Alternative Diamonds

Diamonds have always been seen as a symbol f eternity, purity, sustainability and rarity. According to its Greek name, adamas, it is "untameable".
Although diamonds are, mostly, appreciated for their cleanliness, shine, and wonderful roundness which uncover their intense sparkle, they often display various different perspectives and colours, other than white or pale yellow.

This sublime gemstone comes in a number of colours and shapes, each with a strong character, which can differentiate them from the beautiful white diamond. Just as with all enigmatic gemstones, diamonds open our eyes and our curiosity allowing us to see an infinite number of treasures which surround us.

We all have our own manner of appreciating beauty and this article is intended to raise our awareness of this beautiful gemstone. We will note how diamonds are able to offer us a hugely spectacular display of colours and surprises, to show their beauty, differently.

Technical aspects of diamonds :

- Chemical components :

Diamonds, as we know them, are gemstones which once cut display their brilliance and sparkle. However, they undergo a long journey to get to this stage.
This gemstone is almost exclusively composed of carbon, has the same chemical make up as graphite, with solely the crystalline structure being different : the atoms within a diamond are much closer together than with graphite.
It is this compactness and regularity of atoms which explain the hardness of diamonds : their resistance to trauma and abrasion. (Diamond measures 10 on the Mohs scale, which ranges from 1 - soap powder, - to 10). Although being the most solid and hardest material on earth, diamonds are not unbreakable.

- Crystalline structure :

Just as Spinel and garnet, the crystalline structure of diamonds is cubic. The most commonly known raw form of diamonds is the Octahedral diamond (two conjoined pyramids), however it is rare that the contours are perfectly symmetrical.

- Formation :

The conditions required for formation of diamonds are as follows :
  Temperature between 900 and 1300 degrees
  Pressure between 45 and 60 kilo bars
  The proper combination of these two factors (otherwise the diamond would be transformed into graphite during its journey to the earth’s surface).
  A carbon-rich environment.

These very conditions exist in specific locations under the upper layer of the Earth’s crust, between 140km and 190km below the surface, with the most propitious area being the former sections of the earth’s crust called cratons.




- Age :

The youngest diamond was discovered in Zaire in 1995 and was formed some 628 million years ago.
The oldest diamonds to have been discovered were formed some 3.3 billion years ago.

Some shapes of alternative diamonds...

- Pyramids

A return to its origin, in its raw form, without any alteration or intervention by humans.
Philippe Tournaire sometimes uses diamonds in the shape of a double pyramid, simply because in the end, there is no need to aim to achieve, by hand, what Nature is much more astute at doing alone. The shape of raw diamonds can often be so incredible and perfect that there is no need to make any additions. The Carrousel du Louvre of the Paris Large Ring is moreover represented by a half raw diamond, a "Pyramid". The double pyramid is not the only shape which diamonds may adopt when leaving the centre of the Earth : they may also take on the shape of a cube or other similar, albeit less well defined, shapes.

- Crowned rose or "Dutch"

Rose cuts make diamond an enigmatic gemstone. This cut appeared in the 16th Century and is fascinating as it allows the diamond to have an entirely new shine. Its contours originate from flat raw diamonds, which allows their potential to be used to a maximum degree of effectiveness. The pinks in the ring are brilliant due to their triangular sides which converge into a point. In other words, the rose crown is a faceted cabochon.




- Round Cut Brilliant Diamonds

Many sizes came before the famous round cut diamond. Several years ago, the calibre of a diamond was appreciated due to its shine. However, gradually the proportions of a diamond came to play an essential role in judging the beauty of these gemstones.

It is thanks to the precisely shaped facets that it is possible to achieve an unrivalled shine. Gradually, we moved from 8 facets (octahedron) to 58 facets with the perfect round cut diamond.

Over time, techniques of diamond cutters were perfected. With the arrival of the perfect round cut diamond by the Belgian cutter Tolkowsky in 1919, two essential elements were combined : retaining a maximum diamond weight whilst obtaining optimum shine.

Philippe Tournaire primarily uses round brilliant cut diamonds, which may be set in circular, square, triangular or droplet shapes. As it is under this round brilliant cut shape that their shine is at its maximum.

It was necessary to wait for 500 years in order to perfect the cut which we all know today. This brilliant cut then gave rise to many rather fantastic cuts, such as the pear, the heart, the marquise (or dome), the emerald,, triangular, princess or even oval cut. However, it remains true that the round brilliant Cut diamonds has the most striking shine in the entire world.
Other diamonds are used due to their particular colour, which is given by elements considered as defects, but which in the end give the diamond a unique and often exceptional beauty. In these instances, it is the imperfections of a gemstone which give it all of its charm.

The tricks of light of a diamond full of surprises

Even if there is an abundance of diamonds in the world and even though Mother Nature is so generous in her gifts of such treasures that we are able to find so many, it is true that diamonds with such beautiful colours are extremely rare.

