Taking its name from the legendary ballet "Firebird" (1910 - Grand Opera, Paris), this 20.69 carat asscher-cut diamond now makes its way into the possession of Lawrence Graff, who previously also obtained the 'Lesedi La Rona' diamond (302.37 carat D-color) and had it cut into the world's largest square emerald-cut diamond.



Fancy-colored diamonds have been making headway into the world's auction scene for the past couple of decades, with major color hues including pinks, blues and vivid reds. Yellow diamonds, although traditionally lower in the hierarchy of color values for the diamond species, boasts a widespread appreciation for their 'Canary yellow' saturations. Many of them are now receiving heightened reception from international collectors and connoisseurs.



The choice to create the finished piece in a square-shaped step cut helps to bring out its uniquely stark honey-yellow hues. Many deep bodied fancy-cut shapes are a strategic selection for the final form of such fancy-colored diamonds, as proportions allow for more material (carat weight) to be kept- meaning a greater amount of light can then be selectively absorbed by the diamond's mass. This consequentially results in a stronger color, which is the desired effect for this kind of gemstone (as opposed to the case of colorless-to-near-colorless diamonds).

Have you ever thought of giving your little kid a gift she would never forget? Well, I bet the idea of giving diamonds may have crossed your mind, but you could have shrugged it off with "Maybe she's too young for that", or "I'll get her jewelry when she's old enough to appreciate it".



Well, a property-tycoon from Hong Kong thought very differently, and made it a point to show it. Joseph Lau returned from an auction in Geneva with something very special for his 7 year old daughter.

Immediately renamed the "Blue Moon of Josephine", a dazzling 12.03 carat blue diamond was promptly purchased by Lau as a gift for his little one.



According to David Bennet, head of Sotheby's jewelry division, the tantalizing "Blue Moon of Josephine" diamond broke all previous records held by the auction house (2015), and was recorded to be the most expensive diamond or gemstone to ever be sold at auction. It's sale price of 48.4 million dollars, was to be paid by Lau after an intense bidding war for the remarkable stone.

The blue diamond was first discovered in South Africa (2014) and is considered to be the largest cushion-cut blue diamond in the fancy-vivid grading category to be exhibited at public auction.



Just a day prior to that sale, Lau had also spent 28.5 million dollars to buy a beautiful pink diamond weighing in at about 16.08 carats. This stone, he renamed "Sweet Josephine".


Most gemological trade experts say that the international market for coloured diamonds has notably grown more lucrative in the past decade, yet still possesses a lot of untapped potential for further development. The Geneva auction brought spotlight attraction to the allure of blue and pink fancy-colored diamonds, both hue-based varieties often commanding much higher prices than colorless or near-colorless diamonds.

In the world of fancy-colored diamonds, many gemstone collectors are already familiar with the trending pink, blue and yellow hues that are often accentuated into high-fashion showcases. The trade is highly focused on the supply of these colors, as they are relatively easier to come by compared to the rest.



Of course, gemstones were not made famous by historically common supplies. Exclusivity, rarity and beauty all come together to define what makes a gem precious and coveted. Red diamonds, hold this type of indescribable allure over only the most discerning clientele in our society.

Out of all the colors that diamonds can come in, red is by far one of the most highly sought after, and extravagantly paid for.

Several of the most famously expensive small-sized diamonds at auction possess a pure red hue. Even the famous Argyle Tender, hosted in Geneva, takes a lot of pride in presenting any red diamonds they mine during a season.



It's not easy to get your hands on one, as most jewelry stores will only sell colorless, near-colorless, yellow, and brown stones. Some other boutiques into rarer tastes may stock pinks and blues for their customers, but not many carry the scarlet reds that have captivated most of the high-end diamond collecting industry.

Rio Tinto, the company that owns the Argyle mine in Australia, is probably the world's largest mining company that focuses their efforts on fancy-colored diamonds. The Argyle mine mainly produces pink, colorless and brown stones due to its unique geological environment. The company has progressed with the marketing of their brown stones as chocolate diamonds, but concentrates most of their efforts on spreading the image of their exclusive pink stones.



