The difference between the chocolate and brown diamonds is actually pretty straightforward. Almost all the white diamonds have a hint of color, and it is almost always yellow. As the yellow tint becomes more pronounced, some say in the yellow part of the spectrum, and another veer towards brown. This means we see more shades of yellow and brown in diamonds than any other color.
The name “chocolate” even applies only to a particular color and grade of the brown diamond.
The color itself is created by the nitrogen particles which get trapped in the diamond crystal during formation. This produces a varying shade of yellow, depending on how much nitrogen is present. If sufficient heat is then present, the color changes, and we get a brown diamond instead of a yellow one.
Where a pure yellow diamond is highly collectible and very expensive, though, brown diamonds are often only for individual applications or cheap fashion jewelry.
Diamond Company, Le Vian, registered a trademark for the term “Chocolate” at the time of referring to diamonds in the year 2000.
Instead of using the color to determine the quality, La Vian expanded the grading process to incorporate all 4Cs – cut, clarity, color, and carat weight and only selected the very best diamonds of the correct brown tone. So, in the same way that all Jacuzzis are hot tubs, but not all hot tubs are Jacuzzis, so all chocolate diamonds are brown diamonds, but not all brown diamonds are chocolate diamonds.
Moreover, Le Vian chooses only the finest quality diamonds; not even all chocolate diamonds are Chocolate Diamonds.
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The history of chocolate diamonds
Brown diamonds have always existed. They just have not been seen as worthy of inclusion in jewelry. Moreover, in the mid-1980s, a new mine opened in Australia, which now accounts for around 1/3 of the annual global diamond production. Significantly, 80% of all the diamonds from the new mine are brown. A significant marketing campaign followed but met with limited success. Moreover, prices are much lower than for comparable quality diamonds in white or other colors, so a niche market did emerge.
The various types of a diamond acquired their own unofficial names, based on the depth of the brown color in each diamond. So undesirable were they, and still are relatively speaking, that GIA does not even include a scale for their evaluation. To combat this, mining group Rio Tinto, the owners of the US mine, introduced their own color grading scale. The scale is deliberately separate from any GIA color scale and uses the seven grades, from C1 to C7, in order of color depth from the lightest to darkest.
Why buy chocolate diamonds?
If you really like the look of a chocolate diamond, then it will be the best buy. It is that simple. Most consumers buy a chocolate diamond because they fall in love with how pretty it looks.
Given the low prices, for even fairly large stones, they offer better value for money than any other diamond. You will also need to get past any embarrassment you feel about buying a “cheap” diamond. The snobbery of the diamond industry does not make buying a chocolate diamond an easy experience.
Assuming that you get past all that, the reasons for buying a chocolate diamond are identical to those of buying any other.
Benefits of a chocolate diamond
Chocolate diamonds are of a much higher value than other brown diamonds due to their guarantee of rich color and high quality. Moreover, Le-Vian does not own a very high-quality chocolate diamond in existence but is considered the designer brand: the Gucci of diamonds.
One of the perks of a chocolate diamond is the low cost. The color allows buyers to customize and personalize their diamonds while still remaining within a budget. A chocolate diamond is perfect for a couple that wants all of the appeals of a colored diamond but does not quite have the budget for one of the other colored diamonds in the high demand.
How valuable are chocolate diamonds?
Out of all the colored diamonds, chocolate diamonds are some of the least valuable. This low value is significantly due to many chocolate diamonds being opaque in color with very little shine. Apart from that, many chocolate diamonds contain many inclusions because synthetic diamond producers tend to use poor quality white diamonds to create them because this process is easier and cheaper than using high-quality diamonds. Therefore, it is at the high importance that buyers seek out certified and trusted diamond producers to buy their chocolate diamonds. With certification, the buyer can provide the authenticity of his or her chocolate diamond.
FAQs
Q1: Are chocolate diamonds real diamonds?
Ans: A chocolate diamond can be found both artificially and naturally. Although the look of these diamonds makes them appear brown in color, they are actually white diamonds that have been treated with heat in order to change the color to brown. Moreover, synthetic chocolate diamonds are not actually chocolate diamonds at all.
Q2: How much is a 1-carat chocolate diamond worth?
Ans: A 1-carat brown diamond starts from approx. $2500, and an F VS2 costs around $4000.
Q3: Can Chocolate Diamonds Change Color?
Ans: Usually, chocolate diamonds are completely natural gemstones. Just like the white diamonds, these stones were created by a natural geologic process spanning millions of years. It is a high quality; natural chocolate diamonds will always be brown. Moreover, the recent popularity of chocolate diamonds has prompted some manufacturers to irradiate or heat treat lower quality white diamonds. This treatment changes the makeup of the stone, and it often results in a brown color. Over time, treated diamonds can change color.
Q4: What color diamond is the most expensive?
Ans: Even a one-carat red diamond can be sold anywhere from $300000 to $2 million, depending on the quality of the diamond, easily making fancy red diamonds the most expensive diamond color in the world.
Also Read: Yellow Diamond: What all you must know before buying?
