Brown Diamond Buying Guide

Your Brown Diamond Buying Guide – Top Brown Stones

The demand for colored diamonds has increased significantly in recent years. Instead of searching for colorless diamonds, people are now actively searching out beautiful colored diamonds. When celebrities set the trend for a colored diamond, the public soon follows suit. While many diamonds are expensive or rare, brown diamonds are still relatively affordable compared to the others.

Brown Stones in the Industry

Some feel that the diamond industry is trying to fool women with chocolate or champagne diamonds for high price tags. In fact, because they’re gaining popularity, brown diamonds are much like others fashion jewelry. A caramel, chocolate, champagne or cognac diamond is a sought-after stone, and that will raise the price.

brown diamond ring - brown stones

Famous Brown Diamonds and Celebrities

A famous champagne colored diamond called The Golden Giant weighs 407.43 carats.  Here’s a photo of the famed diamond.

the golden giant champagne colored diamond

Earth Star, which is a cognac diamond in a pear shape, weighs 111.59 carats. Every color of diamond has a star within its category.

Maria Menounos made a huge splash interviewing stars on the red carpet at the 2004 Academy Awards wearing a dress made entirely of champagne diamonds. She also wore champagne jewelry at the event.

maria menounos champagne diamonds

Costs of Brown Diamonds

For the price of a 1 carat white or colorless diamond, you can purchase 2 brown diamonds.

oval brown fancy loose diamond gia

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The most important part of a brown diamond is its color, which trumps the cut and the carat in many cases. In fact, some brown diamonds are labeled chocolate, champagne or cognac, which will inflate the price significantly. In fact, LeVian calls their brown diamonds “chocolate”, which has brought a lot of great publicity to the brown diamond. They patented the name “Chocolate” to describe their brown color.

chocolate diamonds - brown stones

Secondary Colors of Brown Stones

When it comes to all colored diamonds, some of the colors will fetch a higher price because they are more desirable. Often, it’s because the color is considered rare like a brown diamond with a tint of pink in it. Pink is a rare color, so that will impact the price of the pinkish brown diamond too.

A yellowish brown diamond, champagne color, will not fetch as high of a price since yellow is a common diamond color. On the other hand, an orange brown or cognac diamond will be priced higher because orange is rarer than yellow.

gia certified natural fancy orange brown 1pc loose diamond

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The first color listed on a diamond description is the tint of the diamond. It’s the secondary color while the last color listed is the dominant one.

Where Are Brown Diamonds Mined?

Colored diamonds are mined throughout the world with brown diamonds being mined specifically from Argyle Mine in Australia, Borneo, Brazil and the Congo. Chocolate diamonds from LeVian are sourced from the Australian mine Argyle. Other diamonds are sourced from that mine as well as others around the world.

oval brown fancy loose diamond gia

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Treated versus Natural

When it comes to other colored diamonds that are somewhat rare, it makes sense for a buyer to consider a treated or simulated diamond. For example, red diamonds are among the rarest in the world. They aren’t very large or dark in most cases. Buyers might decide that it’s worth getting a treated diamond to have a beautiful red diamond in their possession.

Brown diamonds are not considered rare at all. For this reason, it’s possible to buy a brown diamond relatively inexpensively. They’re still diamonds, so it’ll cost to own one, but it won’t be out of the normal person’s reach.

A treated diamond is one that is irradiated or blasted with high temperatures to increase or change the color to something more dramatic and desirable. This can give you a color that might otherwise be unobtainable. With brown diamonds, you might want a pinkish or purplish brown gem, which would mean buying a treated stone. That choice is a personal one based on your preference.


There are some truly beautiful stones that have been treated to give an exact type of look to the jewelry.

GIA Certification and Grading

It’s important that you have a GIA certificate for any diamond that you purchase. It’ll a ton of information you need as a buyer to ensure you’re getting a real product. While treated diamonds are just as beautiful as natural ones, you don’t want to pay full price for treated diamonds.

Brown diamonds are rated according to tones like most of the other colored diamonds. The colors people love the most are around the mid-range with medium or dark hues. Faint, Very Light, Light, Fancy Light, Fancy, Fancy Dark, Fancy Intense, Fancy Deep and Fancy Vivid are the grading designations used by the Gemological Institute of America.

Brown Diamonds and Brown Stones – Final Thoughts

When it comes to brown diamonds, you can find a great deal on a color that really speaks to you. Whether that color is chocolate, cognac or champagne will depend on your aesthetic, and what you find pleasing. You can find a stunning diamond that fits your style.

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