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Natural Green Diamonds

A natural green diamond is a diamond whose green colour was caused by exposure to natural radiation in the earth over geological time, rather than by treatment. Natural green is among the rarest diamond colours, and because the same colour can be produced by artificial irradiation, laboratories grade its origin with particular care. Byrex Gems offers natural green diamonds to the trade from Toronto, each with a GIA report stating natural colour and filmed unedited, with prices shown to approved buyers and viewings by appointment.

Where to buy natural green diamonds in Toronto

Byrex Gems lists 48 natural green diamonds online today. 48 of them come with a report from laboratories including GIA and IGI. Viewings are at our Toronto office, 27 Queen Street East, Suite 407, steps from Queen subway station, by appointment. We have supplied coloured gemstones and natural fancy colour diamonds to jewellers and designers since 1988, and welcome private clients by appointment. Prices are shown to approved trade accounts; private clients can ask us on WhatsApp, where we reply within 12 hours, or by email within 24 hours. Every stone ships insured, worldwide.

Among the natural green diamonds listed today: 1.91 ct Radiant Fancy Light Yellowish Green Diamond, GIA, 1.85 ct Cushion Fancy Yellow Green Diamond, GIA, 1.82 ct Cushion Fancy Light Yellow Green Diamond, GIA, 1.51 ct Cushion Fancy Dark Gray Yellowish Green Diamond, GIA, 1.50 ct Radiant Fancy Green Diamond, GIA, 1.31 ct Cushion Fancy Green Diamond, GIA, 1.31 ct Cushion Fancy Yellow Green Diamond, GIA, 1.24 ct Radiant Fancy Light Green Diamond, GIA, 1.03 ct Square Fancy Green Diamond, GIA, 1.01 ct Pear Fancy Green Diamond, GIA, 1.00 ct Rectangular Fancy Green Diamond, GIA, 0.77 ct Cushion Fancy Intense Green Diamond, GIA and 36 more.

What is a natural green diamond?

Green in diamond is the only common fancy colour caused from outside the crystal. Radioactive minerals and fluids in the surrounding rock bombarded the diamond with alpha and other particles over millions of years, knocking carbon atoms out of place and creating defects that absorb red and leave green. Alpha particles penetrate only a short distance, so natural green is often a skin: a thin layer of colour on the rough, which is why many green diamonds are cut to keep part of the natural surface and why their colour can be shallow.

The same radiation leaves marks. Radiation stains, small green or brown spots on the surface of the rough, are the clearest evidence that a stone sat next to a radioactive source, and cutters often leave a trace of them on the girdle so a laboratory can see it.

Sources are scattered. Brazil has produced most natural greens, with Venezuela, Guyana, Zimbabwe, the Central African Republic, Sierra Leone and Borneo contributing stones over the years. There is no steady mine for green; stones appear one at a time, which keeps the category rare and the documentation essential.

How GIA grades green and why labs are cautious

GIA grades green on the fancy scale from Faint through Light, Fancy Light, Fancy, Fancy Intense and Fancy Vivid, with Fancy Deep and Fancy Dark for darker tones. The hue line often carries a modifier: yellowish green, yellow-green, bluish green, blue-green and grayish green are all used, with the last hue named dominant. A pure Fancy Intense Green or Fancy Vivid Green with no modifier is rare wording, and a Fancy Vivid green is one of the scarcest grades in the whole category.

Colour origin is the hard part. Artificial irradiation, usually in an accelerator or reactor followed by gentle heating, produces green and blue-green that look the same to the eye and can share spectral features with natural stones. Laboratories therefore examine the whole stone: radiation stains on the surface, the distribution of colour, absorption spectra and the type of defect present. When the evidence supports natural origin, the report says so. When it does not settle the question, GIA may state that colour origin is undetermined, and a buyer should treat such a stone as it would a treated one for pricing.

Any treatment must be disclosed at every sale.

What a jeweller should check before buying

Read the colour origin line before looking at the stone. For green, a GIA report stating natural colour origin is the document that makes the stone saleable at its grade; a report that states undetermined origin is not a defect in the diamond, but it is a different product.

Then judge the colour as it will arrive. Green is often shallow, so ask how even the colour is viewed from the top and whether it holds when the stone is tilted. Look for the modifier: a yellowish green reads warm and is the most common wording, a bluish green reads cool and is rarer, and a grayish green can look olive in low light. Many natural greens are cut to keep radiation stains on the girdle or a natural on the pavilion; these are evidence, not flaws, and should not be polished away. Byrex films every green unedited so the depth of colour and any naturals can be seen.

