Fancy Colour Consultants, LLC is an independent gemological consulting service that specializes in the analysis and description of colour in polished coloured diamonds. Objective colour measurement is achieved with optical instruments, including the Rennilson-Hale gemstone colorimeter and the Liu-Labs spectrometer. This instrument-based method of measuring colour is of great value to anyone who buys or sells coloured diamonds since the precise colour can be described with reliable accuracy after plotting the numerical colour data in 3-dimensional colour space.
Once the exact colour of a diamond has been determined using objective colour measurement, this information can be used to establish an accurate verbal colour description (i.e., colour grade), determine the rarity, explain the beauty in the face-up direction, and place a value on any stone with confidence. In other words, by using objective colour measurement to help define the colour of a diamond, a person need not worry if they are buying "something else" (i.e., a lower quality stone than the colour grade suggests). This is every collectors and investors big concern... Did I get a good value for my investment? In most cases the answer is yes, you bought a rare natural coloured diamond, with a document (i.e., laboratory report) that states what colour and clarity the diamond was graded. However, the colour grade that any particular coloured diamond was assigned by a diamond grading laboratory is open to further interpretation.
The current methods of colour grading diamonds are largely based on visual (i.e., subjective) techniques for defining colour, which involve personal opinions, visual colour comparison with other coloured diamonds, and/or visual colour comparison with other coloured objects, as well as individual colour interpretation. Hence, there are many coloured diamonds "floating" around the world (i.e., in the current market, or in private hands), with inaccurate, unusual, or questionable colour grades issued from various diamond grading laboratories. This is neither bad nor good, it merely reflects the current state of diamond colour grading, i.e., a visual process of determining a diamond's (face-up) colour that is reliant on subjective opinions, thus, prone to human error.
In my continuing effort to add more objectivity into the process of colour grading diamonds, I have made it my mission to uncover every detail about a diamond's colour, and made it my purpose to explain these differences to clients around the world who are interested in objective colour analysis of coloured diamonds. As a coloured diamond expert and consultant, I strive to uncover what makes each polished coloured diamond unique and special. As a service, I prepare detailed documents for each stone that I am asked to analyze. These documents vary in length and content, and are referred to by various names, such as "Hofer Certificates", or "Hofer Reports", whereas I refer to these documents as "Hofer Letters". I explain and document the fine points about a coloured diamond for interested persons in the form of a colour dialogue, so that collectors and investors can make informed decisions when purchasing new stones, or when selling existing stones from their inventory or collection. Documentation
A portion of my consulting service involves working with diamond cutters and dealers who seek to find new ways to improve the face-up appearance (i.e., colour grade), when cutting a rough crystal, or when re-polishing an existing stone. In addition to offering a variety of consulting services and providing “Hofer Letters”, I am sometimes involved with researching the provenance (i.e., history of origin and ownership) of various famous, rare, and/or large coloured diamonds, and have written and published hardcover books on these exceptional, extremely valuable and historically important coloured diamond specimens.
In the last ten years, as the President of Fancy Colour Consultants, I have begun to work with a number of private individuals outside the diamond industry to discretely acquire important, rare, and beautiful coloured diamonds to enhance their personal collections and financial goals. I especially enjoy working with “true collectors” (i.e., people who collect rare and unusual diamond colours), because they appreciate the range and diversity of diamond colour(s) which nature has created.
For anyone who wants to know more about the coloured diamond(s) they presently own, more about the fancy colour diamond(s) they are interested to purchase, or more about the intricate process of acquiring and investing in these rare “miniature crystalline mosaic works-of-art”, Fancy Colour Consultants, LLC, can provide guidance, insight, and answers to your questions.
