Fancy coloured diamonds are classified according to tone, saturation and hue.
'Coloured diamonds are generally for a connoisseur. Prices can vary very much according to colour, hue and size,' says Arnaud Bastien of Graff Diamonds.
Vickie Chan, general manager of Continental Diamond, says prices depend on the intensity of the colour and how desirable the colour is. 'I would say a one-carat fancy yellow diamond ranges from HK$30,000 to HK$40,000 and up.'
Interestingly, not all people desire the most expensive colours. You may find a relative bargain in the rough.
Of the yellows, Bastien says, the most desirable is fancy vivid. 'But here again, within this particular range, a small difference in hue can have a huge impact on the price of a piece,' he says.
'The most important 4C [colour, carat, clarity and cut] criterion in selecting a fancy coloured diamond is always colour,' Chan says. 'Clarity and cutting play a less important role than with a colourless diamond.'