What Gives a Natural Fancy Colored Diamond its Color?

The chemical structure, natural radiation or intense pressure during millions of years of a diamond’s formation creates its color. Simply stated, nitrogen creates a yellow or orange diamond. Boron creates a light or deep blue diamond. Natural radiation creates a green colored diamond. Intense pressure creates a pink, red or brown diamond and hydrogen produces a purple diamond. The Mossaieff Red diamond was created by intense pressure. It was discovered in Brazil in South America at the Abaetezinho River by a farmer in 1990. The 5.11 carat trillion brilliant cut red diamond was created from 13.9 carats of diamond rough. The Dresden Green pear shaped diamond weighing 41.0 carats was cut from 100 carats of diamond rough and is the largest green diamond in the world. Its color is the result of natural irradiation during millions of years of its formation. The Royal Purple Heart is the largest known vivid purple diamond in existence. This diamond is among the rarest colored diamonds and was a shocking discovery. It is 7.34 carats with clarity being an I1. The Royal Purple Heart was mined in Russia and was created with trace elements of hydrogen. The magnificent Steinmetz pink diamond was discovered in South America in 2003 and is the largest fancy vivid pink diamond known in existence. Pink diamonds are extremely rare and are usually found in much smaller sizes. This diamond is a 59.60 carat, (from 100 carat diamond rough), is oval shaped with a step-cut crown and brilliant cut pavilion and is internally flawless. It took twenty months to cut and was cut only after making fifty different models to select from. Of course, everyone knows about the largest vivid steel blue diamond, the Hope diamond now in the Smithsonian for viewing. It is 45.52 carats and was discovered in India as a rough crystal weighing 112 carats. This blue diamond was formed with trace elements of boron, hydrogen and possibly nitrogen. Boron causes the blue color and is considered ultra-rare because it is nitrogen free. Only 2% of diamonds in existence are nitrogen free. Africa is the main supplier of fancy colored diamonds. Other producers of colored diamonds are Brazil and Venezuela in South America, Australia, Russia and Canada.