Brown diamonds are the most common coloured diamonds mined worldwide. They are also the most affordable of all the fancy colours. With marketing pushes from larger retailers, brown diamonds are growing in popularity and are used in a variety of jewellery designs. From intricate pavé styles to rustic rose cuts, brown diamonds highlight many designer collections.

Cause of Colour : Cause of colour is attributed to internal graining, which is caused by structural irregularity in a diamond’s crystal lattice.

Secondary Colors:Common secondary colours in brown diamonds include yellowish brown, orangish brown and pinkish brown.

Rarity: Brown diamonds are the most common fancy colour diamonds mined worldwide.

Grading: Brown diamonds are deemed “fancy” when a stone displays more colour than the “Z” cool grade within the D-Z colour grading scale. Fancy brown diamonds are graded using the terms Fancy Light Brown, Fancy Brown, Fancy Dark Brown and Fancy Deep Brown.

Brown diamonds that show less colour than “Z,” but more colour than “K” graded diamonds are called Faint through Light Brown: K-M Faint Brown, N-R Very Light Brown, and S-Z Light Brown.

Trade Terms: Gem grade brown diamonds were a rarity before Australian Argyle mine production in the 1980s, as most brown diamonds were mined for industrial use. Using the terms “Champagne Diamonds” and “Cognac Diamonds,” dealers marketed these stones for use in jewellery. “Chocolate Diamonds” is the latest term via a push from Le Vian‘s popular brown diamond jewellery.