These diamonds are atypical and deserve to be showcased.
It is important to underline that colourful diamonds exist thanks to their imperfections, which have succeeded in infiltrating the gemstones as these are being formed.
The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) established a colour scale applicable too jewellers across the entire world.
This scale allows the various degrees of colour of diamonds to be determined.

It ranges from D to Z, with D referring to Exceptional White + and Z being the colour of a clear yellow diamond. We can therefore only imagine that the letters A, B and C are reserved for diamonds which are whiter than white, which a lucky individual will perhaps one day discover ! Who knows what Mother Nature may hold in store ?

Beyond Z, we move to an entirely different colour register, this time for more marked colours.

For all gemstones, it is due to the imperfections which are acquired during their formation which lead to their colour. It is in many instances the inclusions - which are often microscopic - of a gemstone which finally are beneficial to the stone.

Amongst all of the impure elements which exist, nitrogen atoms, boron atoms and hydrogen manage to make their way to the crystalline structure of our so dear diamond. This leads the diamond to lose its whiteness and they then become Alternative Diamonds. Sometimes they hold extreme beauty, others less so. It is our role to know how to choose the best.
Nitrogen is the most common of all elements responsible for the colour of gemstones.
Boron is, however, less common and is present only in bluish-grey diamonds.

You will find below some examples of famous diamonds with some quite exceptional colours.




- Yellow-brown

The most widespread diamond colours are brown and yellow. However, some diamonds can be clearly differentiated from others due to the intensity of their colour : such as the Eureka yellow-brown diamond.

Diamonds remain stones which can still be found today on the bare soil.
The first diamond to have been discovered in South Africa in 1867 is a wonderful illustration of this image : a young boy playing on the banks of the Orange River (near Namibia) found a beautiful gemstone. He was unaware that his fateful discovery would throw the history of diamonds into absolute turmoil. He was playing jacks with his new-found discovery, completely unaware of what he possessed. The stone found its way into the hands of experts and was identified as a 21.25 Cts stone, yellow in colour with a hint of brown and was baptised Eureka.

- Rose, orange and red

Argyle mine in Australia produces the majority of rose diamonds across the globe.
A wonderful example is that of the Hortensia rose-peach diamond. It weighs 20.53 cts. Initially an integral part of the French crown jewels, it is now on display in the Louvre Museum.

Orange and red diamonds are so rare that scientists are not even sure of the exact cause of their extraordinary colour. However, it is very likely that this is the result of a combination of atoms other than carbon with a structural imperfection.

The Golden Jubilee is considered as the largest orange faceted diamond in the world.
It weighs 545.67 carats and was discovered in South Africa in 1985.
It is cushion cut and has 148 facets. It is now to be found on the crown jewels of the Thai royal family.

The Red Moussaieff
With its triangular cut, this superb red diamond was discovered in the middle of the 1990s in Brazil.
It weighs 5.11 cts. It was found by a Brazilian farmer and then found its way to the American jeweller Moussaief, hence its name.

- Blue, green

Blue and green diamonds are also extremely rare. Two famous examples are the Hope, with its intense blue, and the Dresden Green.

The Hope is an intense blue diamond which was discovered in India in the 17th Century and today weighs 45.5 cts. It was, for a long time, associated with curses, due to the fact that a large number of people acquiring these diamonds met a tragic end. Since 1958 it has been displayed at the Smithsonian Institute of Washington where admirers from the world over can come to admire this diamond.
Its colour is due in large part to the presence of hydrogen.

The Green Dresden diamond was discovered in the early 18th century in India and weighs 40.7 cts.
It is unique in the sense that the green colour is distributed in a very uniform
manner, unlike typical green diamonds with coloured areas. Green diamonds are quite curious. Their colour is due to natural radiation.
It is said that the Green Dresden and Hope diamonds are related by their weights, importance in the history of gemstones, the intensity of their colour and their rarity. They were, moreover, displayed together at the Smithsonian Institute of Washington at the end of 2000.
The latter now resides at the Dresden Albertinum Museum, capital of Saxony in Germany.

- Black

Black diamonds, known as "Carbonados" owe their colour to minerals such as haematite and magnetite which are an integral part of their crystalline structure. They are primarily located in the Central African Republic and Brazil.
The "Black Orloff" Diamond contributed towards the recognition and appreciation of black diamonds. (For information : this was discovered in the 18th century in India and now belongs to a wealthy collector). It weighs 67.5 Cts)

The earth turns up some marvels to discover time and time again, sometimes with an entirely different face to that which we are used to seeing.
"Alternative Diamonds" as their name suggests, allow us to adopt a wider vision faced with the beauty of what nature has to offer.
Through a workshop dedicated to this unrivalled gemstone, Philippe Tournaire offers you the opportunity to see and nurture these worldly treasures in their purest form, or after having been perfected by the master. So allow your imagination and your dreams to run wild by thinking of Alternative Diamonds !