YELLOW DIAMOND

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Yellow diamonds get their colour from the additional presence of nitrogen
The richer the nitrogen concentration, the deeper and more saturated the yellow. The more saturated the yellow colour is, the more valuable, and rare. Intensity is everything.

Cutting a yellow diamond is about trapping colour, not light
Unlike white diamonds (which chase brilliance), yellow diamonds are cut to concentrate colour. A bad cut can wash them out completely. Essentially the priority leans far more towards colour than 'shine'.

'Canary' isn’t a scientific term, it’s marketing
You might have heard the phrase 'canary yellow' thrown around when describing yellow diamonds. Canary diamonds are simply high-saturation fancy yellow diamonds, not a specific diamond grade. The name stuck because it's catchy, that's it.

Yellow diamonds are not graded on the traditional colourless D-Z scale once their colour becomes strong enough.  At this stage, when there's a higher concentration of yellow than that of a Z colour 'white' diamond,  they are classified as 'fancy coloured' diamonds - evaluated primarily on colour intensity, and this becomes the most important factor driving the value, and demand. This refers to the depth, purity, and concentration of yellow within the stone.

Weaker 'yellow' coloured diamonds are just white diamonds, with low colour ratings, X, Y, Z etc. This is known as unintentional colour presence.

The stones progress from 'light yellow', through to deep, 'canary', fancy vivid yellow (FVY).

Many traditional diamond mines also produce yellow, or other fancy colour diamonds, almost like a best-case scenario byproduct. Hence a lot of these mines are similar to those listed in the diamond section:

South Africa - Kimberley Mine is a historic source of early yellow diamonds. Also the massive Venetia Mine has become a major modern producer.
 

Botswana's Jwaneng Mine - the 'world’s most valuable' diamond mine, continually produces high-quality yellow stones.
 

Australia - Argyle Mine (now closed), was better known for exceptional fancy pinks, but also produced warm, deep yellow diamonds.
 

Russia (Yakutia) - the Mirny Mine, or 'The Portal to the Underworld' was for decades a source of both intense and light yellow diamonds, yet resources are now considered largely depleted.
 

Canada's Ekati & Diavik mines – notorious for lighter yellow diamonds with high clarity, but ultimately less value due to the lower saturation/nitrogen content.