When people examine a sparkling diamond, rarely do they comprehend that this gemstone is simply carbon in its crystalline lattice form. White diamonds are considered the purest form, but there are natural colored diamonds as well. The exact color that is seen by an observer depends on the chemical properties found within the diamond and its concentration. Over 300 natural diamond hues can be found in nature, but only few know that black diamonds are considered extremely rare. These are found most prominently in Brazil, Venezuela, Australia, and some places in Africa. The black appearance is from microscopic inclusions like magnetite, sulfide, graphite, and hematite. These minerals cloud the diamond as pressure forms it, giving it the distinctive metallic color.
Black diamonds are a kind of paradox. They are certainly real, but they do not accomplish what diamonds are famous for, which is their sparkle and shine. Black gems absorb color rather than refracting it because of their polycrystalline structure. In a way, black diamonds are like many diamonds smashed into one. With so many different, un-aligning angles, it cannot be cut to make it sparkle. The pure absorption of light, along with the darkly colored inclusions, makes these diamonds appear black. They can be sold alongside white diamonds as exotic gemstones, but because they lack that sparkle and fire, they often do not sell as well.
When purchased for the purpose of wearing in them a ring, on a necklace, or as earrings, black diamonds can be cut to match any shape that traditional white diamonds can. Because of their rarity, however, many jewelers do not carry them or they will ask a very high price for the gemstone. The market for black diamonds tends to be different than standard white diamonds. They are exotic and dark and are therefore often included in unique pieces of jewelry that are not considered mainstream in appearance.
The rich and famous have been captured by the paparazzi in recent years donning beautiful pieces of black diamond jewelry. Of course, because of its less conventional appearance, it is not usually chosen as the stone to be included in a wedding ring. However, people with an eye for something different may be drawn to the exotic shade of black diamonds. If you have your heart set on a black diamond for your next piece of jewelry, you may need to do a bit of shopping around to find a diamond that is exactly what you are looking for.
Black diamonds are associated with extremely low clarity diamonds that are very cheap. In most cases this is the case. What usually happens is that diamonds with extremely high amount of inclusions are often treated to become black. The reason is that the inclusions are so strong that these diamonds cannot be sold as regular diamonds so the diamond manufacturers rather treat the diamonds, "painting" them in black, and simply to sell them as black diamonds which due to their color hide the imperfections completely. These diamonds are called treated diamonds and are much cheaper diamonds than regular diamonds.
