Diamonds are naturally occurring precious stones, formed years ago under extreme pressure and temperature under the earth’s crust. The most commonly known diamonds are the colourless ones, but coloured diamonds are also quite special.

Our of all the coloured diamonds, such as yellow, pink, blue or black, brown diamonds are the most common ones. They account for about 15% of the total production. For a long time, they were less liked because they have less shimmer than colourless diamonds, therefor they were mostly used for industrial purposes. But over the years they have definitely grown in popularity. One main reason being that they are less expensive than colourless diamonds.

Just like the other diamonds, a brown diamond is graded based on the 4C’s : colour, carat, cut and clarity. Colour is the most important C, as brown diamonds come in a variety of shades.

Brown diamonds are more commonly known as champagne diamonds or cognac diamonds, referring to the shade of brown they have. The colour can, in fact, vary from a light yellowish brown colour to a deep chocolate brown colour.

The lightest brown diamonds, possibly with a yellowish tint or a golden tone are called champagne diamonds. Often these are further divided into light, medium or dark champagne diamonds.

Cognac diamonds include darker colours such as orange-brown and reddish brown, referring to the colour of the famous drink. Compared to the champagne diamonds they are much darker and warmer colour. They are somethings also called fancy cognac diamonds, indicating a certain range of colour strength, intensity and vividness.

Chocolate diamonds are also known in the industry and is a term that was trademarked by the jeweler Le Vian. These include diamonds with a dark brown colour.

The image below gives a representation of the different colours a brown diamond can have.

The 3 remaining 4C’s carat, cut and clarity are also important to identify its quality and price.

The carat of a brown diamond, just like for a colourless diamond, is a measurement to specify its weight. One carat is equal to 200 milligrams.

Brown diamonds are beautiful as small stones to adorn a ring band but can also act as the center stone on a beautiful engagement ring.

The cut of a diamond refers to the way a rough diamond is cut. While the round shape is the most traditional one, there are many more cuts available such as emerald cut, cushion cut, pear shape, heart shape, princess cut and many more.

Clarity, which refers to the amount of inclusions in the diamond, are also an important factor to determine what is the exact quality of the diamond.

Are you interested in buying a brown diamond or would you like to know more about the different champagne or cognac diamonds that we have? Do not hesitate to contact our gemologists.