Consumers take notice of new trend, NCDIA

08 Oct '08

4 min read

The jewelry industry is seeing an interesting spark of interest to a new trend: Natural Color Diamonds. While the classic white diamond will always remain beautiful and traditional, there is a great movement towards the use of Natural Color Diamonds in fine jewelry.

Consumer perception of color diamonds was once limited to the pink, brown and yellow diamonds. However, over the past few years, the growing trend of Natural Color Diamonds has spread rapidly throughout the industry expanding the way that designers are incorporating natural color diamonds into their jewelry. Some of the amazing rare natural color stones used are blue, green, orange, purple, gray, red and black.

The Natural Color Diamond Association (NCDIA) was formed in 2003 as an international trade organization dedicated to increasing awareness of color as a unique and valuable attribute in diamonds.

The mission of the NCDIA is to increase the awareness of Natural Color Diamonds by educating both the jewelry industry and consumers about the many wonders and benefits of these beautiful and rare stones.

NCDIA is comprised of over 200 members boasting some of the most amazing designers in the marketplace such as: Christian Tse, Erickson Beamon, Manak, Martin Flyer, Amgad and Le Vian, to name a few.

Consumers should be aware of the basic differences in purchasing a traditional white diamond versus a Natural Color Diamond. With the many "how-to" websites and books that are dedicated to helping individuals purchase a diamond, a new set of rules applies to the 4 C's when making this exciting investment.

Some of the interesting facts that impact the price when purchasing a Natural Color Diamond are Color, Carat, Clarity and Cut. Their importance is listed beginning with the highest relative factor.

Color - With Natural Color Diamonds, the first thing to look at is the color intensity which ranges from Fancy Light - Fancy - Fancy Intense to Fancy Vivid.

The rarity of a Natural Color Diamond will affect the price of the diamond. The more common colors such as gray, brown and yellow will generally have a lower cost than rarer Natural Color Diamonds.

The colors that appear less frequently in nature such as pink, blue, green, purple and orange are more valuable and more expensive. The rarest and most expensive color is red.

Carat - Within the Natural Color Diamond category, large gems are extremely rare. This makes larger fancy color diamonds that are found exponentially more expensive.

Clarity - Unlike white diamonds, the clarity factor is less important in a Natural Colored Diamond. This is because inclusions within these diamonds are not as easily seen due to their natural color.

Cut - Natural Color Diamonds are cut to reveal the most vivid color, unlike colorless diamonds which are cut to reveal maximum sparkle, for example, the "Round Brilliant" cut.

Interestingly, a Natural Color Diamond cut in the "Round Brilliant" form would actually take away some of the sparkle from the intense color.

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