Introduction: Colored Diamonds

The color scale for colorless diamonds ranges from D to Z. However, near the point where the colorless scale ends, the fancy color scale begins. Diamonds found in the X-Y-Z range of the colorless scale contain noticeable traces of yellow or brown tones. This is the beginning of the Fancy Yellow and Fancy Brown color scales.
Fancy Yellow diamonds (also known as Canary diamonds) and Fancy Brown diamonds (known as Cognac or Champagne diamonds) are the only colored diamonds that emerge from the colorless scale.

The first four stones from the left are V-X-Y-Z, continuing with Fancy Light Yellow, Fancy Yellow, Fancy Intense Yellow, Fancy Vivid Yellow, and Fancy Deep Yellow.

Origin of Color:

The unique colors in diamonds are caused by different minerals that become part of their constituent elements. Depending on the origin of the stones—where they come from—there is a greater likelihood that certain minerals will be present, and therefore, the likelihood of specific colors also increases.

Unlike yellow diamonds, in which the color comes from large amounts of nitrogen; or blue diamonds, which are caused by boron; or violet or purple diamonds, due to large amounts of nitrogen; or green diamonds that have been exposed to atomic radiation or radioactivity, the cause of pink diamonds is still a mystery.

Classification Types:

Type I Diamonds: These are the most common, representing 98% of all natural diamonds and contain detectable traces of nitrogen.

Type Ia: These contain clusters of nitrogen atoms throughout the stone's crystal structure. They tend to emit a yellowish hue.

Type Ib: These diamonds also contain nitrogen atoms, but unlike Type Ia diamonds, the atoms are not in clusters but occur singly. These stones represent 0.1% of the total and can emit shades of intense yellow, orange, brown, and even green.

Type IIa: These are very rare and valuable diamonds; they contain no nitrogen atoms in their crystal structure. "White" stones of this type are exceptionally colorless, and fancy-colored stones can occur in brown, purple, or pink. They represent 1% to 2% of all diamonds.

Type IIb: They contain traces of boron in their structure and, as a result, often emit a gray or blue hue. They make up only 0.1% of all diamonds and are very rare.