Chocolate Diamonds® are Le Vian®’s proprietary category of brown hued diamonds. With a stringent set of standards to meet, only a tiny selection of the brown diamonds mined from the Argyle Mine in Australia end up being classified as Chocolate Diamonds and becoming part of one of Le Vian’s jewelry designs. Since the launch of Chocolate Diamonds in 2000, the name has gained worldwide recognition for its exclusivity. If you’re looking for a unique piece of jewelry, a Chocolate Diamond is sure to stand out from the crowd. Here’s what you need to know about this high-profile stone.

Brown diamonds have always existed; they were just never seen as worthy of the same status as other colored diamonds. When the Argyle Mine in Australia opened in the 1980s, almost 80% of the diamonds they mined were brown. It wasn’t until 2000 that Le Vian branded a certain subset of brown diamonds as Chocolate Diamonds and they became much more exclusive. Le Vian Chocolate Diamonds celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2020 and released the Chocolate Jubilee Ring exclusively available at Jared.

According to Eddie Le Vian himself, “Chocolate Diamonds are Le Vian’s proprietary brand of natural fancy color diamonds that are chosen for their rarity and chocolate flavor. There is color, clarity, and cut criteria, as well as responsible, traceable sourcing criteria for being branded as Chocolate Diamonds.” Fewer than 1% of all polished diamonds produced in the world qualify as Chocolate Diamonds®. So, what does it take to be classified as a Chocolate Diamond?

Le Vian uses third party labs such as GIA, IGI and Gem Science International ("GSI"), an independent third-party laboratory to ensure that the diamonds selected by Le Vian diamond buyers meet the above standards.

Le Vian also regularly submits its entire manufacturing process to independent audit and verification as a certified member of the Responsible Jewellery Counsel ("RJC"). RJC Members commit to and are independently audited against the RJC Code of Practices - an international standard on responsible business practices for diamonds, gold and platinum group metals. The Code of Practices addresses human rights, labor rights, environmental impact, mining practices, product disclosure and many more important topics in the jewelry supply chain.

It’s important to remember that while all Chocolate Diamonds are brown diamonds, not all brown diamonds are Chocolate Diamonds. Since Chocolate Diamonds are subject to a very specific classification process, they are much more exclusive. A reputable jeweler like Jared is the best place to shop for Chocolate Diamond jewelry so you can be sure you’re getting authentic jewelry.