  A magneto-optical study of the 1.4 eV Ni color center in boron-free synthetic
diamond, grown at high pressure and high temperature, has been performed in
magnetic fields up to 56 T. The data is interpreted using the effective spin
Hamiltonian of Nazar\'e, Nevers and Davies [Phys. Rev. B 43, 14196 (1991)] for
interstitial Ni$^{+}$ with the electronic configuration $3d^{9}$ and effective
spin $S=1/2$. Our results unequivocally demonstrate the trigonal symmetry of
the defect which preferentially aligns along the [111] growth direction on the
(111) face, but reveal the shortcomings of the crystal field model for this
particular defect.
