Colored Diamonds

Fancy colored diamonds are all the rage these days.  Gemologists have developed new ways to create versions that are affordable for the average person - by treating less desirable diamonds. These less desirable diamonds are treated with irradiation followed by intense heat.  This turns brown and yellowish diamonds into beautifully colored diamonds that you can afford.  This produces stunning greens, blues, yellows, reds, purples and other colors.  These colors are considered permanent, but there is a possibility they could change during repairs if a high heat is used.

Treatments like irradiation make it possible for more people to own these vividly colored diamonds. Most natural colored diamonds are rare and also extremely expensive. When shopping for colored diamonds you need to assume that any affordable fancy color diamond has been treated.  Ask about the stones origin and request to view a lab certificate to verify authenticity.

Synthetic colored diamonds are another option if owning a colored diamond is something you desire but cannot quite afford.  They are real diamonds, but they are created in a lab.

Natural fancy color diamonds get their coloring from different trace elements present in the stones, such as nitrogen, which produces a yellow diamond.  Diamonds can be colored by exposure to radiation during its creation.  An example of a diamond affected by radiation is a Green diamond.

Another way that a natural colored diamond gets color is by its inclusions.  Regarded as flaws and undesirable in a colorless diamond, inclusions give unique tones and brilliant flashes of color in a fancy color diamond.  Remember that Natural fancy colored diamonds are very expensive, any colored diamond labeled to be sold as natural should be accompanied by a certificate from a respected grading lab.

A "fancy" diamond is a natural diamond that has color.  These colors vary from red, green, purple, violet, orange, blue and pink – and most shades between.  Fancy color shades vary from faint to intense.

The most famous diamonds in the world are Color diamonds.  The Tiffany Diamond, which is yellow and the Hope Diamond which is blue are colored diamonds.    Color diamonds have an amazing financial track record.  The value has never decreased on wholesale level in more than 30 years.  Blue and pink diamonds have doubled every 5 years of a strong economy.   In the 1970’s you could have bought a very high quality blue diamond for about 50K and today the very same stone would be worth between 2 and 3 million.

Fancy Colored Diamonds – Canary Yellow Diamonds

While many diamonds are inspected and valued based on their colorless qualities, there are people who prefer the fancy colored diamonds that come in vivid hues of greens, yellows, reds, pinks and all the different colors in between.

Some colored diamonds are that way naturally. If a diamond has nitrogen in it, it often has a yellow tint to the stone and are referred to as Yellow Diamonds or Canary Yellow Diamonds. If the gemstone has been effected by radiation, the gem may turn green.

Other colored diamonds have been treated to obtain their color, and this allows people with lower budgets to purchase the fancy colored diamonds. Gemologists have found ways to alter the colors of diamonds to get any shade or hue desired.

The grading process for colored diamonds is slightly different than that of the transparent diamond. First, a colored diamond is graded based on the primary hue, the blue or pink or red color that makes up the majority of the diamonds color. Second, they are graded based on the intensity of that color. A very intense, naturally colored diamond is more rare than a less intense diamond, and therefore more expensive. A treated diamond will cost less than a naturally colored diamond in most instances.

Color Treated Diamonds – Blue Diamonds

Many people are starting to favor the fancy, vivid colored diamond gem stones over the traditional transparent, or white, diamond. Some diamonds are found in their natural colors when they are mined, others become colored by gemologists and jewelers during a treatment process. In order to make them more affordable to the average consumer, companies have begun color treating diamonds of lower grades in order to take a less desirable yellow or brownish tinted diamond and make it into a beautiful, brightly colored diamond.

Colored diamonds can be treated by a process called irradiation, which uses a high heat system to alter the color of a diamond. Other diamonds are treated by painting.  Here are some great blue diamonds we have for sale.

Colored Diamond Names – Green Diamonds

Because fancy colored diamonds come in so many different shades, it can sometimes be difficult to interpret the name of the diamonds color. Often, you'll find two colors labeling the shade of a diamond, such as greenish blue. Each name has a primary color description, and some have a secondary color description. If a diamond is called “blue diamond”, you can tell it will be a blue shaded diamond gemstone.

If the diamond is called “greenish blue”, you may wonder what that means. Is the diamond blue, or is it green? The color that is described with the “ish” at the end is considered the secondary color, and the other color, in this case blue, becomes the primary color. So a greenish blue diamond is mostly blue, with specks of green seen throughout the stone. If you come upon a diamond labeled “brown red”, then the diamond will have equal amounts of both colors seen through the stone.