Black Diamonds Price (Types, Value + More)

Although we imagine most diamonds to be perfectly clear and colorless, there is actually a small minority that can be found in many different colors as well.

One of the least well-known and most mysterious of all diamond colors, black diamonds are a particularly special gemstone. This coloration is almost the exact opposite of a traditional stone, but what is the price of a black diamond?

On average 1 carat treated black diamond price will vary between $200 and $300.

In this article, you will discover all about these dark and beautiful precious stones, how they are formed, and exactly how much they can be worth.

What Is A Black Diamond?

To appreciate the value of these stones, we should first get a good understanding of exactly what they are.

Although colored diamonds almost look like completely different gemstones altogether, they are actually genuine diamonds that simply have an alternate color for one reason or another.

These diamonds, often referred to as “fancy color diamonds” are rare and often highly valuable, and they come in a surprising variety of different colors.

Besides white and black diamonds, you can also get diamonds in colors like blue, pink, green, red, orange, yellow, brown, and gray.

Black diamonds are often mistaken for more common black gemstones and rocks like obsidian (a form of black volcanic glass) or onyx (a black silicate mineral). In reality, these stones are far rarer, as they are a unique version of the most precious of precious stones.

Black diamonds are also often referred to as “Carbonado”, which tends to be used in industrial settings, where these particular diamonds are highly favored for use in cutting tools.

Read also >> Do Black Diamonds Exist? (All You Need to Know)

Read also >> Natural Black Diamonds (Buying Guide + More)

Black Diamonds Price

Let’s take a look at what you can expect to spend on a black diamond, compared to a more traditional colorless stone.

Size	Treated Black Diamond	Natural Black Diamond	Colorless Diamond
1 Carat	$200 – $300	$2,500 – $3,000	$4,000 – $8,000
2 Carat	$500 – $700	$6,000 – $8,000	$16,000 – $20,000
3 Carat	$1,500 – $2,000	$8,000 -$10,000	$35,000 – $45,000

As you can see, treated black diamonds are not very valuable at all (in diamond terms), mostly because they generally originate from low-clarity stones.

Natural black diamonds have significantly more value, but they are still not worth quite as much as a colorless white stone.

What Affects The Value Of A Black Diamond?

Besides their origin, the main factors that will affect how much a black diamond costs are the same features that are graded for all diamonds: cut, clarity, color, and carat.

Looking at these four characteristics in a little more detail, we can start to understand why black diamonds tend not to fetch particularly high prices.

In terms of their clarity, they will always score very poorly due to the high number of inclusions that they have.

Additionally, their dark color means that they do not have a very bright appearance, which is generally a large factor in the value of an individual stone.

Are Black Diamonds Valuable?

Now that we’ve looked at the extreme rarity, mysterious beauty, and incredible properties of these diamonds, we can get on to the issue of their worth.

The value of black diamonds is actually an interesting phenomenon because it has fluctuated a lot over the years. Despite how rare and durable they are, black diamonds have not always been a popular choice for jewelry, and a lot of consumers don’t recognize that they are in fact diamonds at all. This means that they are perhaps not always as valuable as you might think.

In recent years, however, the demand for black diamonds has increased and their value has gone up with it, although it does all depend on what sort of black diamond you are buying.

Treated black diamonds are still a very affordable version of this precious stone and make up the vast majority of what you will find on the market.

How Do Black Diamonds Form?

All of the different types of fancy colored diamonds are actually created in slightly different ways. While the general process by which they are formed is the same – as they are all still diamonds – there are some slight differences that can result in incredible colors.

For some colored diamonds, the presence of a particular element within the structure of the stone can give it a distinct color.

For others, it can be the kind of conditions under which it was formed, or some exposure or influences after the diamond has finished growing that causes the color to appear.

With black diamonds, the color that they have is actually to do with inclusions in the stone itself. These stones have a high number of inclusions, typically of graphite, which gives them a strong black color.

What Are Inclusions?

Before we look further into the value and properties of these particular stones, we need to talk a little about what inclusions actually are.

You will probably hear the term quite often when you are looking at diamonds of any kind, but their relevance to black diamonds, in particular, is important.

Inclusions refer to small imperfections in the stone that are usually caused by the extreme heat and pressure that the carbon is under as it forms. Typically, they appear in one of three ways:

• Pinpoint inclusions: Miniscule black dots
• Diamond Cavities: Tiny holes in the stone
• Feather Inclusions: Very small cracks that can be on the surface or within the stone itself.

When most diamonds are being graded, inclusions will actually reduce the value of the stone and affect the “clarity” rating that it is given. In the world of black diamonds, however, their inclusions are actually what makes them so special.

They have a particularly high level of graphite inclusions, which makes them a very impure form of diamond in comparison to most other colors.

This impurity, however, is the reason they have such a strong and deep color, and it is what gives them their unique properties.

What Properties Do Black Diamonds Have?

It is not just their unique appearance that adds value to black diamonds, they also have special characteristics.

These diamonds are a very high-density and micro-porous form of diamond, which actually means that they are one of the toughest forms of natural diamond on the planet. Their unique structure, known as polycrystalline (as opposed to a typical monocrystalline diamond), makes them more durable.

They are as hard as other diamonds but much tougher. What that means is that tools made from these sorts of diamonds last longer and don’t need nearly as much maintenance, so they are very useful for industrial purposes.

In fact, throughout the 1800s, this was the kind of diamond that most mining companies would prefer to use for drilling out other diamonds, although its scarcity meant that this practice was difficult to maintain.

How Rare Are Black Diamonds?

Like any other colored diamond, they are much more rare than the typical colorless variety, but natural black diamonds are a particularly uncommon sight.

These stones have only been found in a few places around the world, particularly in equatorial regions like Brazil and the Central African Republic.

This means that naturally-occurring black diamonds are hard to come by, but there are other sorts of black diamonds that are now much more common.

Are All Black Diamonds Natural?

Although natural black diamonds are extremely rare, you can still find quite a large number of this color of diamond for sale.

Many of these black diamonds will not be naturally formed, and instead have been created through some interesting techniques.

Colorless diamonds can be treated to give them a distinct black color, and this is often used as an easy way to add interest to an otherwise low-quality stone. Diamonds that already have a high number of inclusions are not worth very much as low-clarity colorless stones, but treating them can turn them into black diamonds.

This is usually done by exposing the diamond to high pressure and high temperature, which graphitizes the inclusions that are already present and changes the color of the diamond overall.

Some of these diamonds will even have been lab-grown in the first place, and never have come from a mine at all.

Conclusion

So, what kind of price do black diamonds fetch? Despite the fact that they are extremely rare, mysteriously beautiful, and among the toughest diamonds that you can find on the planet, they are actually less valuable than normal colorless diamonds.

This is mostly due to the fact that they have not been particularly popular among consumers until recent years, and they naturally contain a high number of inclusions.

Natural black diamonds are notably more valuable than the treated variety, though – which can be very inexpensive indeed.

References

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

https://nazarsandco.com/what-are-inclusions-in-diamonds/