Usually, fancy colored diamonds do not go as high up in saturation as rubies, emeralds or sapphires. They're typically more muted in intensity, showing a pastel beauty combined with diamond's illustrious brilliance and scintillation. Every now and then though, a lucky miner may come across a stone of incredible rarity, a diamond with enough color to rival even that of other gem species. When this happens, the trade talks. Conversations start to buzz, and people start bidding.

"Look for the things that make your heart go thump at first sight. The mysterious wonders of nature that are not burdened with twins or equals." What a diamond represents is commitment, beauty and timelessness. We encourage everyone to view their different colors and to appreciate the diamond species in its full spectrum of grandeur and elegance.

Photography credits to Rio Tinto Corporate Media

Red diamonds have always been some of the rarest and most beautiful variants of diamond. It ranks as one of the top picks in price and exclusivity, when pit against other fancy colors of the gem, such as the more common- pinks, yellows and browns. Today we're taking a look at another legendary gemstone, making its way into the archival records of our jewelry industry.

This 2.11 ct. radiant-cut fancy red diamond, is simply ethereal in its brilliance and splendor. Named the "Argyle Everglow", it has recently been acquired by Optimum Diamonds LLC, for an undisclosed amount, along with winning another lot from the tender- the "Argyle Liberte", a 0.91 ct. violet colored diamond.

A new trend in the jewellery + fashion world today is the usage of "sliced" a.k.a. "ice" diamonds. These are diamonds that exhibit a natural looking appeal with hints of warm color and the presence of inclusions. Their reception is quite divided in the market. To some, they represent diamond qualities that don't belong in traditional grading scales. They are often just below the fancy colored diamond scale's saturation level requirement, or sometimes just too included to consider making a grade in the clarity scale used by the classic diamond trade.



Others however, believe that they show a charming and rustic appeal- exemplifying the earthy colors of a natural environment. Some jewellery houses and fashion labels market these diamonds as fashion-forward and "true to their origin".

Many stones are often left uncut or partially cut. A certain percentage of them might also be faceted in many older or non-classical styles such as the rose-cut or the freeform cut.

Heavily Included Diamonds are Often Fashioned Into Designer Cuts and Termed as Sliced Stones.

Debates about the investment potential of these diamonds are a hot topic in today's gem trade. Many "purists" believe that these stones just classify as I3 graded low-color stones by the current grade level standards set by gemological institutions. The opposition believes that they should be seen and evaluated using a different set of criteria, similar to how raw uncut minerals are often valued for their unique inclusions or contours.



In the end, a diamond's value is both concrete and perceived to be honest, just like most items of luxury. The world considers it concrete because a large portion of the global jewellery trade would pay a certain specific amount for availability of possession, but logic also considers it as a perceived value due to the fact that diamonds do not really serve a true utility-based purpose.

So all in all, if you are looking to purchase these 'sliced' or 'ice' diamonds, our own personal opinion would be to do so with the purpose of taste over value. Buy them if you connect with what they represent visually, rather than for any long-term investment chance. Most investment mechanisms in the diamond trade tend to follow the GIA grading scale for color and clarity, and these stones seem to exist in a world apart from the traditional views.

While the country has a handful of small laboratories, most of the jewellery buying population seemed to get their information straight from whatever jewellers would tell them. This being the case, it's easy to assume that bias happens quite frequently in the marketing of gemstone products. People sometimes bought items under the impression that they were something else entirely.



What the buying community required was some room for available, independent analysis, as well as professional third-party support for all of their questions.

A lot of jewellery enthusiasts were confused about the differences between natural gemstones, man-made gemstones and imitation gemstones. Most saw gems as either "fake" or "real", and so assumed value opinions accordingly.

Gemological Laboratories Are Here to Support the Country's Jewelry-Buying Population, to Safeguard the Public Against Item Fraud and Mistrust.

Some believed that synthetic 'grown' gems were just as expensive as earth-mined naturals, while others on the opposite end of the spectrum believed that they were just simulants to be lumped up with other gem imitations.

