Brown Diamonds, Every Shade of an Unusual Gem

While the most renowned diamonds remain colorless, colored diamonds have also become popular; among them are brown diamonds, also called brown diamonds. These stones have a distinctive history that brought them to public attention, making them standouts in high jewelry.

From Overlooked Stones to Star Gems: the Story of Brown Diamonds

Brown diamonds are the most common among natural colored diamonds, while still being fairly rare. Their hue is due to the presence of nitrogen which, combined with other elements, gives the stone a shade that can range from yellow to brown. Because of their color, for a long time brown diamonds were used mostly in industry and not as gemstones for jewelry, for which colorless gems were preferred.

Things changed in the 1980s with the development of the Argyle mine in northwestern Australia. This mine became famous worldwide for producing colored diamonds, especially pink, but also other hues, including brown.

Brown diamonds thus became known to the general public, thanks also to effective communication strategies by major American jewelry producers. New terms began to be used to describe the shades of these stones: champagne, cognac, and chocolate were more evocative names that attracted people far more than the plain “brown.”

The definitive success of brown diamonds was cemented by the historic company LeVian, which in 2000 registered the trademark “Chocolate Diamonds,” chocolate diamonds, establishing precise requirements for these diamonds with particularly intense tones.

All the Colors of Brown Diamonds

The International GIA Scale: from “Faint Brown” to “Dark Brown”

As is well known, color is one of the so‑called 4Cs that are fundamental in determining a diamond’s value. The GIA, the Gemological Institute of America, classifies the color of these stones on a scale ranging from D (the highest level) to J for colorless gems, and from K to Z for stones showing hues from yellow to brown.

Brown diamonds can therefore be “faint brown,” “very light brown,” and “light brown”, with the last level indicated by the letter Z.

Diamonds with a darker shade do not fall within this scale and are defined as fancy, with variations of light brown, brown, and dark brown.

The Argyle Scale: Champagne, Cognac, and Chocolate Diamonds

More evocative, as we have seen, are the names indicated by the so‑called Argyle scale, named after the mine that made brown diamonds famous.

This scale includes seven grades, from C1 to C7, for various color tones:

champagne diamonds light (C1–C2), medium (C3–C4), and dark (C5)
cognac diamonds (C6) and deep cognac (C7)

LeVian’s famous chocolate diamonds must meet very rigorous criteria:

• the color must fall between grades C4 and C7 (from medium champagne to deep cognac) on the Argyle scale
• the clarity must be SI grade (few inclusions) or higher on the GIA scale
• the gemstone must be ethical, meaning the mining activity must respect workers’ rights and proceeds must not fund wars, criminal organizations, or terrorism.