I'll flag the expert and he'll give you the scoop. I think he might even have a photo of a black diamond in the rough.

I had to come back and check out this reply so I can learn something. They look like onyx to me, too.

Thanks OMC- I see that iI missed part of the question...

1) As OMC mentioned, no grades, black is black so there's no color grade.
I will add that most black diamonds I have seen have surface abrasions and are not all that well polished.
It would be impossible to recognize if one was well cut, as no light can pass through them.
Since they are opaque, no clarity grading is applicable.



2) GIA will not issue a report on an irradiated diamond, so no. ( unless you consider the lesser labs, which we do not)


OMC was spot on here.
The prices should be quite a bit lower than gem quality diamonds.

I've never seen a really good close up photo of a black diamond or black diamond jewelry.  Does anyone have photos to post?

Mikla

David and CDI Forum Members - all great answers, thanks so much! 

I received my requisite London Jewelers holiday catalog and saw Stephen Webster, Cellini, Grisogono, Judith Ripka, Di Modolo, and more are using pave black diamonds in their holiday collections.  I recently saw a "to-die-for" set of chandelier earrings with rose cut black diamonds and black diamond briolette drops interspersed with white diamonds and I was trying to decipher the value-for-money aspect notwithstanding the fact that I would probably pay any money for these fabulous, unique earrings.

Hence the question posed to those who would know best about black diamonds - colored diamond experts!  I was always of the opinion that black diamonds were treated in some fashion so like enhanced or synthetic stones, I was staying away from them. But given I was seeing more and more black and white diamond jewelry, I thought you all could arm me with enough info to be dangerous! 

I think the pieces that I have seen up close with black rhodium are done well but it doesn't surprise me given they have huge price tags. 

David, I'll contact you directly to see what cool black diamond potential opportunities I may have in my future.

Thanks again to all!

I am kicking myself because yesterday I was at a fundraising boutique and stopped at the table of an EXTREMELY overpriced local jeweler and was surprised to see a black diamond eternity band.  I almost tried it on and asked the price out of curiosity, but I didn't have a lot of time and knew I wouldn't buy, so I moved on.  Then I saw this thread and I am now dying to know her price!

I wouldn't want one for an engagement ring, but I do think they look cool mixed in with other colors.  I would just want a fair price and I guess I wouldn't know what that is. Oh, and I also saw a well known Beverly Hills jeweler is promoting rose gold necklaces with black diamond pave initial pendants. Just interesting to note it may be a new trend.

Black diamonds are called hematite, as anyone worth their salt in the jewelry industry could tell you, and if you look it up, it has a metallic silver/gray look and is not faceted like a regular gemstone because it is opaque, which defeats the purpose. What is shown in the pictures there is something else entirely that was given a new name for marketing purposes, when in actuality something like what you have there would be considered a bad gemstone. Just a few years ago, if you tried to buy something like that, it wouldn't be worth anything. Really, a dark faceted stone like that, there is no point in faceting it because there's no way for light to shine through it, so most people don't go for those, thus the low value.

But if you love it, that's all that matters.

I think black diamond is special, but is it have some exact meaning? In China, there is always having some meaning in different colors.

i just would like to know what happened to that pear shaped black diamond David had a while back, that looked like the cosmos..... i thought you were gonna stock it. i actually liked it in a way.

Great question!
You can't judge the clarity of black diamonds- as they are generally opaque

I must admit I never fancied owning a black diamond and hadn`t seen anything in black diamonds which grabbed me until a former colleague bought a honking big black cushion diamond and had it set into a chunky plain white gold setting. She wore it as a RHR and it just seemed to match everything.
I`m finding it hard to articulate how it looked, it didn`t sparkle like a white diamond would but it had a kind of a " sheen " to it and I had to eat my words and admit it was very fetching.

here it is, thanks for the link.