Fancy yellow VS Y-Z colour diamonds

Are Fancy yellow diamonds worth the price tag ? Or should you buy a Y-Z colour?

The colour difference 

The key thing to remember is that not all Fancy Yellow diamonds are the same. Some are incredibly saturated and vibrant, and in those cases, a Y–Z diamond simply won’t come close. But there are other Fancy Yellow diamonds where the difference can be much harder to spot, and in some cases, even a trained eye would struggle to tell them apart without comparing them side by side.

Ultimately, it comes down to what you’re looking for and what you’re comfortable spending. If you like a softer, lighter yellow and don’t want anything too dramatic, you can often find a Y–Z diamond that looks just as good as a Fancy Yellow while potentially saving you £5,000 or more.

And if you don’t have £20,000 to spend on a Fancy Yellow, a Y–Z could be the perfect alternative. They’re certainly not cheap, very few natural diamonds are but they can give you that beautiful warm yellow look at a much more affordable price point.

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What actually causes the price difference ?

Fancy Yellow diamonds command a premium because they sit outside the traditional colour grading scale. Once a diamond reaches a certain level of yellow, it is no longer graded simply as a lower-colour diamond and instead enters the world of fancy colour diamonds. That classification, combined with how rare naturally occurring strong yellow colour is, can push prices up significantly. The important thing to remember, though, is that the premium increases as the colour becomes more intense so while a highly saturated Fancy Yellow can be genuinely exceptional, a lighter Fancy Yellow may not look dramatically different from a well-chosen Y–Z diamond. In other words, sometimes you’re paying a lot more for the classification than you are for a difference you can actually see.

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Always buy with your eyes

When it comes to choosing between a Y–Z and a Fancy Yellow, I think it’s important to buy with your eyes rather than just the label on the certificate. Two diamonds can have different colour grades but look surprisingly similar once you see them side by side. The cut, shape, proportions and overall appearance can all affect how yellow a diamond actually looks. If you find a Y–Z that gives you the colour and look you love, it can be worth considering rather than automatically assuming that a Fancy Yellow will look better simply because of the grade. Ultimately, you’re going to wear the diamond, not the certificate.

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