Coloured diamonds – unique and precious stones
A diamond is the most classic and unique stone in the world. Its popularity comes not only from its beautiful appearance but also a variety of cuts and colours. If you are interested to know where coloured diamonds originate from and why they are so special, you will find the answer in this article!
Some colours come as rare as one in 10 000 diamonds mined.
History of coloured diamonds
Coloured diamonds are a real gem among gemstones. They combine two crucial features – being valuable and having amazingly attractive to the eye appearance. This translates into their popularity, especially among celebrities and people from high society. In addition, this mineral, created entirely by mother nature, is extremely rare and jewellery adorned with it has a high market value.
The first records of these original minerals date back to the 6th century and are closely related to the caste system in India. Then, the colour of the crystal was matched to a social group – they were a symbol of social status and, for example, colourless or white diamond stones could only be owned by the members of certain castes. In Europe, however, awareness of coloured diamonds grew not long ago, in 1721, with the opening of the Green Vault, a museum of jewellery and goldsmithing, where visitors could admire unique jewellery and decorations with coloured gemstones.
Coloured diamonds - where are they mined and where do they come from?
Diamond deposits are scattered all over the world. In the case of these stones, their occurrence depends on the specific colour. Classic, colourless crystals are most often mined in the southern part of Africa, Brazil and India. However, other colours are less common and this greatly affects their price. One of the most famous mining sites for this mineral is the Australian Argyle mine, where champagne, pink, purple and even purple-coloured stones have been found.
Why are coloured diamonds so unique?
Coloured diamonds account for only 0.1% of the total production of this crystal. Their colouring requires the occurrence of elements or other factors that have been affecting them for thousands of years. This makes their deposits much smaller and less frequent than of any other precious coloured stones.Contrary to other minerals, the value of coloured diamonds increases with the intensity of the colour, which is the most important evaluation criterion. The uniqueness of this mineral also comes from the fact that the extraction of certain coloured diamonds has already been terminated and new deposits are still undiscovered, which significantly increases the market value of existing diamonds.
The benefits of buying coloured diamonds
Purchasing coloured diamonds has several important advantages. It is a profitable long-term investment. Firstly, the investment of cash in precious stones is no subject to devaluation, because the value of a mineral is determined by its physical properties, which in this case do not change over time. Remember, however, that each parameter matters –clarity, colour, cut or size. The better these attributes are, the faster you can resell the crystal with more profit.
Coloured diamonds are also resistant to mechanical, thermal and chemical factors, so they are not damageable. Therefore, jewellery with these minerals can be passed down from generation to generation and becomes an important family heritage and a precious gift for children or grandchildren.