Buyer's Guide to Black Diamonds

Dark and handsome, with a touch of mystery, black diamonds are pretty irresistable. Looking for a black beauty of your own?  Here is everything you need to know about how to buy black diamonds.

Are black diamonds really diamonds?

Although it might be hard to see the family resemblance between the glittering socialite and her goth sister, black diamonds are real diamonds. Each starts out as pure crystallized carbon. The black color is caused by graphite inclusions or, more commonly today, enhancement by a safe form of irradiation and heat that turns a paler diamond black.

Is enhancement bad?  Should I pay extra for an unenhanced black diamond?

Many retailers, including Gemvara, offer enhanced black diamonds because they have better color and fewer inclusions, making them as durable as colorless diamonds.  Black diamonds that owe their color to natural inclusions can have patchy color. Natural colored black diamonds that are attractive are much more rare. If you decide you prefer natural, don’t take the seller’s word for it: you’ll need a laboratory report confirming the natural origin of the color, not just the gem.  GIA is the most respected laboratory for this sort of thing.

Do black diamonds have the 4Cs too?

Not really.  Color should be an even inky black.  Clarity doesn’t matter much since you can’t see inclusions in the dark.  Unlike their colorless cousins, many black diamonds have surface inclusions, especially larger size gems.  Bigger black diamonds will be more expensive per carat, just like white diamonds, but don’t go up quite as much in price. Black diamonds generally weigh a bit more than colorless diamonds: a one-carat black diamond will be smaller than a one-carat colorless diamond.  To be sure of the size, look for the milimeter dimensions of the black diamond as well as the carat weight.

Do they sparkle? They’re diamonds, right?

Unlike other diamond colors, black diamonds don’t sparkle but they do have a highly reflective adamantine lustre.

Is black diamond OK for an engagement ring?

Black diamond engagement rings are an appropriate engagement choice for women who don’t follow the crowd. Carrie Bradshaw receives a black diamond engagement ring in Sex and the City 2.  Carmen Electra also has a two-carat black diamond engagement ring. Black diamonds are becoming more popular: Brides magazine predicted black diamonds would be the next big thing in engagement rings in November 2008.  Looks like they were right!

What about “Alaska Black Diamond”? Do they mine black diamonds in Alaska?

“Nevada Black Diamond” and “Alaska Black Diamond” aren’t black diamond at all: these are advertising terms for obsidian volcanic glass and hematite. They’re not bargains, they’re misrepresentations.  If you want the look for less, try faceted black onyx or black spinel.