There are several names for yellow diamonds. One of them is "Cape" the other widely used name is "Canary". Both have colors that seem hard to pin down. The yellow diamond that started it all was a 10.73 carat oval cushion called the "Eureka". The South African yellow rough was found in 1868 and started the diamond rush in Africa. The diamonds found in this area had a slight to pronounced yellowish cast. At that time South Africa was also referred to as the Cape. For the next 90 years the term 'cape' was synonymous with yellow diamonds from this area. At some point the term lost its geographical meaning and became the color name. The color in these yellow diamonds was not considered a plus however; if the color was strong enough it was called a 'canary' diamond.

The term yellow covers a broad spectrum of hues and saturations. This is especially true for fancy yellow diamonds. Pure yellow diamonds stretch in saturation from straw through lemon to taxicab yellow. Originally meant to convey strong yellow color, the term 'canary' degenerated into a description used for any diamond of yellow except those yellow diamonds that were tinged yellow as in the 'cape' diamonds.

Yellow diamonds don't have to be 'canary' to be beautiful. Medium yellows, as well as yellow modified by brown offer big diamond values. If you want to look for a true intense yellow diamond consider buying a shape other than round brilliant. Marquise, oval, pear and radiant cut bring out the best color and waste little rough gem material. You pay more for the extravagance of a round cut.