When purchasing diamonds, you have a choice – regular colorless diamonds or ‘fancy’ colored diamonds like yellow, brown, or red diamonds.
Different colors have different levels of rarity, and different price values.
Yellow diamonds are some of the most common fancy diamonds, but they can still command a price of $3,000 per carat, and the vivid yellow ‘Canary’ diamonds can command a price of up to $16,000 per carat. However, don’t mistake yellow diamonds for regular diamonds with a yellow tint.
Keep reading for information on how yellow diamonds are priced.
Table of Contents
How Are Yellow Diamonds Priced?
Yellow diamonds, like regular stones, are priced by color, size, and quality.
Prices for lose 1 carat stones can cover a range between:
- $1,650 offered by Blue Nile
- $50,174 offered by Leibish
Where the stone falls within that price range is determined by a number of factors relating to quality, retailer, and evaluation status.
What Factors Influence the Price of Yellow Diamonds?
Like all diamonds, yellow diamond prices are influenced by the 4 Cs, as well as Certification and Development:
- Carat Weight: Size of the diamond
- Color: For fancy diamonds, it’s the intensity of its color, rather than the lack of it.
- Clarity: Number, placement, and visibility of flaws
- Cut: Type of cut, complexity, and precision of faceting and shaping.
- Certification: Are they certified and by who?
- Development: Lab grown or naturally formed and mined?
How Do Each Of These Factors Influence The Price Of The Diamond?
Variations of color, clarity, and other factors can change the final price of a diamond so that two similarly sized diamonds can have prices several hundred dollars apart.
Carat Weight:
The higher the carat weight, the higher the price.
Larger stones are generally worth more.
Read also >> How Much are Canary Yellow Diamonds? (Current Price)
Read also >> 9 Carat Yellow Diamond Price (All You Need To Know)
Read also >> 4 Carat Yellow Diamond Price (All You Need To Know)
Color:
Color ranges from a pale yellow to a deep, vivid hue.
Pale yellows can sometimes be confused with colorless diamonds of poor color.
Deep yellow diamonds known as ‘Canary Diamonds’ are some of the highest valued.
Additional hues, such as green or brown can also influence the color grading and price of the diamond.
Color for yellow diamonds is also graded in terms of evenness, with an even hue being more highly prized than one that is varied.
Clarity:
Fewer flaws and inclusions equal a higher clarity grade.
The better the clarity grade, the higher the price. Higher clarity grades are usually rarer, which also influences the price.
Cut:
The more complicated the cut, the more expensive.
The more precise the cut and faceting, the higher the grade of the cut.
Read also >> How Much Is a 1 Carat Uncut Diamond Worth?
Certification:
Certification provides proof of quality, and helps the diamond retain maximum value.
Certification, especially from a trustworthy source like GIA or AGS, can increase the value of the stone.
Development:
Lab grown diamonds are much less rare, and therefore much more affordable than their naturally formed and mined counterparts.
What Is The Price Range For Yellow Diamonds?
When it comes to natural diamonds, the price range is a large one.
The most expensive yellow diamond on record is the Graff Vivid Yellow, which had a carat weight of 100.9 and sold for $16.3 million.
James Allen sells natural yellow diamonds for prices between $600 and $1,575,480.
Blue Nile retails yellow diamonds for prices between $555 and $1,502,613.
Leibish retails yellow diamonds for prices between $928 and $6,130,701.
The table below shows a range of prices offered by major retailers for natural yellow diamonds:
| Size | Color | Clarity | Seller | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.3 | Light Yellow | SI1 | Leibish | $928 |
| 4.03 | Vivid Orange-Yellow | VS2 (GIA Certified) | Leibish | $682,829 |
| 0.52 | Brownish-Yellow | VVS1 (GIA Certified) | Blue Nile | $555 |
| 6.01 | Vivid Yellow | VVS1 (GIA Certified) | Blue Nile | $424,242 |
| 0.32 | Fancy Yellow | I1 (GIA Certified) | James Allen | $600 |
| 5.59 | Vivid Yellow | VVS1 (GIA Certified) | James Allen | $381,760 |
* Larger diamonds can command higher prices.
* These are prices for diamonds that can be put in an engagement ring.
How Does The Price Change For Lab Grown Yellow Diamonds?
Lab grown diamonds are generally less expensive than natural yellow diamonds.
The price range for lab grown diamonds isn’t as large as that of natural stones, but it can still reach tens of thousands of dollars for larger stones, such as 3 and 4 carat stones of good quality..
What Is The Price Range For Lab Grown Yellow Diamonds?
James Allen sells lab produced yellow diamonds for prices between $300 and $64,470 .
Brilliance sells lab produced yellow diamonds for prices between $298 and $11,120.
The following table gives you an idea of what sort of prices lab diamonds are sold for by major retailers.
| Size | Color | Clarity | Seller | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.38 | Fancy Yellow | VS2 (IGI Certified) | James Allen | $200 |
| 4.54 | Fancy Vivid Yellow | VVS2 (IGI Certified) | James Allen | $64,470 |
| 0.32 | Fancy Light Yellow | VS1 (IGI Certified) | Brilliance | $298 |
| 1.11 | Fancy Vivid Yellow-Orange | SI1 (GIA Certified) | Brilliance | $160,513 |
* These are only a sample of the prices available from diamond retailers.
