In diamonds, rarity equals value. With diamonds in the normal range, value is based on the absence of color, because colorless diamonds are the rarest. With fancy color diamonds—the ones outside the normal color range—the rarest and most valuable colors are saturated pinks, blues, and greens. In all cases, even very slight color differences can have a big impact on value.

Diamonds in the normal color range are colorless through light yellow and are described using the industry’s D-to-Z color-grading scale. Fancy color diamonds, on the other hand, are yellow and brown diamonds that exhibit color beyond the Z range, or diamonds that exhibit any other color face-up. These rare specimens come in every color of the spectrum, including, most importantly, blue, green, pink, and red.

Gem diamonds in the D-to-Z range usually decrease in value as the color becomes more obvious. Just the opposite happens with fancy color diamonds: Their value generally increases with the strength and purity of the color. Large, vivid fancy color diamonds are extremely rare and very valuable. However, many fancy diamond colors are muted rather than pure and strong.

Hearts and Arrows diamonds are precision-cut round diamonds. Because of their exact angles and symmetry, they show a hearts-and-arrows pattern when viewed through a special tool. Arrows are visible from the top of the diamond, and hearts are visible when the diamond is face-down. The arrows in a well-cut diamond can be seen even without using a special tool. However, you have to see the diamond spot-on to see this pattern, and it's difficult to capture in images after the diamond is set in jewelry.

History of Visible and Arrows

In the 1980s, Japanese diamond cutters were first to produce round brilliant diamonds cut so exactly that their facet reflections overlapped in 3D space, creating kaleidoscopic patterns when seen through reflecting viewers. Those polishers used “secret recipes” to create the pattern of "Hearts" when viewed looking down on the pavilion and "Arrows" in the crown, when viewed in the table-up position. The precision and crispness of these patterns relied on precise angles in combination with specific facet length, width and azimuth. Their techniques spread to other cutting houses and Hearts & Arrows diamonds began appearing on several continents by the mid-1990s.

In past decades tools and measuring devices have improved. Now a percentage of well-cut diamonds near the center of the Excellent-Ideal range, show some level of optical precision, simply as a by-product of good tooling; what some cutters would call a ‘happy accident.’ Diamonds held to the uppermost level of craftsmanship show extremely precise patterns. These exquisite diamonds are valued for the care, precision and consistency demonstrated in their cutting as much as any visible effects that results from this precision. There is also the attractiveness of rarity. Just as D color and Flawless clarity are rare, so is the Hearts & Arrows (H&A) level of cut quality. Top H&A diamonds are valued for their uniqueness and quality as the ultimate in cutting precision.