How to Buy Yellow Diamonds
A fine yellow diamond can brighten the dullest day. Two yellows can look alike and still be hundreds or thousands of dollars apart.
At the International Jewellery Fair in Sydney, I asked the team at Burgundy Diamond Mines what really sets the price of a yellow diamond.
Where Burgundy’s Yellow Diamonds Come From
Their mine, Ekati, is in Canada. The fancy yellows come from a deposit called the Misery pipe. As they put it, these stones will brighten up a miserable day.
The Yellow Diamond Colour Scale: Y1 to Y8
Yellow diamonds run from fancy light to fancy vivid. Burgundy grades them on a simple scale from Y1 to Y8. Y1 and Y2 sit in fancy light, and a Y1 costs less than a Y2. The price keeps climbing all the way to Y8, the most intense colour.
Collector Yellows and Everyday Yellows
Collectors buy at the top, in the Y7 and Y8 range. Everyday buyers buy across the whole scale. They tend to choose a bigger stone in a lighter yellow, or a smaller stone in a more intense yellow.
Green Yellow, Orange Yellow and Straight Yellow
Many yellow diamonds carry a second colour, called a modifier. The modifier is named first and the main colour last, so an orangey yellow is mostly yellow. A stone can have more than one modifier, such as greenish greyish yellow.
Modifiers change the price. A green yellow is far rarer, and worth more, than an orange yellow. An orange yellow is worth more than a straight yellow.
Clarity, Cut and Size
Most of Burgundy’s yellows range from internally flawless to VS clarity, with very few below VS2. Their cutters often choose a modified oval, because it saves more of the rough.
Every factor pulls the price a different way. Colour, clarity and weight all play off each other, so a slightly bigger Y5 can cost about the same as a smaller Y8.
Choosing Your Yellow Diamond
With so many moving parts, it helps to have someone on your side. As your jewellery buyer’s agent, I find the right stone for your budget and tell you why I turn the others down. Thinking of a yellow diamond for an engagement ring? See our custom engagement rings.
Short on time? Here’s the one-minute version.
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Got gold or jewellery you no longer wear? I also buy gold in Canberra.
Frequently Asked Questions About Yellow Diamonds
What is the best colour for a yellow diamond?
The most intense yellows. On Burgundy Diamond Mines’ scale from Y1 to Y8, collectors buy in the Y7 and Y8 range.
What does a modifier mean on a yellow diamond?
A second colour in the stone. The modifier is named first and the main colour last, so an orangey yellow is mostly yellow.
Is a green yellow diamond worth more than an orange yellow?
Yes. A green yellow is far rarer and worth more than an orange yellow, and an orange yellow is worth more than a straight yellow.
Where do yellow diamonds come from?
Burgundy Diamond Mines’ fancy yellows come from the Misery pipe at the Ekati mine in Canada.
Got gold sitting in a drawer? Here’s how selling it works in Canberra.
