Why rich Chinese, Lady Gaga, Anna Hu and other celebrities are choosing yellow diamonds
Yellow diamonds are having their moment in the sun. Lady Gaga stole the show with the stunning 128ct fancy yellow Tiffany Diamond she wore to the Academy Awards this year, while Anna Hu set an auction world record – US$5.78 million – for her 100.02-carat fancy intense yellow diamond necklace at Sotheby’s Hong Kong last month. The haute joaillerie collections in Paris in July were overflowing with them.
Lady Gaga is only the third person to have worn Tiffany & Co.’s cushion-cut yellow diamond, which, at US$30 million, was the most expensive jewel ever worn to the Oscars. Discovered in South Africa in 1877, the diamond normally lives in a vitrine in Tiffany’s store on Fifth Avenue in New York. First worn in 1957, it was subsequently reset in a Jean Schlumberger-designed ribbon rosette necklace and worn by Audrey Hepburn for the publicity photos for the 1961 film Breakfast at Tiffany’s. The pendant-style design Lady Gaga wore was set in 2012, the yellow gemstone nestling in a basket of white gold with 120 carats of white diamonds to enhance the fire of the spectacular Tiffany Diamond.
How to rock diamonds every day – from office wear to casual attire
The July Paris haute joaillerie collections glowed with sunny-coloured diamonds: Piaget, Chanel, Chaumet, Chopard, David Morris, De Beers, Cartier and Chopard all featured precious yellows in their collections. Unsurprisingly, the upbeat colour generates a mood of optimism, as it is often at the heart of a sun motif. For instance, Piaget’s lively Golden Hour necklace radiates with yellow and white diamonds, as does Chaumet’s Soleil Glorieux diadem and Cartier’s Yuma necklace.
“Yellow brings to mind the warm glow of the sun,” says Michelle Ong, of Carnet. “More importantly, it is symbolic in Chinese culture and art, from the way in which light falls on a bloom to the significance of yellow in imperial artistry such as the emperor’s robes. They all find a way into the pieces that I design.”
Ong’s Sunkissed floral brooch shimmers with yellow-to-brown diamonds. The yellow diamonds, she says, can accent a piece and bring a touch of light. “In Sunkissed, [they] add a lovely touch, and bring to mind a beautiful orchid bloom in the sunlight.”
Cardi B’s ruby nipple caps add sparkle to Met Gala
The increasing popularity of yellow diamonds is related to jewellery’s 1970s-inspired gold fever, with the return of yellow gold. Chanel used yellow gold to add a warm glow to its white diamonds, as well as its yellow ones, in its Russian-inspired collection based on Coco Chanel’s brief love affair with the Grand Duke Dimitri Pavlovich, cousin of Tsar Nicholas II. The maison produced some regal yellow diamond rings and Roubachka necklaces.
De Beers, Graff and David Morris similarly highlight vibrant yellow diamonds in their collections. Sixty-two carats of fancy vivid yellow and white diamonds catch the sun’s rays in a bracelet by David Morris. The Electric Cichlid suite of glowing yellow and white diamonds in De Beers’ Portraits of Nature collection quickly caught customers’ attention and only the ring and pendant are left.
And recently in Hong Kong, Graff showed an exhibition of rare jewels that featured a blazing yellow diamond watch, rings and brooch with the 107.46-carat Graff Sunflower.
Yellow diamonds light up Harry Winston’s autumn collection
Graff’s history of yellow diamonds goes back to 1974, when Laurence Graff acquired the 47.39-carat Star of Mumbai. “Coloured diamonds are extremely rare, and we will not miss any opportunities in acquiring the best yellow diamonds,” says Arnaud Bastien, president and chief executive of Graff Asia. “Given the rarity of yellow and coloured diamonds, clients will always want to own a piece of rare treasure. Chinese clients have grown and matured at an extreme pace in recent decades and have built a certain taste for, and an understanding of, yellow diamonds [and] we only use the best-quality yellow diamonds in our jewellery masterpieces.”
Ronald Abram’s Jonathan Abram notes that the golden gem continues to be highly sought-after.
How blockchain roots out blood diamonds from the supply market
“I would say that yellow diamonds are the most popular among coloured diamonds. In fact, yellow is generally the first coloured diamond one would acquire after one has bought a white diamond. In recent years, we have found that many people are breaking with tradition and even using yellow diamonds as engagement rings,” he says.
This month Boghossian is debuting 10 unique coloured diamond jewels exclusively in its Hong Kong boutique for one month, including a pair of fiery fancy vivid yellow and white diamond chandelier earrings and an intense yellow diamond necklace and earrings set. Interest in coloured diamonds is more unpredictable than in white diamonds admits Geneva-based Albert Boghossian.
Nevertheless, people are becoming more aware and knowledgeable about coloured gems “and are starting to realise that such gems can truly gain in value as the years go by – even smaller sizes coloured diamonds”, he says. “The Asian market, in particular, is very aware of this trend. They are well-versed in the colour gem world, and so they tend to purchase accordingly.”
Want more stories like this? Sign up here. Follow STYLE on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter .
Piaget, Chanel, Chaumet, Chopard, David Morris, De Beers, Cartier and Chopard all featured precious yellows in their collections