* Larger diamonds or more vivid colors can command higher prices.
How Do I Know If My Yellow Diamond Is Lab Produced Or Natural?
It’s very difficult to discern if a diamond is naturally formed or lab produced. With a few exceptions, most lab grown diamonds are identical in composition to their natural counterparts, whether they’re colorless, yellow, or any other color.
Some labs will etch a small label or identification on the stone to make sure it’s identified as a lab diamond.
Retailers often declare their stones as ‘Earth Mined’ or ‘Lab Created’ diamonds as part of their marketing.
If you aren’t sure whether you have a natural or lab diamond, a professional appraisal, or grading by a reputable third party lab, may be required to tell for certain.
What Are The Characteristics Of Regular Yellow Diamonds?
Yellow diamonds – both lab grown and natural – share several characteristics.
– Yellow hues of varying levels of intensity.
– Can possess secondary hues and tinting of green, orange, or brown.
– Vivid yellow diamonds are called Canary Diamonds.
– Hue is the result of high levels of nitrogen present during the formation of the stone.
What Exactly Are Canary Diamonds?
Canary Diamonds are a term used to describe a specific type of yellow diamond. Canary diamonds are primarily known for the following characteristics:
– Even color throughout.
– Deep yellow color, often graded as Fancy Intense or Fancy Vivid.
– Pure yellow color with no additional hues of green, orange or brown
Canary diamonds are considered rarer than even regular yellow diamonds, and often command a higher price than paler hues.
What Are The Differences Between Yellow Diamonds and Yellow-Tinted Diamonds?
The term yellow-tinted diamonds describes diamonds that are deemed naturally colorless, but flawed in some way that makes them take on a slight yellowish tinge.
This slight tinge gives them a lower color grade than ‘white’ stones, and reduces their value.
Yellow diamonds are produced by the introduction of nitrogen during the formation, which absorbs blue light and causes the color for which they are named. The deeper the color, the greater a yellow diamond’s value.
Yellow-tinted diamonds are not considered rare, or highly valued.
Yellow diamonds are considered rare ‘fancy’ diamonds, and priced accordingly.
How Do I Know If I Have a Yellow Diamond Or a Yellow Tinted Diamond?
Professional gemologists can appraise a gem and determine which category a stone belongs to. If you want to be certain, that the stone is not already certified, you may send it to a lab, such as GIA, to have it appraised and certified.
If you’re just casually looking, the easiest way to tell is to look at the Color grading.
– Colorless diamonds are color graded from D to Z, and a yellow-tinted diamond will have a grading somewhere in the J range or lower.
– True yellow diamonds will be color graded as ‘Fancy – ‘ with a range from ‘Light’ to ‘Intense’ or ‘Vivid’.
Are Yellow Diamonds Rare?
While not the rarest of diamonds, yellow diamonds are rarer than mainstream colorless diamonds.
When compared to colored diamonds alone, yellow diamonds are among the more common, with an estimated 60% of fancy colored diamonds being yellow diamonds of some level of intensity.
When compared to overall diamond volume, yellow diamonds are very rare.
– Of the thousands of carats mined every year, it’s estimated that only 1 in 10,000 carats will be a yellow diamond.
– Only 1 in approximately 16,000 carats will be deemed gemstone worthy and put through the process of being made into fancy jewelry.
What Are Yellow Diamonds Used For?
Yellow diamonds are primarily used in different types of jewelry. The color is prized for its warmth and vividness.
Yellow diamonds are commonly used in engagement rings, both as the central stone and as accent stones, to offer a brilliant point of color.
Smaller yellow diamonds also make excellent choices for earrings.
Yellow diamonds have also been used as gems in pendants and necklaces.
Small diamond chips have been used to accent bracelets as well.
You can also buy the loose stones to design your own jewelry, or for whatever purpose you choose.
James Allen is the leader in online diamond sales. Their imaging technology is the same as inspecting a diamond with a jeweler's loupe. They have the largest exclusive loose diamond inventory online and fantastic prices.
They also have the nicest collection of lab created diamonds online. Save 10% off select lab grown diamonds and 25% off ring settings during limited time sale!
WHAT WE LOVE ABOUT THEM:
- No questions asked returns within 30 days of shipment. James Allen will send you a paid shipping label to return the ring.
- Lifetime Warranty
- Free International Shipping
- Free prong tightening, repolishing, rhodium plating and cleaning every 6 months
- Provide insurance appraisals
- One free resizing within 60 days of purchase
- Free ring inscriptions
- Best-in-class high quality imagery of all diamonds in stock
- 24/7 Customer Service
- Best-in-class packaging
Final Thoughts
Yellow diamonds are pricier than your regular colorless stones, but they have the potential to be worth the investment, especially if you spring for a vividly colored diamond.
In terms of colored diamonds in general, yellow diamonds are among some of the most affordable, even at a price of $3,000 per carat.
References
https://www.gemsociety.org/article/most-expensive-diamond-colors-with-prices/
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