Brown Diamond Rings Are Having a Major Moment

Brown diamond rings are not only on-trend but provide an affordable alternative to traditional colorless natural diamonds.

Published: December 12, 2025
Written by: Grant Mobley

Kim Kardashian necklace Bezos wedding — Kim Kardashian wearing jewelry featuring different shades of brown diamonds at The Bezos Wedding

For years, I watched collectors and designers quietly fall in love with brown diamonds. Now the wider world finally sees what they saw all along: brown diamonds offer some of the richest, most naturally varied hues in the entire diamond spectrum, and they create engagement rings and fine jewelry with character that few can match. My conversations with retailers and designers this year confirm what the search data shows. Brown diamond rings now sit firmly in the spotlight.

The story of brown diamond rings reflects a shift in how we view natural color. Consumers now want individuality. They want warmth, dimension, and personality. They want natural diamonds that show where they come from, and brown diamond rings deliver exactly that because no two stones ever look the same.

Meet the Expert

Grant Mobley is the Jewelry & Watch Editor of Only Natural Diamonds.
He is a GIA Diamonds Graduate.
He has over 17 years of jewelry industry experience, starting with growing up in his family’s retail jewelry stores.

The Spectrum of Natural Brown Diamonds

When people hear the phrase brown diamond, they often imagine a single shade, but the reality could not be more different. Brown diamonds form in an extraordinary range of tones—from soft latte and honey hues to smoky bronze, autumnal cognac, deep whiskey, chestnut, chocolate, and even near-black espresso shades. Few natural colors offer this much variety.

The color forms through structural changes deep within the Earth. While yellow diamonds gain their hue from nitrogen impurities, brown diamonds develop their color from a phenomenon called plastic deformation. It’s a reshaping of the crystal structure caused by intense pressure and heat during formation. When light interacts with those internal distortions, the diamond reflects warm brown tones that feel earthy, elegant, and completely organic.

A Natural Diamond Color With Real History

Brown diamonds appear throughout diamond history more often than many people realize. Two of the most famous and historically significant diamonds ever discovered, the Golden Jubilee and the Incomparable, now known as The Golden Canary, both sit at the very top of the diamond world.

The Golden Jubilee Diamond

Discovered in 1985 as a 755.5-carat rough stone in South Africa’s Premier Mine, the Golden Jubilee eventually became a 545.67-carat polished brown diamond. It remains the largest cut diamond on Earth. A group of Thai businessmen purchased it in 1995 and presented it to King Bhumibol Adulyadej to honor the 50th anniversary of his coronation. Its warm, radiant color and monumental size make it a symbol of national pride and a benchmark for brown diamonds globally.

The Incomparable Diamond / The Golden Canary

natural diamond auction 2022 — (Courtesy of Sotheby’s)

In 1984, one of the most astonishing rough diamonds ever recorded, a massive 890-carat brown stone, was found in an old mine dump. For years, cutters planned to turn it into the largest polished diamond in the world. They ultimately reduced the size to 407.5 carats to preserve the best portion of the stone, creating the famous shield-shaped Incomparable Diamond.

Then, in 2022, the gem entered a new chapter. Cutters reshaped it into The Golden Canary, a 303.10 carat, more conventional pear-shaped diamond with deeper color and brighter fire. Today, it ranks among the largest and most important polished diamonds in existence.

The Rise of Brown Diamond Rings in Modern Jewelry

Colin Jost and Scarlett Johansson attend the Screen Actors Guild Awards on January 19, 2020. Scarlett wears a brown diamond ring — Colin Jost and Scarlett Johansson attend the Screen Actors Guild Awards on January 19, 2020. (Getty Images)

Brown diamonds sat in a quiet corner of the market for decades, admired mainly by collectors and avant-garde designers. That changed in 2000 when jewelry brand Le Vian trademarked the term “Chocolate Diamond” and partnered with Australian miner Rio Tinto. Their advertising campaign reached millions of consumers and sparked a love affair with warm-toned natural diamonds. Search volume for “chocolate diamonds” went from nearly zero in 2007 to 400,000 searches per year by 2014.

Today’s designers use brown diamonds to create rings with warmth and personality. These stones sit beautifully in yellow gold, rose gold, and even platinum, and they pair well with other diamond colors. Brown diamonds also offer incredible value. Because they appear more abundantly in nature than rare colors like pink, blue, or green, couples can choose larger stones without sacrificing quality or uniqueness.

But the appeal of brown diamond rings goes far beyond affordability. People choose these stones because they want something that stands apart. A brown diamond looks unmistakably natural. It feels like a gemstone with a story, born deep within the Earth under conditions that literally reshape its atomic structure.

Why Brown Diamond Rings Are Perfect for Today’s Couples

Kim Kardashian wears brown diamond rings at the 2018 Met Gala — Kim Kardashian attends the 2018 Met Gala wearing brown diamond rings (Getty Images)

Modern couples want an engagement ring that reflects their taste, not someone else’s traditions. Brown diamonds offer that freedom because they break the rules in the most beautiful way. They suit vintage styles, modern minimalism, chunky gold designs, and sculptural creations equally well. Their warmth flatters every skin tone, and their rich shades allow for infinite customization.

Designers also appreciate the versatility of brown diamonds and brown diamond rings. Their tones can read romantic, dramatic, edgy, glamorous, or earthy, depending on how the ring frames them. No other fancy-colored diamond offers such a range. That uniqueness matters deeply to couples who want the stone on their finger to symbolize a relationship that feels singular and meaningful.

The Future of Brown Diamond Rings

As interest in natural color continues to surge, brown diamonds stand at the forefront of a new era in fine jewelry defined by individuality, warmth, and natural beauty. With the variety of hues available, the historical significance of major stones, and the growing embrace of unconventional engagement ring styles, brown diamond rings will only gain more momentum in the years ahead.

Collectors already understand this. Designers understand it. And now, consumers see what we see: brown diamonds offer some of the most expressive, romantic, and authentic beauty in the entire world of natural diamonds.