Learn About Gemstones.

Learn about Black Diamond

Black Diamonds are real diamonds; they are the hottest entry on the fashion world and the red carpet. It is coveted for its mysterious and mesmerizing color. Black Diamonds occur in the crudest forms and their physical properties fluctuate from dense to porous. Like all diamonds the four C’s of the diamonds are equally important in Black Diamonds as well. Learn more...

Black Diamond Cut
Cut of the diamond is the most crucial aspect responsible for bringing out the latent brilliance of the rough stone. It refers to the process of cutting of the rough diamond at calculated angles to make the stone emit maximum brilliance. A fact to remember cut is not the same as shape, rather it results in the creation of the shape. Unlike the rest of the imperative four C’s, cut is an outcome of human manifestation. Black Diamonds call for a dexterous cutting process to make the diamond look more attractive.
Black diamond Clarity
The clarity is one of the most significant factors that determine a Black Diamond’s cost. It indicates how clean the diamond is, whether it has any inclusions or flaws on the surface of the stone. In Black Diamonds the clarity is basically relevant to the surface, particularly the table and the crown. The table is the face of the diamond, any flaw on its surface kills the glamour of the stone. The crown rests of the sides, prongs or bezel setting can hide flaws at certain areas. The flaws at the pavilion girdle or culet that is below the girdle is overlooked as it hides in the setting. Further since the black diamonds are opaque the internal flaws are neither visible nor matter.

Black Diamonds may have surface inclusions like cleavages, feathers, clouds, pits etc. Inclusions are common in black diamonds, one in a million diamonds may have a flawless table and crown. As far as these are not on the table it does not affect its beauty or value. Diamonds with clean table surface are therefore more costly. Certain inclusion can be easily hidden under the prongs; visible inclusions reduce the cost of the black.

Carat
Carat is the internationally recognized standard unit for measuring the weight of the diamonds and gemstones. Carat influences the diamond size; however it is difficult to predict the exact size of the diamond on the basis of the carat. Black diamonds are also weighed in carats, denoted by the abbreviation Ct or cts, sometimes followed by TW meaning Total Weight. One carat is equal to 200 milligrams or 0.2 grams. Diamonds above one carat are very rare. To specify the weight less than one carat, diamond trade circles make use points. One point is equal to .01 carat or in other words 100 points make a carat.

Color

Color is one of the deciding factors of the black diamond’s value. The lush, uniformly spreading mid-night black color is the best color grade of Black diamonds. These diamonds are also available in dark green, grey or smoky black colors from dense to the slightly translucent. The uniformity and intensity of the color saturation determines the value of Black Diamonds. These diamonds are constituted of multiple crystals unlike a white diamond that is one crystal in itself. These crammed crystals give Black diamonds their deep blackish color.

Naturally black colored diamonds are very rare and thus obnoxiously expensive. Few know that black diamonds are actually not black, but very dark green, gun metal or grey. The actual color may be visible at the edge of certain stones that have a thin girdle. There have been very few natural black diamonds Black Orlov is the most popular. It is a 67.50 carat precious treasure, also called the Eye of the Brahma. Controversies and fables cloud this cushion-brilliant-cut diamond’s glory that originally weighed 165 carats. When GIA graded it the stone’s color was descried- Fancy-Deep Blue Green.

Click here to view a sample GIA Certificate for Black Diamonds