I have seen many colors of diamonds but never red, have i just not
looked hard enough?
Debra,
No, you probably have never seen one because there are few available
and only very sellect people ever see them!!!
From info I have (I have never seen one either) the Australian mines
produce a few truley red diamonds each year and they are sold one at
a time via a site holders auction. That means a price is put on each
one and certain buyers are contacted to look at them. If they are
willing to pay the price, a deal is made. If not, tough.
Cheers, Don in SOFL
Natural reds are among the rarest of colored diamonds, but they are
out there. Fine ones are in the range of $1,000,000/c so don’t
forget your checkbook.
Treated reds are, of course, more common.
Wayne Emery
Hi Debra;
Yep, Don’s right, red ones are really rare, and pink are pretty hard
to come by too, so they get big dollars for them. Natural blue
diamonds are rare too and expensive. But blue, yellow, green, these
can be created by treating some diamonds with radiation. The blue and
some green ones can lose their color with torch temperatures, but
I’ve heated yellow ones with success.
At one time, I heard that someone was creating red diamonds by
covering the diamond with 24 karat gold foil and blasting them with
a laser to fuse the gold into the surface of the diamond. Gold, in
solution, appears red. At one time, ruby red glass was created by
adding gold to the melt. Now they use selenium mostly. The gold
treatment of diamonds would only be on the surface, but considering
how hard a diamond is, I imagine it would be fairly durable. Has
anyone heard anything about this treatment?
David L. Huffman
Extremely rare. I got to see one once- garnet red- just a glimpse of
a pinky ring set stone in an elevator in the Jeweler’s Building in
Boston. Natural red diamonds are collectors dreams.
I saw A Red Diamond at the Tucson Show couple of years back, that was
a 1.21 ct piece, I think It was sold to the Sultan of Brunei
Ahmed Shareek
I have seen many colors of diamonds but never red, have i just not looked hard enough?
Debra, in natural color diamonds, a true red is considered pretty
much the rarest color in diamond. They do exist, but even smaller
ones like a quarter carat or so, can cost amazing sums of money. If
the color is more orangy or brownish or purplish, then while still
rare, they can be a bit more available, especially as they get more
brownish or orangy. Still, though, the most likely place you’ll see
them is in photographs of museum or private collections. They’re
that rare.
However, if you include treated ones rather than just natural colors,
the Argyle mine in Australia, well known for it’s unusually high
percentage of pinks, produces stones that sometimes can be treated to
a red, or near red. They tend more to purplish tones rather than a
true red, but in the commonly available sizes, which is mellee, the
difference is not dramatic. Next to other white diamonds, your first
impression is “red” or near to it. Look more closely and they’re a
pretty purplish red to reddish purple, quite unlike other diamond
colors. Even these treated stones, though, are pricey. I first saw
these in the early 90s, and back then bought a few mellee, albeit
very pretty ones, for 2500 a carat. (whew. That’s why I only bought a
few). Since then, the price has dropped a lot. Last time I bought a
few of these (2 to 3 pointers), I paid around 900 a carat I think.
And if I were buying in any sort of quantity beyond just a few at a
time, I’m sure I could get them for less. but that’s still twice what
I’d pay for reasonably decent white goods… And I’m guessing I could
probably get them cheaper if I bought them at other than just the
travelling gem shows.
Peter Rowe
Richard Wise’s book, Secrets of the The Gem Trade, has a photo of a
mind-blowing collection of colored diamonds including a true white
and a red. The text talks at length about the red.
Go to the Smithsonian in Washington DC. The Janet Annenberg Hooker
Hall of Geology Gems and Minerals has 2 that I know of. Search online
on above name and then search on red diamond for pictures and more
info. Right now the Hope diamond is being displayed naked (not in its
traditional necklace mounting) as a new setting is being made for it.
jeanette
Custom Pearl and Bead Stringing
I have seen many colors of diamonds but never red, have i just not looked hard enough?
