Today, at the peak of jewelry fashion , a cognac diamond, almost unknown until recently, is conveniently located. The stone owes its popularity to the Italian jeweler Pasquale Bruni, who presented it in all its glory at the 2001 exhibition.
It was then that the wide charm of the colored mineral, which is essentially a low-grade and inexpensive material, opened up to a wide audience.
Chemical composition
Almost all cognac-colored diamonds belong to the “cape” category, that is, they are not considered fancy and are valued low among jewelers. The ever-increasing price of jewelry with similar stones is due only to fashion and increased demand. By chemical composition, such minerals practically do not differ from reference transparent diamonds, have a base of carbon, with impurities of nitrogen and other elements that are responsible for the color of the stone.
Interestingly, there are very few really pure and completely transparent diamonds, and they cost fabulous money. This is due to the fact that in their composition there is absolutely no nitrogen. In most cases, the market is filled with stones with a subtle shade of yellow. The mineral receives its increased intensity due to the presence of iron and nickel in the composition.
Rare representatives
There are very rare instances of cognac diamonds that do not contain nitrogen impurities in nature. Such stones are called fantasy and, depending on the presence of additional impurities in their composition, can be represented in a wide variety of colors.
The leader in value today is the red diamond. A little cheaper you can buy a fantasy green stone, which got its color due to natural radioactive radiation. There are stones of blue, blue, orange, yellow and even black.
Pricing
You can buy gold earrings with cognac diamonds even of exactly the same model in several jewelry shops at completely different prices. The fact is that the cost of such stones is determined individually for each instance and depends on many indicators. Also, colored stones do not have a common price list and are evaluated separately from transparent ones. A guarantee of all the characteristics presented to a stone can be given only by a certificate of independent diamond evaluation by the Gemological Institute of America, the conclusions of which are standard around the world. If the seller cannot submit such a document, then it is likely that the characteristics of the stone are overstated and in fact it is much cheaper. In order to be able to determine the value of a fantasy diamond correctly, it is best to attract experts, since only they are able to distinguish even almost elusive shades in the structure of the stone.
If you want to find yourself a beautiful ring with a cognac diamond at the appropriate price, then you should understand the main criteria for pricing.
Criteria for evaluation
As with the selection of transparent diamonds, you should definitely pay attention to the quality of the cut of the specimen, its weight, shape, purity and, of course, color. Fantasy stones grow in value depending on the color intensity within a particular color. The diamonds that do not have auxiliary colors in the structure are valued above. For example, a pure yellow stone will be valued 2 times more expensive than a similar one, but with an admixture of brown. It is interesting, but it is brown and yellow that significantly reduce the cost of stones, and the increase in their price today is due only to the popularity of the mineral imposed by jewelers.
Color spectrum
In total, fantasy stones have 9 primary colors, in each of which the coloring intensity is determined separately, which also has 9 degrees. The more saturated the brown color, the higher the price for cognac diamonds earrings or other jewelry. This rule applies to all colors, and the most expensive diamonds will be specimens with a definition of color as fancy vivid or fancy deep, which means the brightest and most saturated shades.
As for directly cognac diamonds, their saturation is determined on a scale of 7 shades, the most popular and common of which are:
- Champagne
- "brown";
- "cognac";
- "chocolate".
Champagne-colored stones are the lightest and most often have admixtures of auxiliary colors. The shade of "chocolate" is the darkest and rarest.
Additional properties
In addition to the main criteria for choosing a diamond, its value is influenced by fluorescence, which ideally should not be at all. That is, the stone should not glow under the influence of ultraviolet radiation. If such a phenomenon is observed, then the price of cognac diamond will be lower by 20-30% of its similar counterparts, only without a glow.
It is also important that the certificate for the stone indicates that its color is natural. Today, there are many methods of artificial processing of minerals, which can change their color, and this is unacceptable.
Price forecasts
Fantasy diamonds, like color diamonds, belonging to the “cape” category, have a minimum percentage of all diamond production. Recently, this amount has decreased even more, therefore, as an investment, buying a gold ring with cognac diamonds is very profitable. The increase in prices for such jewelry is also due to the popularity imposed by jewelers.
In any case, over the past 10-15 years, the value of some colored representatives has grown by more than 300%, despite the fact that classic diamonds have risen in price by only 72%. Of course, in order to buy a really worthwhile copy, you need to purchase stones or jewelry with them only if you have the appropriate international certificate.
Forecasts on the growth in the cost of such colored stones among experts are quite high, and the reason for this is not only the fact of a decrease in production, but also the changing trends of fashion and preferences. So, initially black diamonds were of no value at all and were eliminated at the extraction stage, and today they adorn a lot of stylish jewelry.
The largest specimens
The largest cognac diamond in the history of mining, the photo of which can be seen below, was found in the southern part of the African continent in 1888. Subsequently, a champagne shade stone was inserted into the necklace for the Indian Maharaja from Patiala himself. The total weight of all the stones on the jewelry was 1,000 carats, but the necklace disappeared without a trace during the 1947 revolution, when India gained independence from Great Britain.
The diamonds “Kimberly”, “Eastern Star” and “Victoria-Transvaal” are considered equally popular. All of them at one time were mined in South Africa and gained popularity due to exhibiting at major auctions and filming in various films. Their weight is 70, 111.6 and 68 carats, respectively.
Finally
Today, minerals, previously unknown to a wide audience, are gradually gaining popularity. Their charm and uniqueness allows you to emphasize the unique and individual style to more connoisseurs of jewelry, and, at the same time, at a low price. The low cost of colored diamonds today is not at all a criterion of poor quality, if we compare the stones with colorless counterparts, because they also remain diamonds - the most spectacular stones.
Cognac shades of diamonds are very warm and pleasant, they look best in jewelry made of yellow gold, which emphasizes the play of their color. Such stones are suitable for almost everyone, because their color is ideally combined with both light and dark skin, and the nobility of brown will emphasize the sophistication of the female image as well as the strong male character. If you believe the signs and horoscopes, then you should choose such a stone for everyday jewelry for those people who daily face a certain responsibility. The aura of a brown diamond gives its owner the strength and confidence so necessary when making serious decisions.