Diamonds value white vs. Yellow

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Diamonds value white vs. Yellow

Post#1 @ 10-21-05 , 11:59 PM

If white diamonds are the purest of diamonds (pure carbon bonds) and yellow diamonds are made up of both carbon crystals and other foreign elements why is the yellow diamond considered to be the rarest of rare diamonds and thus more expensive. I would think that a pure white diamond would have better value than a yellow diamond ( all else being equal) which is made up of other foreign elements.

Also, if the yellow is not pure carbon, it should ot be as strong/tough as the white diamond?
still learning, but want to ask the experts
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Loch

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Re: Diamonds value white vs. Yellow

Post#2 @ 10-22-05 , 12:13 AM

Fancy yellow diamonds are not the rarest diamonds. The trace element that causes a yellow color in diamond is nitrogen (one of the most plentiful elements on the planet). The more nitrogen present the yellower the diamond. These "extra" atoms in the diamonds crystal lattice do not adversely affect hardness (resistance to scratching) or toughness (resistance to breaking). The rarity order for fancy colored diamonds is not set in stone but it goes something like this:

Red
Orange
Green
Purple
Blue
Pink
Yellow
Brown

Hope that helps!

Loch My Profile Registered User : offline Joined: 04-20-02 Posts: 727 Years: My Karma Power: 57 Points: 10	Re: Diamonds value white vs. Yellow Post#3 @ 10-22-05 , 12:19 AM Oh BTW I forgot to add some info about the normal D-Z color scale. Any diamonds that have a slight or yellow tint to them but are not beyond Z in color are not considered fancy. However there are a few exceptions for certain colors that are very rare.

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Re: Diamonds value white vs. Yellow

Post#4 @ 10-22-05 , 02:17 AM

Ditto to what Loch said. Hello Loch, nice to see you!

And LoneProp I saw your other thread and want to caution you on thinking that anyone on this site is going to encourage you to buy diamonds for investment purposes.

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LONEPROPS My Profile Registered User : offline Joined: 10-21-05 Posts: 11 Years: My Karma Power: 0 Points: 10	diamond value Post#5 @ 10-22-05 , 08:01 PM Thank you both for your opinion. I appreciate it. I am not looking for investment , but just wanted to make sure I got the best value for the money. I love both the yellow diamond and the white, so it just a matter of taste as to the one I finally select. LP

Loch My Profile Registered User : offline Joined: 04-20-02 Posts: 727 Years: My Karma Power: 57 Points: 10	Re: Diamonds value white vs. Yellow Post#6 @ 10-22-05 , 08:14 PM Hi Irish!! Nice to see you too!

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strength of the diamond

Post#7 @ 10-23-05 , 02:06 PM

Strictly from a materials engineering point of view, alloys of elements are often considerably stronger than the constituent elements. Example, the metallic element iron is "relatively" strong, but when alloyed with small amounts of carbon, nickel, chromium, etc, to make "steel" it becomes immensely strong. So the fact that something isn't pure doesn't necessarily make it weak.

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