Champagne Diamonds

Beauty is a powerful thing - almost as powerful as semantics. There's no better evidence for this than the surging popularity of champagne diamonds - colored diamonds that in actuality, are brown diamonds with a luxe name and a yellowish shade. As alluring and sought after as champagne diamonds are today, they weren't always so appreciated.

In the past, natural fancy brown diamonds weren't especially trendy. However, champagne diamonds have managed to gain increasing attention in recent years from collectors and investors. When Rio Tinto's Argyle Mine determined that nearly half of the stones in their deposit were brown, it was clear that new marketing tactics were required. They coined the term "champagne diamonds," which suggested an air of luxury, elegance and affluence.

The word "champagne" is not used on grading reports from the GIA. Instead, the color would be described as fancy light yellow brown, fancy yellowish brown, or a similar phrase. The Argyle Mine has devised a different color scale specifically to grade champagne diamonds, which ranges from C1 to C7. C1 to C2 are a light champagne, C3 to C4 are medium champagne, C5 to C6 are dark champagne, and C7 is considered "cognac.'

A major reason that champagne diamonds have been gaining vogue is that they have been embraced by the most fashion-forward A-list celebrities. As with all colored diamonds, the color and its strength of hue is the most significant factor in determining value. The darker and rare cognac diamonds come at the highest cost, while champagne diamonds on the lighter end of the spectrum (C1 to C3) are more common and therefore less expensive.

The most well-known champagne diamond is the Golden Jubilee. It weighed 755 carats rough and resulted in a 545.67 carat gemstone. It's the largest faceted diamond in the world. Discovered in South Africa's Cullinan Diamond Mine in 1985, it was given to the King of Thailand in 1997 to celebrate his reign. The Great Chrysanthemum Diamond is a fancy brown pear shaped modified brilliant cut that measures 104.15 carats. The diamond originated in South Africa.