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Natural Purple Diamonds

A natural purple diamond is one whose colour reads as purple to the eye, with no treatment behind it, confirmed on a laboratory report as natural colour origin. Pure purple is among the rarest grades a diamond can carry; most stones in the category are pinkish purple, purple-pink, greyish purple or violet. Byrex Gems offers natural purple and pink-purple diamonds to the trade from Toronto, many with GIA reports, filmed in our office exactly as they are, with prices shown to approved trade buyers and viewings by appointment.

Where to buy natural purple diamonds in Toronto

Byrex Gems lists 36 natural purple diamonds online today. 36 of them come with a report from laboratories including GIA. 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 purple diamonds listed today: 1.35 ct Radiant Fancy Purple Diamond, GIA, 0.21 ct Cushion Fancy Intense Pink Purple Diamond, GIA, 3.00 ct Radiant Fancy Grayish Pink Purple Diamond, GIA, 2.64 ct Cushion Fancy Light Pinkish Purple Diamond, GIA, 1.03 ct Cushion Fancy Intense Pink Purple Diamond, GIA, 1.00 ct Pear Fancy Pink Purple Diamond, GIA, 1.00 ct Pear Fancy Pink Purple Diamond, GIA, 0.71 ct Heart Fancy Deep Pink Purple Diamond, GIA, 0.50 ct Cushion Fancy Pink Purple Diamond, GIA, 0.33 ct Square Fancy Intense Pink Purple Diamond, GIA, 0.16 ct Oval Fancy Pink Purple Diamond, GIA, 0.15 ct Oval Fancy Pink Purple Diamond, GIA and 24 more.

What makes a diamond purple, and where it comes from

Purple colour in diamond is linked to plastic deformation, a distortion of the crystal lattice that happened deep in the earth and that also lies behind most pink diamonds. Violet and greyish violet stones are a separate story, associated with hydrogen in the crystal, and they came in particular from the Argyle mine in Western Australia.

Argyle, which closed in November 2020, produced the greater part of the world's pink, purplish pink and violet diamonds; its closure has tightened supply and sharpened prices for the colours it was known for. Purple stones have also come from Russia, Brazil and occasionally Canada. The largest known Fancy Vivid purple, the Royal Purple Heart at 7.34 carats, is Russian; purples of any grade above one carat remain rare.

How GIA grades a purple diamond

GIA describes a fancy colour by hue, tone and saturation, and expresses the result as a grade from Faint, Very Light and Light through Fancy Light, Fancy, Fancy Intense, Fancy Vivid, Fancy Deep and Fancy Dark. Purple can carry any of these, though the strongest grades are seen rarely.

The colour words matter. The last word on the report is the dominant hue: a pinkish purple is a purple diamond with a slight pink modifier, a pink-purple is purple with a strong pink component, a purple-pink is mainly pink, and a purplish pink is pink with a touch of purple. Greyish and brownish modifiers soften the colour. Violet is graded as its own hue, closer to blue, and is priced and collected separately. Two stones with the same grade can still look different in the hand, which is why every stone we offer is filmed, unedited.

What a jeweller should check before buying

Verify the report number on the laboratory's own site and confirm that colour origin is stated as natural. Judge the colour on video rather than a single photograph: evenness across the stone, how the modifier reads, and how the stone behaves as it moves. Treat clarity as secondary to colour; a well-saturated purple with minor inclusions is worth more than a clean stone with weak colour. Consider the metal: rose gold deepens a pinkish purple, white metal keeps a cooler violet tone honest. For pairs, ask whether the two stones were graded with the same wording, and expect a close match more often than a true pair.

What drives the price of a purple diamond

Purity of hue comes first: a stone graded purple, with no modifier, in Fancy Intense, Fancy Vivid or Fancy Deep sits at the top of the market. Saturation and the grade follow, then size, where per-carat value steps up sharply at half a carat and again at one carat rather than climbing evenly. Pink modifiers are often welcomed; grey and brown lower the value. Clarity and cut come after colour, and cuts such as radiant and cushion are chosen because they hold colour. Byrex shows its trade prices to approved buyers and keeps its most important stones on request; nothing is priced in public.

Natural, treated and lab-grown: the distinctions

Irradiation followed by annealing, HPHT processing and surface coatings can all produce purple, pink and violet colours in diamond, and lab-grown diamonds can be treated the same way. The look can be convincing, so a report from GIA or another major laboratory that states natural colour origin is the first condition of any trade purchase. Purple is also confused with violet, which GIA grades as a distinct hue, and with the purplish pinks that make up most of what the trade calls purple. The report wording settles each case.

How to view or buy purple diamonds from Byrex Gems

Trade buyers sign in with a one-time code sent to their email and see prices at once. Private clients and collectors are received by appointment at 27 Queen Street East, Suite 407, Toronto, and by arrangement in Hong Kong, Bangkok and Dubai. Stones travel with insured shipping worldwide. For a stone that is not listed, tell us the grade, size and shape you have in mind; what we do not hold ourselves we can source through our offices worldwide.

Byrex Gems has served the jewellery trade from Toronto since 1988, and more than seven thousand jewellers, designers and dealers have bought from us in that time, some of them for decades. A message on WhatsApp at +1 (437) 450-3786 is answered within hours; an email to info@byrex.com, the same day, seven days a week.

Natural Purple Diamonds: questions buyers ask

What is the difference between purple and violet diamonds?

GIA treats them as separate hues: purple is warmer, with a reddish character; violet sits closer to blue. Violet diamonds, often greyish violet, are associated in particular with Argyle. Both are rare, and they are priced and collected as distinct colours.

Are purple diamonds rarer than pink diamonds?

Diamonds graded purple as the dominant hue are much rarer than pinks, and pure purple with no modifier is among the rarest fancy colours of all. Many stones called purple in conversation are graded purplish pink or pinkish purple on the report, so read the exact wording.

What does pinkish purple mean?

The dominant hue is purple, with pink as a secondary hue. It is one of the more frequently seen natural purple descriptions and often a warm, rich colour. It differs from purplish pink, where pink is dominant and purple is the modifier.

Can purple diamonds be treated or grown?

Yes. Irradiation with annealing, HPHT processing and coatings can produce purple to pink colours, and lab-grown diamonds can be treated in the same way. A report from a major laboratory stating natural colour origin is the only safe basis for a purchase.

Does Byrex sell purple diamonds to private clients?

Yes, by appointment in Toronto. Prices are discussed in person or on the phone rather than published.

Why are prices not shown on the page?

Byrex is a wholesaler to the jewellery trade. Approved trade buyers see prices after signing in; the public does not, which protects the jewellers who sell our stones.

Can Byrex source a purple diamond that is not listed?

Yes. Tell us the grade, size, shape and report you need, and we look through our own vault first and then through our offices worldwide.

What documentation comes with a purple diamond?

Most of our purple diamonds carry a GIA report stating colour grade, colour origin, clarity and measurements. Where a stone carries a report from another laboratory, we say which. Unedited video of the stone is available on request.

Further reading

Byrex Gems, 27 Queen Street East, Suite 407, Toronto. Coloured gemstones and natural fancy colour diamonds for the trade since 1988, and for private clients by appointment.

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