Despite this, there are several jewellery stores who are quite honest with their business, respecting customers and their patronage. Most of the actual problems are rooted in misunderstandings that arise from one-sided marketing and product pushing (rather than outright misrepresentation).

Gemcamp Laboratories was launched so that we could give jewellery buyers an independent source of information about the different types of gems currently out there on the market.

We want to give the community back a sense of public trust, transparency, and proper non-biased disclosure so that they can properly decide on how to buy & sell gemstone from whomever or wherever they want.

It should be noted that we are a third-party institution, not in the business of trading gemstones or jewellery. Likewise, we do not recommend any specific jewellers or brands, nor do we buy or sell gemstones ourselves for profit or resale. 

We benefit the industry on a trade-scale level, hoping to support the entire market community.

The people at Gemcamp are simply here to help both buyers and sellers understand more about the nature of their products, and give insight into how gemstones are defined by both the international trade and the sciences that govern their mineral data.

We aim to help, share education and hopefully make a change in the appreciation of nature's smallest treasures.

Sometimes in the Philippines, when we hear the words 'fancy' and 'diamond', we think of an imitation or simulant stone. Though, if we look at the international terminologies, the term 'fancy' is actually often used to describe natural diamond in terms of its outward appearances.

Fancy cuts refer to diamonds with any shape or cut other than a round brilliant one. Examples of this could be the emerald or trilliant cut. Many dealers are familiar with this term, and so when shopping at international venues like the September Jewellery Fair in Hong Kong, or the Baselworld Fair in Switzerland, be sure not to confuse our local lingo for how people normally use these terms.

Fancy colored diamonds are another thing. When the industry refers to a fancy colored diamond, it simply means any diamond that possesses color. In the case of diamonds that are yellow, gray or brown, they must also possess a slightly higher amount of saturation compared to the other hues in order to qualify for a fancy color grade.

Speaking about price, the general trend shows us that fancy colored diamonds can in fact cost more than colorless diamonds. The top tier of these can be seen at famous auction house events like the ones hosted by Christie's in Geneva.

A single 59.6 ct pink diamond called the Pink Star (renamed to the Pink Dream) is actually being valued at about 72 million dollars today. This particular stone was once being marketed by Sotheby's (another big name in jewellery auctions) and participated at one of its own renowned auctions. Its valuation and reception is a prime example of how fancy colored diamonds in the highest grade range can outshine even a D-flawless colorless stone.

Fancy colored diamonds cost a lot because they lack a consistent supply to satisfy their rising demand. They do however have a 'strong enough' supply to stir up fans in several international markets. Couple that with the news and marketing from different jewellery houses, and you have a rare segment of the diamond industry that connoisseurs all over the world want to share in.

Certain Natural Hues of Fancy Colored Diamonds Can Command Much Higher Prices Than Equivalently Sized Colorless Counterparts, Due Rarity Factors and An Increasing Demand From the Trade.

The Argyle mine in Australia is probably the only currently known major source of fancy pink diamonds. Its operation is run by the Rio Tinto group, which also hosts the Argyle Pink Tender auctions in Geneva for many of the stone's illustrious clientele.


Grades for fancy colored diamonds are as follows:
Faint, Very Light, Light, Fancy Light, Fancy, Fancy Intense, Fancy Dark,
Fancy Deep, and Fancy Vivid

(This scale goes from most affordable to most expensive via left to right fashion.)

Terminology would dictate that the grade modifier be mentioned before the specific diamond's color. For example: 'Fancy Light Purplish Pink'

This phrase would constitute the color grade of a stone instead of the usual 'letter grade' you would normally see used on colorless diamonds.

One more thing to note, is that the saturation level requirement for each grade is differently evaluated per color of diamond. This means that a fancy intense red diamond may not necessarily possess the exact same color intensity level as a fancy intense yellow diamond.

This is because the specific rarity scale is actually different per fancy diamond color group.

These exotic and scarce diamonds are certainly marvels of nature, and they can be a wonderful addition to any jewellery suite if one is willing to pay the price for their beauty.