De Grisogono founder Fawaz Gruosi takes credit for rebranding black diamonds from dank hunks of unsellable carbon into the glamorous gemstones we see on red carpets today. Once he breached that barrier by blessing the overlooked carbonados with his favor and influence, grey and brown diamonds soon followed suit in the luxury market, and demand has surged as consumers continue waking up to their lower prices.
While it was once considered disruptive or offbeat to choose these so-called imperfect stones over clear, bright white diamonds, jewelry designer Diane Kordas believes this is softening. “I find that customers with both traditional and non-traditional personal style are now all buying black, brown and grey diamonds,” she says. “Fine jewelry has really evolved in terms of design, and it has become more adventurous, making colored diamonds popular in the current market.”
The price is right
These stones are also less expensive. A Diane Kordas Heartbeat ear cuff set with black diamonds is more than 25% cheaper than the same design set with white diamonds. This can be a draw for shoppers on a budget, particularly when it comes to big-ticket items like engagement rings.
Rachel Boston, who studied for a diamond grading diploma at the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) in New York, has a bridal offering dominated by grey diamonds. They come in both yellow and white gold settings, in a range of fancy cuts such as kite, shield and hexagon. Also, unusually for heavily included grey diamonds, she has treated some to sharp round, pear or cushion cuts, just as they would be if they were a more traditional choice of stone.
Again, the cost is significantly lower. An 18-karat gold Rachel Boston engagement ring set with a round brilliant, 0.50-carat, white diamond in a hexagonal halo drops by more than 47% in price when the central stone is swapped for a round, grey diamond of the same size.
Rising stars
Still, despite their relative affordability, the rise in these darker colors’ popularity has bumped up their prices.
“They are considerably more expensive now than they were five years ago,” says designer Alice Cicolini, whose Indian-inspired collections often favor them over traditional diamonds. “The carat price of polki diamonds has doubled in a year, [and] champagne diamonds [have risen] by over a third.”
Cicolini has no fear that this will impact the stones’ appeal, as investing in them is more often a style decision than a financial one. Besides, the concept of what is precious is becoming more fluid.
“The jewelry buyer is less willing to be dictated to by a small number of people or companies that have dominated the perceptions of value in the past,” she argues. “Value is much more than monetary in the world of jewelry now.”
Warm tones
In Paris, Charlotte Dauphin de la Rochefoucauld — whose luxury jewelry brand, Dauphin, has been winning over the fashionable set at Barney’s and Dover Street Market — is experimenting with brown diamonds for the first time.
Known for her geometric shapes and blue gold, the designer was looking for a softer approach to diamonds. She found it by combining rose gold and brown diamonds in her new collection, Fluid Captured, with soft triangular meshes of settings that swing freely from open-ended rings.
“I wanted to create warmth,” she says.
Whether it’s the warmth of brown, the edginess of black or the quirky inclusions of grey, these unorthodox diamonds are finding a new place in the industry — one in which they are the stars, not just the alternative.
Image: Chupi, solid gold grey-diamond collection.Article from the Rapaport Magazine - March 2018. To subscribe click here.