BROWN DIAMOND KNOWLEDGE CENTRE

What Are
Brown
Diamonds?

Brown diamonds are the most popular type of colored diamonds. The brown color reduces the glimmer, which gives them a special attractiveness. They weren’t always popular and were mainly used for industrial purposes. But more and more people started finding the beauty in these diamonds, such as a rose gold brown diamond.
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Why are
brown diamonds
popular?

Brown diamonds look mystical and come in various different shades and intensities, starting from yellowish-brown hues to chocolate colors. Brown diamonds are rarer than white diamonds. Between the three major categories of champagne, cognac, and chocolate, you have plenty of stunning shades to choose from.
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How are
brown diamonds
formed?

Brown diamonds are formed as a result of the presence of nitrogen during formation. The more nitrogen, the darker the brown will be. This coloration process takes millions of years. Irradiation is also used to achieve the brown color with or without nitrogen. Brown synthetic diamonds are also created by compressing graphite
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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Predominantly, brown diamonds are of three types: Champagne, cognac, and chocolate. The intensity of the brown shade increases from champagne to cognac to chocolate. Chocolate diamonds are the most intense brown diamonds. The hues range from faint to dark brown. The fainter the shade is, the more yellowish the diamond will be. In the middle, the hues are closer to reddish-brown. On the other hand, the darker the shade is, the less reflective it will be and the less glimmer it will have.

There are various misconceptions about brown diamonds. They are not considered as lucrative as white diamonds, even though they’re rarer. Also, they’re considered of less value. The explanation is that among colored diamonds of all types, brown diamonds are most abundant (except black diamonds) and come with the most attractive prices, but that doesn’t hamper their value.

Brown diamonds with darker shades lack the glimmer, but come with an exceptional beauty that no other colored or white diamond has. They are good for fashion as they are very different and attractive. They are good for investment because the value, popularity, and interest in brown diamonds has only been increasing. Initially, consumers didn’t realize the beauty of these diamonds and as a result, they were only used for industrial purposes. However, as people realize the value of a brown diamond, its prices will only go higher like its popularity.

Sourcing diamonds can be done in an ethical way. If fair humanitarian mining practices are followed thoroughly, it’s possible to have completely ethical diamond sourcing. Here at Only Browns, we only do business with mines that are 100% ethical in nature and have certifications to prove the same. Besides, we also look out for their repertoire in terms of humanitarian practices that they follow when choosing a mining partner.

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Largest inventory
of brown diamonds

all shapes and
sizes available

certified
stones by gia

layouts &
pairs available

Aman Gem

DC-1170, Bharat Diamond
Bourse, BKC, Bandra (East)
Mumbai - 400 051

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What are brown diamonds ?

BROWN DIAMONDS ARE THE MOST POPULAR TYPE OF COLORED DIAMONDS. THE BROWN COLOR REDUCES THE GLIMMER, WHICH GIVES THEM A SPECIAL ATTRACTIVENESS. THEY WEREN’T ALWAYS POPULAR AND WERE MAINLY USED FOR INDUSTRIAL PURPOSES. BUT MORE AND MORE PEOPLE STARTED FINDING THE BEAUTY IN THESE DIAMONDS, SUCH AS A ROSE GOLD BROWN DIAMOND.

Baumgold Bros., a diamond cutter and fine jewelry importer in the 1950s and 1960s, rebranded brown diamonds in order to entice sales. Names included champagne, amber, cognac, and chocolate. Other companies followed the Baumgold Bros. lead and named different shades clove, coffee, caramel, cappuccino, mocha, espresso, cinnamon and even tobacco. This rebranding had some initial success, but ultimately the massive number of names caused confusion in the marketplace. Brown diamonds have uses beyond those in the contemporary women’s jewelry described above. The history of brown diamonds being used as a gem goes back for nearly 2000 years, perhaps longer . Rings set with brown diamond crystals were being made by Roman artists between the first and third centuries C.E. At that time methods for cutting and polishing diamonds had not been developed, but setting a natural crystal in a ring was a good alternative. For the company’s first 100 years, De Beers considered brown diamonds to be unsuitable for use in jewelry. Brown diamonds mined by the company or purchased from other producers were sent for industrial use. Many of them were crushed and used to make industrial abrasive granules. The granules were used to line the cutting surfaces on diamond drill bits, grinding wheels, abrasive papers, saw blades and other tools.

