Contrary to popular belief, it is possible for natural diamonds to come in different colors.
Natural colored diamonds are available in a wide array of colors and it seems that yellow diamonds are among the most popular ones.
If you take a closer look at the market, you will notice that there are many yellow diamond rings out here.
But, before you decide to invest in one of them, it’s better to get familiar with the properties of these diamonds.
That’s why we have created this basic guide.
Obviously, the main focus in this article is placed on the diamonds themselves because after all, they are the main element of these rings.
An introduction to Yellow Diamonds
Yellow diamonds, also known as canary diamonds, have been discovered many years ago.
The scientists have determined that the yellow color comes from the nitrogen impurities found in the crystal structure of these diamonds.
In many cases, yellow diamonds have secondary hues like orange, green and brown.
It’s good to know that yellow diamonds are not as rare as some other naturally colored diamonds.
While we are talking about yellow diamonds, we would also like to point out that yellow diamonds are completely different than ordinary white diamonds that come with yellow tints.
The white diamonds with yellow tints belong to the group of diamonds found in the color grade from D to Z.
On the other hand, real yellow diamonds have stronger grade colors.
Another difference that we should mention is related to the price.
Namely, the price of white diamonds with yellowish tints tends to go down as the intensity of the tints increases.
On the other hand, real, yellow diamonds are becoming more expensive as the intensity of their color increases.
In other words, the livelier the yellow color is the pricier they are.
Determining the price of Yellow Diamonds
The price and true value of yellow diamonds depend on their color. Of course, cut, carat and clarity have an impact on the price too, but they are not as important as they are when it comes to ordinary white diamonds.
Color
When it comes to assessing the color of yellow diamonds, experts are taking three things into account – tone, hue, and saturation.
The tone represents the level of darkness of the hue.
Generally speaking, the priciest yellow gemstones come with a tone that doesn’t affect the main hue. In other words, they are neither very dark nor very light.
The hue is actually the primary color of the diamond. The truth is that hues that are rarer make the diamond more expensive.
For instance, blue diamonds are extremely rare and that’s why they have very high prices.
But, as we already said, yellow diamonds are not very rare and that’s why their price is relatively low compared to other fancy colored diamonds.
Keep in mind that secondary hues are able to lower or increase the price of diamonds.
It all depends on the frequency of undertones.
The main point is to keep the primary color clearly visible. This is the reason why yellow diamonds that have brownish undertones are cheaper than the ones with orange secondary hues.
The saturation represents the level of intensity of the primary color of the diamond. The priciest gemstones come with livelier colors. This means that intense yellow diamonds are more expensive than pale yellow diamonds.
Finally, keep in mind that the color distribution plays a role in the evaluation of diamonds too. If the color is more even throughout the diamond, then the stone is more valuable.
There are no official grades that are used worldwide that show the color quality of yellow diamonds, but there’s a commonly accepted scale which includes grades as Fancy Deep Yellow, Fancy Dark Yellow, Fancy Vivid Yellow, Fancy Intense Yellow, Fancy Yellow, Fancy Light Yellow, Light Yellow, Very Light Yellow, and Faint Yellow.
Carat
Here’s another important factor that contributes to the overall value of yellow diamonds.
As most people are probably aware, the biggest diamonds are costlier compared to smaller diamonds, but what’s important in this case is to remember that the price doesn’t increase proportionally.
Namely, it’s much more difficult to find large yellow diamonds than small ones.
So, a 2-carat yellow diamond will cost more than two times the price of a 1-carat yellow diamond (in case the rest of the characteristics are the same).
When you are thinking about buying a yellow diamond ring or just a yellow diamond, think about your budget and select a suitable carat.
Clarity
The list of 4Cs that contribute to yellow diamond value continues with clarity.
When it comes to yellow diamonds, their clarity is determined with the scale that applies to the clarity of white diamonds too.
So, if the diamond has a small number of flaws, this means that it will get good clarity rating which will eventually make it more expensive.
But, what every prospective buyer should know is that clarity is not as important as color when we are evaluating the price of fancy color diamonds like yellow diamonds.
It is interesting that the natural impurities caused by chemical reactions found in yellow diamonds and other colored diamonds make the flaws less visible.
This is the reason why clarity is not that important.
So, when you are trying to pick a yellow diamond, focus on the ones that don’t have flaws visible to the naked human eye.
Of course, you are free to choose diamonds with higher clarity rating, but this won’t affect the overall appearance of the diamond.
Yet, the price will be affected seriously.
Cut
Finally, there’s the cut as a factor that contributes to the evaluation of the price of yellow diamonds.
Similar to clarity, the cut is not very important when choosing yellow diamonds.
Ordinary natural diamonds usually come with cuts that have an ability to optimize their brilliance.
However, the situation is different with yellow and all other colored diamonds.
In situations like this, these diamonds are cut to optimize the color.
So, the cut proportions that are considered perfect for white diamonds and that contribute heavily to the value of white diamonds are irrelevant to yellow diamonds.
When we take all these things into consideration, we can say that your biggest concern in this process is the color of the stone. Look for diamonds with strong yellow color. After that, you can think about the other 3Cs of diamonds.
Of course, the diamond you choose must be suitable for your budget.
Taking the setting into account
According to many experts, almost any yellow diamond will look amazing if it’s placed in the best possible setting.
The good thing is that modern customers can choose from a long list of settings for their yellow diamond rings.
Take some time and do some research – look for a diamond ring with a setting that matches your preferences.
Think about the type and color of metal you like the most.
Don’t forget that there is one basic rule related to yellow diamond rings – the small metallic border that is attached to the diamond must be made from yellow gold. In this way, you can emphasize the appearance of the diamond and make it look even more yellow.
As a result of that, the yellow diamond will appear larger than it is and as we all know, the larger the diamond is the better.
The rest of the setting can be made from other types of metal like platinum or white gold for example.
Once again, it all depends on your personal preferences and the preferences of the person who will get this ring as a gift.
Final thoughts
Buying yellow diamond rings is not something that people do every day.
In fact, most of them will do this once in their lifetime.
That’s why it’s good to spend some time browsing through magazines and specialized websites where they can find different ring settings.
Feel free to use the help of a ring designer to get the perfect ring.
Of course, you can also choose from dozens of pre-made rings if you want to save time and in some cases money too.
Even though there are many brick and mortar jewelry stores across the globe, the best option is to purchase yellow diamond rings over the Internet.
Just like in the case of other online stores, online jewelry stores are usually cheaper. In addition, this is by far the most convenient form of shopping.
It is obvious that if you want to stay on the safe side, you should look for online diamond stores that were able to build a strong reputation in the past.
In addition, focus on stores that provide more than one type of yellow diamond rings.
Needless to say, the diamonds used in these rings must come with certificates obtained from reputable gemological laboratories.
By following these steps, you should be able to select the best yellow diamond ring.
It may take some time to get to this point, but it’s worth it.