Chocolate Diamonds

Chocolate Diamonds

Champagne and Chocolate - Creating the Craving For Low Color Diamonds
By Carolyn Blevins - Ezinearticles

Over the last several years, amid the advertisements that tell us a 'Diamond is Forever' and a 'kiss begins with Kay,' ads promoting champagne and chocolate diamonds have seeped into our subconscious. The jewelry pieces these commercials show are sparkling and beautiful and oftentimes show the contrast between these darker gemstones and colorless brilliants to perfection. And who doesn't like champagne and chocolate? These descriptives speak of opulence, wealth and a little decadence - all concepts that go well with diamond jewelry. But what, exactly, are chocolate and champagne diamonds?

The correct jewelry industry term for these delicious gemstones is brown or low-color diamonds and the majority of gem-quality low color stones come from the Argyle Mine in western Australia. Back in 2000 or so, the fine jewelry design house of Le Vian began to market a line of low-color, high quality brown diamond jewelry. Le Vian branded their low color diamond line as Chocolate Diamonds and managed to successfully focus the jewelry-buying public's attention on these heretofore disregarded gemstones, essentially created a market for low color diamonds where there once was none. Champagne diamonds are merely gemstones that are lighter brown in color than their chocolate cousins.

The Argyle Scale (developed by the mine that produces low-color diamonds) is used to judge the color of brown diamonds and uses a C1-C7 color scale, where the designations C1 and C2 apply to light champagne, C3 and C4 to medium champagne, and C5 and C6 to dark champagne. The fancy cognac diamond is graded C7. Le Vian's line of chocolate diamonds ranges in color from C4-C6.

When shopping for chocolate or champagne diamonds, keep in mind that carat weight, clarity and cut are still factors in determining a low color diamond's quality and value. It is entirely possible to find a high quality, low color diamond of higher value than a white diamond with lesser clarity or cut quality.

Chocolate Diamonds