Two common names used for yellow diamonds are “Capes” and “canaries”. The name “Cape” originated in the late 1800s when many diamonds with an obvious yellow color were being produced from mines in the Cape Province of South Africa. They were quickly noticed in the marketplace by diamond professionals who began calling them “Capes” because of their Cape Province provenance.

If graded today, many of these diamonds would be light enough in color that they would receive a color grade within the D-to-Z color scale; however, some would be graded as “fancy-color diamonds”. The name “Cape” is still used today by many diamond professionals for diamonds of a light yellow color, regardless of their provenance.

“Canary” is a name used in the gem or jewelry trade for diamonds with an obvious, usually Fancy-grade, yellow color. The name is imprecise because it is used for yellow diamonds that might be in the D-to-Z color scale, or all the way up through the Fancy colors to Fancy Vivid yellow. The name also does not imply any specific provenance.

Three Nitrogens and a Vacancy Defect: Yellow color in mined diamonds can be caused by the N3 defect. It consists of three nitrogen atoms substituting for carbon atoms that surround one vacant carbon position. This defect is often accompanied by an N2 defect, and their pairing may contribute to yellow color.