What comes to your mind when someone talks about rare gemstones? While lots of gems will make it to your list, have red diamonds secured a place? Learn more about this beautiful fancy-colored diamond and read on to know why it’s so rare and cherished.
WHAT IS A RED DIAMOND?
For starters, red is one of the rarest hues among the fancy-colored diamonds. Yes, you read that right. This variety of diamonds displays bright red color with the same mineral properties as white diamonds. They are, in fact, the most expensive among all the colored diamonds in the world.
ORIGIN AND HISTORY
The origin and history of this beautiful colored diamond is hard to trace. While various stories and trivia circulate on the market, nobody can ascertain the authenticity of these stories.
Shop LC has been sourcing colored diamonds from the best in the diamond market for years. Still, when our team of gem experts contacted diamond experts to know more, we heard the same stories.
That said, here is one fact that made the most sense to us.
The first public record of a red diamond gem is the Hancock red diamond. Montana rancher and diamond collector Warren Hancock found this diamond in 1956. He later sold this diamond in an auction at a whopping price of $927,000!
HOW DO THEY GET THEIR COLOR?
Most fancy-colored diamonds get their hues from various nitrogen, hydrogen, and boron impurities in their crystal structure. However, it is not the case when it comes to red diamonds.
Like the colorless diamonds, red diamonds are pure carbon but with a rare occurrence in their atomic structure. This rarity in their atomic structure is responsible for its beautiful red hues.
ARE RED AND PINK DIAMONDS THE SAME?
If you are wondering whether the red hue is just the darker version of pink diamonds, believe us, you are not the only one to think this way! It makes sense as both are the pure form of carbon with just a slight change in their atomic structure. However, let us tell you that these are categorized differently, not just for their hues but also for their rarity. Pink diamonds are more common than red diamonds.
RED DIAMONDS AND OTHER RED GEMSTONES
We often compare this beautiful colored diamond with other red gemstones like ruby, garnet, and rubellite. Yes, they all have bright red hues, and it is obvious to compare them, but they are not alike.
Among all these red gemstones, red diamond is a durable gemstone with a hardness of ten on the Mohs scale of hardness. No other rock is as has as diamond.
RAREST AMONG FANCY COLORED DIAMONDS
The most common variety of diamonds is undoubtedly colorless. Still, fancy-colored diamonds are often the most cherished. Fancy-colored diamonds are rare, with red being the rarest of them all. You would be shocked to know that there are only thirty pure red diamonds. Most of these are not even a carat in size!
Miners recover only a handful each year. They are rare in South African, Indian, and Indonesian mines. The primary producer was Argyle, which closed in November 2020. In 30 years between 1987 to 2017, the mine produced less than 20 carats of red diamond.
Fun fact: Not a single GIA report was issued for a ‘red’ diamond within the last 30 years.
Most red diamonds in the retail market are either impure or heat treated.
By now, you must be wondering if it is this rare, then how can you have it in your jewel collection? The most straightforward answer is to choose a treated stone. Treated stones are also rare, especially for red diamonds.
It’s hard to procure these fancy-colored diamonds. Even with years of market goodwill and seasoned gem experts, our trusted vendors have specialized machines and skills for diamond enhancement and cutting. Still, they are rarely able to offer us red diamonds. The Shop LC team negotiates for the best possible prices, passed on to you!
CRAFTING RED DIAMOND JEWELRY AT SHOP LC
Although this variety of diamonds is scarce and hard to find, Shop LC is committed to offering the best to our customers. For this reason, we try to provide red diamond jewelry as often as possible.Even with our significant efforts and unique business model, we can source only small-sized diamonds at low prices.
These small-sized red diamonds are perfect for creating beautiful cluster jewelry. However, this type of jewelry requires high labor and lots of time. Moreover, the cluster designs ideally require color-coordinated diamonds, which are ensured only by careful sorting by our expert team.
THREE MOST FAMOUS RED DIAMONDS
The Hancock Red Diamond
This diamond is a round, brilliant cut diamond, weighing less than a carat – just 0.95 carats. It takes its name from the famous collector Warren Hancock.
The Rob Red
This diamond is a pear-shaped red diamond weighing just 0.59 carats. Experts say it is the most saturated and purest red diamond ever found.
The Moussaieff Red Diamond
This diamond is also known as “Red Shield.” It is a brilliant trilliant cut. A Brazilian farmer in the Abzetezinho river found this stone. It weighs around 5.11 carats, making it the largest red diamond in the world.
METAPHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF RED DIAMONDS
Red is often associated with power, passion, and love. The same goes right with this beautiful fancy colored diamond.
Red diamonds are said to increase the positive thoughts of the wearer. It provides sacred love, serenity, simplicity, confidence, and faith.
It is associated with the crown chakra and ensures that no emotion can impact its untainted metal nature.
While it is hard to get a pure red diamond gem as they are the rarest diamonds to marvel at! You can shop from Shop LC’s collection of beautiful red diamond jewelry.
Updated November 15, 2023.