones.

Following the success of Japanese

brown diamond campaign, the brand

Bulaire is an Indian initiative to promote

champagne diamonds. Kakdia says: “We

have brought to India for the first time,

the latest in international fashion

trends, which is jewellery containing diamonds

in the shades of chocolate,

champagne and cognac.

They provide an air of exclusivity and

allow for a distinct personality to shimmer

through. We are expressing emotions

such as passion, collaboration,

and a sparkle of joy (through champagne

diamonds).

There is uncertainty about the cause

of colour in these diamonds, i.e.,

whether it is trace elements or crystal

imperfections. However, they are found

in relative abundance in nature and are

thus affordable, with prices rarely exceeding

US$2000 per cent.

Recently Gabi Talkowski turned a

75.5-carat brown rough known as “Ugly

Duckling” into the 546.67-carat “Golden

Jublee”. Russian empress Catherine the

Great was also a passionate collector of

brown diamonds. Brown diamonds are

the raw material for producing irradiated

blues. Irradiated brown diamonds

tend to be more of a brandy shade and

are often more intense in their brilliance

than their natural counterparts.

If you want to speculate on a fancy diamond

at affordable prices, browns are

a natural choice. The connoisseurship of

brown diamonds may be in its infancy.

In essence, these are the coloured diamond

bargains left. Cardinal Jules

Mazarin, the chief Minister of France in

the 1600, collected brown diamonds. In

1967, a 115.59 African brown pear shape

was discovered. It was reportedly sold in

1983 for US$900,000.

You can buy coffee-coloured diamonds

for $2000 per cent. This is lower

than many white diamonds.