A diamond is considered yellow as it falls below a Z rating. It is this impurity that gives yellow diamonds the beautiful yellow color.Those who understand the diamond trade, often find it quite confusing that yellow diamonds can have a lower price per carat than other stone, including even a colorless diamond! Lab-treated diamonds are cheaper because they are typically made from other less-expensive diamonds. As you go down the scale for white diamonds, the prices increase as you head towards and D-rating and decrease as you head towards a Z-rating. However, of the colored diamond family, Yellow and Brown diamonds are considered the most common. They are far rarer than colorless stones, which makes them quite unique.Since yellow stones are classified as a fancy color diamond, many assume that it would be worth more than a white diamond.
For white diamonds, a scale is used which ranges from D to Z. This process could take millions of years, which is why many of today’s diamonds are manufactured in laboratories by two different methods.The largest difference when comparing a yellow diamond vs white diamond is simply how it is made.
Yellow diamonds get their natural color when a specific grouping of nitrogen atoms enter the gem and assemble in a way that allows blue light to be absorbed; this reflects the yellow or canary hues you often see.Yellow diamonds are currently the most sought-after colored diamond in the world.
Just as an example, the Ellendale mine in Western Australia was known for their mass production of yellow diamonds because many yellow diamonds were found in that location.
Yellow diamonds owe their color for the most part to traces of nitrogen found in the diamonds. A very nice 1.00 carat Radiant Cut Diamond with G color and VS1 clarity is sold for $5,500 where a 1.00 carat Fancy Yellow Diamond with VS2 clarity will go for $4,500. 9. It is fairly easy to spot the difference however, since the color of lab-treated yellow diamonds is so saturated that they may closely resemble semi-precious colored gems.There is a lot of information out there in regards to diamond grading, scaling, and more. As explained above, the “bottom” yellow diamonds are also the “bottom” colorless diamonds, so a diamond with a lighter yellow coloring such as Fancy Yellow will be less expensive than a colorless diamond of the same quality. Prices tend to decrease as you go down the grading scale.When you look at yellow diamonds, they are on a completely different scale. But what gives yellow diamonds their color?