Fashion Jewelry Trends
If you pay any attention to fashion jewelry trends you know that brown diamonds have found their way into the hearts of many from fashion jewelry designers, to celebrities to the average consumer. Of course they usually go by much more appealing names like chocolate, cinnamon, honey, cognac or champagne diamonds.
Originally experts were trained that these brown gems were off color, that white, or clear, was better. The lighter champagnes especially can look like whites that would grade incredibly low on the color scale. Because there wasn’t much value associated with them they were sold relatively cheap. But that has all changed as they have now become more desirable.
What To Look For
If you are looking for cognac diamond jewelry you still want to pay attention to the diamond basics and the basic 4Cs, cut, clarity, carat and color. The difference will largely be in the way the color is judged for these brown beauties.
With whites you want as little color as possible. With browns it depends on what you want. Do you want a stone that is more valuable, or do you want a stone that appeals to you? For me beauty is in the eye of the beholder when it comes to this question. I think it is important to get what you really like, what speaks to you. But this is a personal decision.
When it comes to value typically the darker the stone the more expensive it will be. Of course the other 4Cs will also come into play here. And often times browns like a cognac diamond are used as smaller accent stones so the rules are different than if you are buying a piece of jewelry highlighting a single larger diamond.
Natural vs Cultured Diamonds
Depending on your preference, and maybe your pocketbook, you may also want to choose between natural or cultured diamonds. Put simply natural diamonds are those that are mined from the ground, while cultured diamonds are those that are made in a lab.
As technology progresses the results and colors available in man made or cultured stones continues to improve. Browns were one of the earlier colors the labs were able to produce, so they are readily available. They are still considered genuine diamonds with the same characteristics as a natural diamond, but they are generally less expensive than the natural versions.