Pure red diamonds devoid of secondary hues are the rarest and highest priced in the world. At the 2011 Argyle Pink Diamond Tender, there was only one red diamond offered, an .80ct fancy red oval-cut. It takes one milllion carats of rough to yield a one-carat pink diamond to be sold at the tender, so imagine how much rough is extracted to produce an .80ct fancy red.
0.52 carat Fancy Purplish Red Diamond
Photo courtesy of fancydiamonds.net
Red Diamond Details
Cause of Color: Similar to pink and brown diamonds, color in red diamonds is generally thought to be caused by colored graining, which results from structural irregularities in combination with an impurity.
Secondary Colors: Red is the color between purple and orange, so common secondary colors in red diamonds include orangish red, purplish red and brownish red.
Rarity: Pure red diamonds are known to be the rarest of all fancy colored diamonds, and they command the highest prices. Weighing 5.11 carats the Moussaieff Red Diamond is the largest graded fancy red diamond in the world.
Grading: Red diamonds are graded as Fancy Red with modifying hues.
Mining: Australia's Argyle Diamond Mine produces most of the world's red diamonds, which are sold at the annual Pink Tender. Red diamonds have also been found in Brazil.
Related Topics on Red Diamonds:
Learn more about Fancy Color Diamonds
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