Shape follows the rough more than in other hues, because cutters keep as much green as possible. Clarity is secondary to colour and origin. Pairs in natural green are very rare and are matched on hue, modifier and tone before anything else.

What drives the value of a green diamond

Origin comes before everything else. Two green diamonds of the same grade are not equal if one report states natural origin and the other does not, and the gap between them is the largest of any factor on this page. Within natural stones, saturation sets the tiers: Fancy Vivid and Fancy Intense green are auction grades, Fancy green is scarce, and Fancy Light and Light greens form the working market.

Purity follows. A pure green leads, bluish green is valued close to it and sometimes above for its unusual look, yellowish green is the most common wording and is valued below, and grayish green sits lower still. Depth of colour matters in green more than in other hues, because shallow colour can be lost in recutting; a stone whose green runs through the body is worth more than one whose colour is a skin.

Size multiplies rarity in steps, and a natural green above one carat with Fancy or stronger colour is uncommon. Clarity and cut quality refine the price within a grade. Byrex shows full trade prices to approved accounts, offers larger greens on request and does not publish prices.

The Dresden Green, the Aurora Green and treated green

The Dresden Green is the reference stone for natural green. A pear-shaped diamond of Indian origin, it has been in the collection of the Saxon rulers in Dresden since the eighteenth century and is kept in the Green Vault; GIA examined it in 1988 and confirmed that its colour is natural, the result of radiation in the earth. The Aurora Green, a Fancy Vivid green, was sold at auction in Hong Kong in 2016 and was the largest Fancy Vivid green offered at auction at that time.

Treated green has a long history of its own. Diamonds have been artificially irradiated since the early twentieth century, first with radium, which left stones radioactive, and later in cyclotrons, reactors and electron accelerators, which do not. Modern treated greens are stable, and they are the reason laboratories are cautious. A treated green is sold as a treated green with full disclosure, and it has its own market.

For a buyer the rule is simple: natural green diamonds are rare, the report must state natural colour origin, and the price should reflect which of the two products is on the table. Byrex offers only natural greens and quotes the report wording on every stone page.

Buying green diamonds from Byrex Gems

Since 1988, Byrex Gems has supplied green diamonds to the jewellery trade from Toronto. The confidence of more than seven thousand trade customers has been earned one stone at a time. Many of our green diamonds come with reports from GIA and other leading laboratories, and each stone is filmed in our office, exactly as it is.

Approved trade buyers see prices online. Everyone else is welcome to write: WhatsApp +1 (437) 450-3786 brings a reply within hours, and an email to info@byrex.com an answer the same day, seven days a week. What is listed is a part of what we hold: more green diamonds are kept in the vault, and what we do not hold ourselves we can source through our offices worldwide. We receive clients by appointment in Toronto, Hong Kong, Bangkok and Dubai.

Natural Green Diamonds: questions buyers ask

What makes a green diamond green?

Natural radiation. Radioactive minerals in the surrounding rock bombarded the diamond over geological time, creating lattice defects that absorb red light and leave green. The colour is often shallow and leaves radiation stains on the rough.

How do labs know a green diamond is natural?

By examining the whole stone: radiation stains on the surface, colour distribution, absorption spectra and the defects present. When the evidence supports natural origin GIA states it; when it does not, the report may say origin is undetermined.

Are the green diamonds at Byrex treated?

No. Byrex offers natural green diamonds with GIA reports stating natural colour origin. Treated green diamonds exist, are stable and safe, and are sold elsewhere with disclosure, but they are a different product at a different price.

What does yellowish green mean on a report?

A green diamond with a yellow cast. In GIA wording the last hue named is dominant, so yellowish green is green first. It is the most common green wording; bluish green is rarer and often preferred.

Does Byrex sell green diamonds to private clients?

Yes. Byrex sells first to jewellers and designers, but private clients are welcome by appointment at 27 Queen Street East in Toronto, where a green can be examined with its report and reserved for a jeweller to set.

Do the green diamonds have GIA reports?

Yes. Every natural green diamond Byrex offers carries a GIA report stating natural colour origin, and the report wording, including any comment on radiation stains or naturals, is quoted on the stone page.

Can I view green diamonds in Toronto?

Yes. Viewings are by appointment at 27 Queen Street East, Suite 407, Toronto. Depth of colour and the modifier are best judged in person under daylight-equivalent light, with the stone tilted and viewed from the top.

Can Byrex source a natural green diamond not listed?

Sometimes. Natural greens appear one at a time rather than from a steady mine, so sourcing takes patience, but Byrex searches through contacts in Antwerp, Hong Kong and New York and offers only stones with GIA natural origin reports.

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