Of all the ways lab-grown diamonds have influenced the market for natural diamonds, the most interesting may be the effect they’ve had on natural colored diamond demand. The ubiquity of same-looking synthetic stones—so many D-flawlesses, so little time—has fueled interest in mined diamonds in hues that used to be pooh-poohed as “off color,” including pale yellows and light and dark browns.
Rare Colors in New York City, a specialist in natural fancy color diamonds, has had a front-row seat to the shift in consumer tastes.
“What we’re hearing from our clients is that it’s no longer impressive to have a 5 carat white diamond,” Taylor Wihlen, cofounder and designer of Rare Colors, tells JCK. “Yes, it’s still beautiful. But everyone is worried that people will think it’s lab-grown—because anyone can have a 5 carat white diamond.”
Rare Colors just completed a necklace and matching bracelet—the Elara set—that take the “not lab-grown” concept to its most rarefied conclusion: The pieces, which retail for a combined amount in the high six figures, are set in platinum and 14k rose gold. In total, they feature more than 40 cts. of natural color green diamonds.
Picture a sleek platinum collar set with a mix of natural green stones in varying hues (from yellowish greens to greenish yellows) and shapes, including pear, radiant, oval, and marquise. There’s even a heart shape. The set features 40.86 cts. t.w. natural green diamonds, all GIA-certified—including 27.55 cts., each exceeding 1 carat, in the necklace and 13.31 cts., each exceeding 1 carat, in the bracelet (the two pieces are accented by a considerable sprinkling of colorless diamonds, too—6.56 cts. t.w. in the necklace and 2.33 cts. t.w. in the bracelet).
Despite the Elara set’s extreme rarity and high value, Wihlen suggests it would pair beautifully with a casual outfit—think jeans and a tee.
“I wanted to make it a piece that didn’t feel too intimidating—that someone could wear every day,” Wihlen says. “It doesn’t have to be for a big gala moment, but it could be. Many of our clients are women buying for themselves, and they just want something that’s special, unique, and they can wear and enjoy every day. A lot of my designs are things that pull you in closer. Yes, it looks cool from afar, but when you realize the details and what it is, you’re just like, ‘Whoa.’”
Indeed, the necklace and bracelet, which began taking shape more than a year ago—when Wihlen and her cofounder at Rare Colors, Joe Namdar, whose family owns parent company Namdar Diamonds, began assembling the green gems—are the definition of “whoa.”
To hear Wihlen describe it, finding matching green diamonds in sizes above 1 ct. is extraordinarily difficult given the gems’ rarity. (Take it from GIA: “Among fancy-color diamonds, natural-color green stones with saturated hues are some of the rarest and most sought after.”)
And yet Rare Colors has developed something of a specialty in the stones.
“We have quite a niche, especially in greens,” Wihlen says. “It’s a very understated color, and I think it’s growing more in demand because yellows have been a big trend along with champagnes. But green is inching up there. I like to call it the underdog color diamond, because it’s not that known, but it’s really special.”
Wihlen says she chose 14k rose gold for the diamond settings because it “brings out the perfect color saturation of the green diamonds. But for the primary metal, only platinum would do.
“I just like the material better,” Wihlen adds. “It’s a little bit more difficult for the jeweler, but it’s a higher-end material, and people appreciate it. White gold you always have to re-rhodium. And that just pains me, especially if, down the line—in 30, 40 years—it starts turning. I think it’s just better to do it the harder but nicer way the first time.”
Top: Elara necklace in platinum and 14k rose gold with 27.55 cts. t.w. natural color green diamonds and 6.56 cts. t.w. colorless diamonds, bracelet in platinum and 14k rose gold with 13.31 cts. t.w. natural color green diamonds and 2.33 cts. t.w. colorless diamonds, prices on request; Rare Colors
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