Forecast For Yellow Colored Diamonds
All signs point to an increase in fancy color diamond trends
into 2020 and beyond. The biggest factor is the lack of
supply. There are simply fewer colored diamonds in the
world – only a fraction of one percent of all diamonds, says
Tracey Greenstein, director of research at the Fancy Color
Research Foundation. Historically, supply has consistently
lagged behind demand in all colors, Greenstein says.
The fastest growing sector within the diamond world is
yellow diamonds, especially fancy yellow diamonds.
Although rare in their own right, yellow diamonds are more
available in nature and therefore more affordable, than their
pink and blue counterparts.
Natural Yellow Diamonds
Zimi Yellow Diamonds: What Makes Them Unique
As previously discussed, all fancy colored diamonds are rare in nature. Even the
most affordable colored diamonds are literally 1 in 10,000. Pink, blue and green
diamonds of 1 carat sizes or more in the best color saturation are probably 1 in a
million. Within the rarity of fancy diamonds of color there are sometimes
anomalies that come to the foreground. Fluorescent fancy neon yellow green
diamonds from Venezuela and fancy vivid yellow diamonds from the Zimi mine in
West Africa are 2 examples of incredibly rare colored diamonds that have only
come to market in recent years. Fancy vivid yellow Zimi diamonds have the
strongest yellow color of any yellow diamond found so far in the world. Recently the Gemological Society of
America did a technical analysis on Zimi yellow diamonds to find out why they exude such depth of color. The
result was astonishing! Zimi yellow diamonds are type 1B and are only found in alluvial deposits in Sierra Leone,
West Africa. We have always known that yellow diamonds are formed from hydrogen or nitrogen atoms merging
with pure carbon under tremendous pressure deep below the earth’s surface. As carbon makes its way up the lava
pipe towards the surface, it is exposed to incredible heat and pressure. This causes the hydrogen/nitrogen atoms to
merge with the carbon atoms. Zimi diamonds were formed differently. According to the Geological Society of
America, Zimi yellow diamonds did not experience temperatures above 700º Celsius for any extended period:
When you study Zimi yellow diamonds at the atomic level, the hydrogen, nitrogen and carbon atoms are clearly
separate. This suggests that after formation the yellow diamonds at Zimi were rapidly exhumed to shallow depth
in the lithosphere, likely through a massive tectonic uplift following a continental
collision.
For one possible explanation, we have to go back hundreds of millions of years to
the point where all continents of the world were joined together. The land mass was
called Pangea. If one looks at the outline of South America and West Africa, the
two continents fit together like puzzle pieces. Perhaps when a series of volcanic
eruptions split the continents apart, the extreme pressure from the shifting of the
continents forced the major tectonic shift which rapidly brought the Zimi yellow
diamonds to the surface. That would explain why the Zimi yellow diamonds did not
experience temperatures above 700º Celsius for any extended period, thereby
protecting the integrity of one of the rarest colored diamonds in nature.
In terms of commercial rarity, when Zimi yellow diamonds of vivid color
saturation come to market, a 1 carat stone can sell at dealer to dealer prices for
$40,000 a carat or more. Perhaps a true bargain for those who wish to own a fancy vivid yellow Zimi diamond can
be found in stones of .60 to .75 carats. These stones, although almost as rare as the 1 carat Zimis, are currently
selling for about ½ the price per carat. But for how long?
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Zimi Yellow Diamond
Pangea
Pangea, the supercontinent.source