1 Carat Yellow Diamond Price (Buying Guide + Current Price Chart)

Lindsey, do you know what is the price of 1 carat yellow diamond? This is one of the questions our readers ask a lot. Well, we´ve got you covered.

There are so many different things to be aware of when you’re shopping for diamonds and adding color variations on top of that can complicate things even further.

As colored diamonds are less common than those that are colorless, they can be a lot more expensive as well, but how much do yellow diamonds cost per carat?

On average 1 Carat yellow diamond price will vary between $2,000 and $18,000. However, 1-carat diamonds that are distinctly yellow tend to sell for a similar price to colorless diamonds and they are the most commonly occurring variation.

Read ahead to understand the true value of yellow diamonds, and how much they cost per carat.

What Are Fancy Color Diamonds?

Yellow diamonds might look like a different gemstone altogether, but they are actually very similar to more traditional colorless diamonds.

They are part of a subcategory of diamonds that are commonly known as “fancy-color diamonds”, which are differentiated by their color.

Though they are all slightly different from the clear stones that we tend to imagine when we think of diamonds, they are still considered to be genuine diamonds in their own right.

In many ways, yellow-colored diamonds are more like colorless diamonds than all other color variations – and they could even be considered to be simply intense and unique examples of the most prevalent sort of natural diamond in the world.

Read also >> 5 Carat Yellow Diamond Price (All You Need To Know)

Read also >> How Much Is a 1 Carat Uncut Diamond Worth?  

1-Carat Price For Yellow Diamonds

Now that we know how rare and beautiful yellow diamonds actually are, we can investigate how much they tend to cost per carat.

Generally, color intensity is the strongest influence on the value of these diamonds (if their carat weight is the same), but there is still a significant range.

Diamond Color Grade	1-Carat Price Range
Fancy Light Yellow	$2,000 – $5,000
Fancy Yellow	$3,000 – $6,000
Fancy Intense Yellow	$4,000 – $8,000
Fancy Vivid Yellow	$8,000 – $20,000
Colorless	$2,000 – $18,000

As you can see, the price range for this particular color is much like what you tend to find with traditional diamonds, although very strong and intense examples can have even more value than the most perfect colorless stones.

What Affects A Yellow Diamond’s Price?

There are many different factors to consider when you are determining the value of a diamond, even when you know the overall color variety that you are looking for.

The four most impactful characteristics that are looked at by grading laboratories are the 4 Cs: Carat, Color, Clarity, and Cut.

The color intensity grade of a yellow diamond will greatly affect the price that you pay, as will the carat weight.

On top of this, however, the number of inclusions within the stone (the clarity) and the quality of the shaping (the cut) can make a diamond more or less valuable as well.

The origin of a diamond is another significant factor that has an impact as well. Lab-grown yellow stones are worth less than mined examples and coming from certain famous mines can even add value to a diamond as well.

How Do Yellow Diamonds Come About?

There are a wide variety of different reasons why diamonds might appear with a distinct level of coloration, and each influence can result in a different color.

Shear pressure is believed to cause pink and red diamonds to appear, radiation can lead to a green color in diamonds, and the presence of boron can cause a diamond to become blue.

Yellow diamonds, on the other hand, appear when certain distributions of nitrogen are present within the crystal structure. What is particularly interesting about this is that all diamonds that are classified as Type I contain nitrogen as their main impurity, and these make up around 95%-98% of the natural diamonds in the world.

Most diamonds that are Type I do not have enough nitrogen atoms present to give them a noticeable yellow color, but when the atoms are spread out throughout the stone (rather than grouped up or paired), the diamond can be very intensely yellow indeed.

In fact, all colorless diamonds are graded by how much yellow or brown color is present, and the appearance of any color usually reduces the stone’s value. At a certain point, however, the intensity becomes strong enough that the stone can be considered a Fancy Yellow Diamond, which gives it a whole new kind of worth.

Are Yellow-Colored Diamonds Actually Rare?

To understand the price of yellow diamonds, we need to think about their rarity as well as their general appeal to consumers.

Yellow diamonds are easily the most common of all colored diamonds, making up around 60% of all colored stones.

This obviously means that they are generally not as expensive to purchase as less common color variations, like green or blue.

They are still much rarer than colorless diamonds, but this does not automatically result in a greater value.

Yellow diamonds were not particularly sought-after by consumers in the past, and they used to even hold less value than colorless stones – despite the fact that they are harder to come by.

In recent years, however, the market for colored diamonds has increased. More and more consumers are beginning to appreciate all of the interesting diamond variations that you can buy, and their value has gone up accordingly.

Nowadays, yellow diamonds tend to sell for a very similar price to their colorless counterparts, although there is a lot of variation depending on individual quality and characteristics.

What Do Yellow Diamonds Look Like?

If you have not seen any yellow diamonds for yourself, then you might be surprised by the variety in their appearance.

Because they are so common, they have been found in many different sizes and with a large number of different clarity and color grades as well.

While colorless diamonds are defined with a grade from a D to a Z (Z being the least valuable and having the most color), yellow diamonds are given descriptors based on their level of color intensity.

The GIA color scale for yellow diamonds describes them as:

• Faint Yellow
• Very Light Yellow
• Light Yellow
• Fancy Light Yellow
• Fancy Yellow
• Fancy Intense Yellow
• Fancy Vivid Yellow, Fancy Deep Yellow, or Fancy Dark Yellow

Additionally, there can be a number of different secondary hues as well. Yellow diamonds might be brownish, orangeish, grayish, or greenish.

There are very few diamond color types that show quite as much range as yellow diamonds, which makes them even more interesting and beautiful to explore.

Where Are Yellow Diamonds From?

Because yellow diamonds are made up of essentially the same basic materials and under the same essential conditions as colorless Type Is, they can typically be found in all of the same places.

Yellow diamonds have been discovered all over the world, and many examples are mined every single year.

Now, however, there is also another source for these bright yellow stones. Lab-grown diamonds have become increasingly popular in recent years, and it is relatively simple for these stones to be created or treated in order to induce a yellow color.

Are Lab-Grown Yellow Diamonds Genuine?

If you are considering purchasing a yellow lab-created diamond, then you will want to know whether or not they are the genuine article.

Lab-grown diamonds are physically, thermally, and optically identical to those that grow within the earth. It is virtually impossible to tell them apart, even for a trained professional (although they can look for some clues and indicators).

There is one big difference, however: the price. Lab-grown diamonds should always be labeled as such, and this origin reduced their value by up to 70%. The process itself is significantly more sustainable, environmentally friendly, and cost-effective than mining or drilling – and this means that they can sell for a lot cheaper.

Unfortunately, this also has a knock-on effect on the resale value of any lab-grown diamond that you might buy. While mined diamonds retain a lot of their value over time, lab diamonds are often worth very little after they have been purchased.

Conclusion

So, what is the price of a 1-carat yellow-colored diamond? You can expect to pay between $2,000 and $20,000 per carat for a yellow diamond, according to the qualities and features that are present.

This particularly color variety is more common than any other, and it was not particularly highly favored by consumers in the past.

In more recent years, however, yellow diamonds have grown in popularity, and they are now worth about as much as colorless diamonds of the same quality.

References

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diamond_color

https://geology.com/diamond/yellow-diamonds/