Champagne diamonds are a stunning choice if you desire a unique, beautifully colored stone. The brown and yellow tint offers an engagement ring a distinct and appealing look. While some prefer a darker stone like this fancy dark orangy brown diamond, others enjoy a lighter shade, like this fancy light brownish stone.
When selecting a champagne diamond, you want to consider its color along with its cut quality. These two components impact the beauty more than anything else.
WHAT IS A CHAMPAGNE DIAMOND?
A champagne diamond is a type of colored diamond that’s naturally brown, with a noticeable yellow tint. They can range in hue from light brown to darker shades, resembling the color of champagne.
These fancy brown diamonds, like other colored diamonds, make for stunning engagement rings and other champagne diamond jewelry. Their eye-catching color enhances unique pieces that offer plenty of personality. These diamonds gain their color from traces of other elements in the crystal’s structure. Champagne diamonds contain small amounts of nitrogen trapped during diamond formation. The higher the nitrogen content, the deeper the intensity of the brown color.
Champagne diamonds are often referred to as cognac diamonds. While colorless diamonds typically lose their value with increased tint, champagne stones are specifically sought out for their beautiful, natural coloring.
It’s also common for champagne diamonds to be marketed as Chocolate Diamonds. This is a specific brand name used by Le Vian. For the most part, these diamonds are exactly the same as regular champagne diamonds — something we’ve covered in more detail below.
HOW RARE IS A CHAMPAGNE DIAMOND?
You may be wondering if a colored diamond, specifically a champagne, is rarer and more expensive than a white, colorless diamond. In general, champagne colored diamonds are less rare than colorless diamonds and other fancy colored diamonds. Therefore, the prices of champagne diamonds are significantly less than these diamonds as well.
Color
As with all fancy diamonds, the intensity and shade of color indicate how beautiful and expensive a stone is. Champagne diamonds range in color from light to dark brown and often carry a secondary hue like orange or yellow. While color preference is based on the individual wearer, the richer the hue, the rarer and more expensive the stone is.
When grading champagne diamonds, gemologists look at three main factors:
- Hue: Denotes the visible color of the stone
- Tone: Describes the darkness of the color
- Saturation: Explains the intensity of the color
Taking into account these three features, champagne diamonds are graded for color quality. The Argyle Mine carries its own grading system for champagne stones, while the GIA and AGS utilize a different scale.
Here is the Argyle Mine grading scale for champagne diamonds:
- Light Champagne: C1-C2
- Medium Champagne: C3-C4
- Dark Champagne: C5-C6
- Cognac: C7
If your diamond is graded by the GIA (which we recommend), the scale will look different. The GIA doesn’t use the word “champagne” on a grading report. The color might be described as brown, fancy dark brown, fancy yellowish brown or a similar phrase.
If you choose a diamond on the lighter end of the scale with a yellow tint, you may see the following color grades from the GIA:
- N-V: Very Light Yellow or Light Yellow
- W-Z: Light Yellow
Because it can be difficult to assess a champagne diamond’s quality, we recommend you reach out to our experts for a second opinion. It’s better to catch a poor purchase before it’s too late.