The Difference Between Yellow Diamonds and Canary Diamonds

Although much rarer than traditional white diamonds, the yellow diamond is fairly common among fancy colored diamonds. There is a common false impression that anatural yellow diamond is less valuable than a clear diamonds. Whilst very light or slightly yellow diamonds are considered to be fairly common and not of great value, yellow diamonds for instance intense and vivid are really quite valuable.



Yellow diamonds with secondary brown tones are worth substantially less than pure yellow stones. However, secondary colors of green-yellow or orange-yellow can considerably increase the value of the diamond due to the fact that these diamond colors are even scarcer than yellow diamonds.



Natural yellow diamonds are rated by their strength and intensity of color. The highest-quality grade is the Vivid Yellow, closely followed by the Intense Yellow diamond. The lowest quality of yellow diamond is the Light Yellow diamond, closely followed by the Fancy Yellow. Several tones of Vivid Yellow diamonds plus the rarer Intense Yellow diamonds are called Canary Diamonds. Canary diamonds are the most rare amongst yellow diamonds and as a result they are the most costly and are desirable by both investors and sophisticated customers. The canary diamond has a very special shade of yellow, and even if you have never seen a Canary Yellow, if you were to see one, you will realize that it is a Canary Diamond.



Yellow diamonds look fantastic when they are combined with white diamonds and usually yellow diamonds are set in yellow gold. A 3-stone ring should include white stones and the yellow stone should be placed in the middle. A beautiful setting is a yellow diamond with trapeze, triangle or oval white diamonds..



Just as with other fancy color diamonds the color remains the main thing that influences the value of the diamond, after this comes the size and the clarity of the stone. Clarity is also important in the evaluation of fancy yellow stones, though this is much less than in white diamonds.



The ideal cut for fancy colored diamonds is the Radiant cut. This is the ideal shape to take full advantage of the color. Yellow diamonds can be also in the Cushion cut, Oval cut, and Pear and Heart shapes. The rarest are the Emerald, Square Emerald and the Brilliant cuts (round shape). Prices of these shapes are considerably higher for all fancy diamonds and not merely for yellow diamonds.



Colored diamonds have completely different standards to white diamonds in regards to cut quality. The goal when cutting a color diamond should be to maximize the depth and saturation of the diamond's color while, at the same time, managing to strike a balance between the carat weight and brilliance. When purchasing a yellow diamond or any other fancy color diamond, it is imperative to verify that the diamond is accompanied by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) grading report, or other trustworthy laboratories like HRD, IGI, EGL, stating that the color origin is natural. The report should also state the intensity of color, and also how the color is distributed throughout the stone.



The Kimberley Octahedron is the biggest naturally formed actohedral diamond in the world. The owner of the mine has decided against cutting this diamond , but to leave it in its original state. Due to this the color and distribution grades are not able to be given to this spectacular diamond.