Red diamonds are rare. Visit Museum of Natural History when you have
a chance.
leonid surpin
i read that there are about 50 natural true pink or red diamonds in
the world… needle in a haystack anyone…
I was lucky enough to attend a mineralogical seminar on the Argyle
Diamond Mine a few years ago. The speaker had a photo of a "hero"
stone from the cover of a diamond auction catalogue. It was a fire
engine red diamond. Mind blowingly gorgeous.
thanks
Craig
New Zealand
Fine ones are in the range of $1,000,000/c so don't forget your checkbook.
Starting long ago — I have accumulated a pretty nice collection of
colored diamond pics - also extraordinary jade and some other things.
I never know if the link will work, but it all can be viewed here:
Or if it doesn’t work, I am jjdon and the pics are public…
Debra,
Truly red diamonds are very rare. In 1987 a bidder paid
approximately $880,000 for a.95 carat diamond graded as Fancy
Purplish Red. You can see a picture and read about it heRe:
Mike DeBurgh
Hmmm… can’t recall the names but a few years back one of the movie
stars gave the star that played the young Mexican girl who was shot
by her fan club (sorry. about the poor details)… anyway… she was
given a large ‘pink’ diamond… price was $7,000,000… always
wondered what happened to the ring???.. They never got married!
Jim
Hello Debra,
You have not seen a red diamond yet because they are extremely rare
(unlike white, yellowish or brown diamonds). I don’t know where you
are located but you may want to check major auction houses such as
Christie’s or Sotheby’s for instance.
You may be lucky enough to have a branch of these auction houses
sell one some day not too far from you depending where you live. The
beauty of it is that you can go on their premises and examine the
stones as you please during the viewing preceeding the sale (and it
is free of charge). I was lucky to see a few of them over the years
in these auction houses and have a close look at them.
In my humble opinion the best one of them was slightly below one
carat (maybe 0.95 ct ) sold in Geneva, Switzerland in the late 80’s
at Christie’s if I remember well.
All I remember is that it was stunning and I will never forget the
true red color paired with the brillance of that stone. It was a
real treat!
At the time the price realized in the auction was about $
1,000,000.- per carat. I have seen some larger and smaller ones but
the red was never as vivid. There might actually be only about 50
untreated true red diamonds in the whole world ( not too light
therefore pink or with a lot of brown or grey).
If at some point, if you come to New York (or if you live there),
maybe check if Graff or Harry Winston would happen to have one in
their store. Perhaps this is a more intimidating alternative though
and no guarantee that they will have one. You most likely will see
some other rare gems though.
Best of luck!
Cyril
ars gave the star that played the young Mexican girl who was shot by her fan club (sorry. about the poor details)... anyway... she was given a large 'pink' diamond... price was $7,000,000... always wondered what happened to the ring???...
As of 2005, it was for sale.
The stars were Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez, who played Selena.
I think you are thinking of the pink stone Ben Affleck gave Jennifer
Lopez. The six carat pink diamond went back from whence it came
(Harry Winston) but I don’t know if anyone else bought it.
The first chapter of “Diamond – A Journey to the Heart of
Obsession”, by Matthew Hart, tells about a pink diamond found by
alluvial diamond panners on the river Rio Abeate, in Minas Gerais,
Brazil. The rough stone weighed 81 carats. It became a real headache
for the panners to sell and they had to involve others, form a
corporation, etc. The stone eventually sold to an un-named Chinese
collector. So someone in China has a one of a kind diamond hidden
away from the world in a vault.
BTW I strongly recommend this book. It goes through the history of
diamonds clear up to the Canadian mines. And it is written in as an
entertaining format that gives a good general background on the
history of diamonds. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and I’m like
Homer Simpson, “Reading makes me sleepy.”
Rick Copeland
Silversmith and Lapidary Artisan
rockymountainwonders.com
All I remember is that it was stunning and I will never forget the true red color paired with the brillance of that stone. It was a real treat!
When I examine “field micro-gems” at full sunlight I sometimes see
some stunning flashes of light. But my guess is that a 1/00 mm
micro-crystal of quartz would be as brilliant as a red diamond.
BTW did anyone say what caused the redness?