WHY BROWN DIAMONDS ARE POPULAR?

BROWN DIAMONDS LOOK MYSTICAL AND COME IN VARIOUS DIFFERENT SHADES AND INTENSITIES, STARTING FROM YELLOWISH-BROWN HUES TO CHOCOLATE COLORS. BROWN DIAMONDS ARE rARER THAN WHITE DIAMONDS. BETWEEN THE THREE MAJOR CATEGORIES OF CHAMPAGNE, COGNAC, AND CHOCOLATE, YOU HAVE PLENTY OF STUNNING SHADES TO CHOOSE FROM. FOR EXAMPLE, COGNAC BROWNS ARE TYPICALLY WARMER WHILE THE CHAMPAGNE ONES ARE CLOSER TO WHITE ONES.

In 1986, massive amounts of brown diamonds were brought to the market. Rio Tinto opened the Argyle mine in Australia, in which 80% of the diamonds mined were brown in color. DeBeers followed this trend and in 1996 introduced massive number of brown diamonds to the market. These brown diamonds were previously only used for industrial purposes. The value of brown diamonds was hard to determine since the GIA and other third party assessors did not evaluate these diamonds. To rectify the issue, Rio Tinto created a grading system where C1 represents the lightest color and C7 represents the darkest hue. In 2000, the fine jewelry company Le Vian trademarked the term "chocolate diamond" and introduced a new brown jewelry line. Le Vian worked with the supplier Rio Tinto and partnered with the retailer, Signet Jewelers. The brand heavily advertised the 'chocolate diamond' line including a massive TV media spend. The campaign was a success; in 2007 virtually no one was searching for "chocolate diamonds", and in 2014 the number jumped to 400,000 times a year.

how brown diamonds are formed?

BROWN DIAMONDS ARE FORMED AS A RESULT OF THE PRESENCE OF NITROGEN DURING FORMATION. THE MORE THE NITROGEN, THE DARKER THE BROWN WILL BE. THIS COLORATION PROCESS TAKES MILLIONS OF YEARS. IRRADIATION IS ALSO USED TO ACHIEVE THE BROWN COLOR WITH OR WITHOUT NITROGEN. BROWN SYNTHETIC DIAMONDS ARE ALSO CREATED BY COMPRESSING GRAPHITE.

100 miles deep in the Earth, a layer separating our hospitable exterior from the molten core, known as the mantle, is where diamonds were made. Temperatures boiled above 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit and pressure exceeded 725,000 pounds per square inch. The extreme heat and pressure combined actually modified graphite, a crystalline carbon, on the atomic level. This restructured graphite’s molecular composition from a hexagonal sheet pattern into a triangular shape, resulting in diamond. Lucky for us, nature also has a method of transporting these valuable minerals from deep within the Earth to the surface––volcanic pipes. Deep-source volcanoes start three times as deep as typical volcanoes. The high levels of magnesium and carbon dioxide force the magma to the surface, resulting in a violent eruption. Diamonds are typically elevated through kimberlite pipes, which form a bowl-shaped pockmark in the Earth after eruption. When mining these kimberlite sites, precious and semi-precious gemstones like garnet and peridot are also found among diamonds. Diamonds are not only formed under the heat and pressure of the Earth’s gravity, but can form in the midst of a collision between Earth and an asteroid. Russia claims to have a deposit of diamonds resulting from a collision 35 Million years ago. Diamonds created during a cosmic collision are not likely to be of gemstone quality. However, they maintain their strength and are likely used for cutting or other industrial purposes. Like the glass that results when lightning strikes sand, the diamonds from asteroid impacts are far from meeting the standards of cut, color, and clarity for your typical engagement ring.