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pink diamond

Most people have been educated to look for diamonds with little or no color. When you go to the bridal section of a jewelry store the first thing they want to show you is the color range chart from D-Z. They explain the colorless and near colorless range in great detail so most diamond shoppers never get to understand that diamonds come in all colors of the rainbow.

However those that follow celebrity fashion would heard of pink diamonds and the pink diamond engagement ring that Ben Affleck gave to Jennifer Lopez many moons ago. Check out this pink diamond to the right above. ?It is close in color to the ring that formerly belonged to J Lo.

The four Cs is what most people usually think of when talking about diamond quality criteria but with pink diamonds what is important is the color. The actual carat weight of the stone whether set in a pink diamond ring orpink diamond necklace is of course important to setting the value but is still secondary in importance.

Cut also is secondary in importance since the diamond cutter contracted to cut the natural pink diamond rough will try to retain the carat weight and depth of color. All things being equal a larger stone with the same level of color saturation as a smaller stone will undoubtedly show more color face up.

Cut can affect the body color of a pink diamond because it can change the apparent color of a stone in the face up position. It is certainly possible to have two pink diamonds with identical carat weight, cut, clarity and body color but yet the one with the superior cut and optics will have the better quality of light return that enhances the apparent color.

The apparent color that is seen from a fancy pink diamond whether in pink diamond earrings or pink diamond engagement rings will always be the color seen from the face up position.The body color seen from the pavilion is important from a color grade point of view but it is the face up color impression that counts when it comes to dollars per carat.

A pink diamond collector knows that the face up view is the only one that matters when it comes to pricing a fancy pink diamond for use in pink diamond rings or other types of jewelry. Check out the mix of pink diamond melee stones to the left. The purplish tinge of these diamonds indicates that these may of Australian origin. Pink diamonds are rarely seen in this quality and quantity unless they are quite small or treated.

Of course all pink diamonds are not created equal. There is considerable variation in terms of the type of pink hue in a fancy pink diamond. The Argyle mine in Australia is known for its purplish pink diamonds that can be quite deep in color. In fact one of the most famous auctions in the diamond world is conducted by Rio Tinto, the mining company that conducts its annual pink tender which is an auction of their prized pink diamond production for the year. South Africa produces pink diamonds as well but its pink diamonds tend to be paler and have an orange component in the hue that can give it a padparadscha sapphire look.

Faint pink is the term used to describe a pink diamond that is so barely pink that its pink hue is only visible through the pavilion but cannot be seen face up. A slightly darker pink than this is described as very light pink and light pink which is visible face up as a pale icy pink. It is only when the pink hue of the diamond is obvious in the face up position that it can be prefixed with the term “fancy”.

So starting from the very dark type of pink diamond that tend to originate from Australia you will have this hue termed fancy dark pink. This color range will go all the way down to fancy light pink. The in between colors are called fancy deep pink, fancy vivid pink, fancy intense pink and fancy pink.

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