Colorless diamonds are commonly used in engagement rings for their great brilliance and shine. However, diamonds also come in a wide range of brilliant colors, which are known as fancy-colored diamonds. Colored diamonds can be a stunning option for people who want non-traditional engagement rings.
Color in diamonds forms as a result of some foreign elements getting trapped inside the crystal during its formation. The color of diamonds varies based on the type of impurity getting trapped inside these stones.
Diamonds come in varied hues. Some of the common colors are yellow and brown. However, colors like blue, pink, etc. occur rarely and they carry greater value in comparison with common colorless diamonds and other common colored diamonds.
Are Colored Diamonds Rare?
Fancy-colored natural diamonds occur rarely. Most of the colored diamonds you find in jewelry stores can be heat treated to enhance their color. Additionally, fancy-colored lab grown diamonds are also available which come for much affordable rates than natural fancy-colored diamonds.
Faint colors will be available for lower rates when compared to diamonds with intense colors. Some diamond colors can have a higher value in comparison with others because of their rarity. The rarest diamond color is red and some other vibrant colors like orange, pink, blue, and green are also found rarely. Commonly found diamond colors like brown and yellow can be available for cheap rates than your colorless diamonds. However, rare diamond colors can have higher price tags than colorless stones.
Certificates For Colored Diamonds
Just like colorless diamonds, colored diamonds also come with quality certificates or grading reports provided by gemological labs like the GIA. These certificates can be helpful for you to find out whether your colored diamonds are natural, heat-treated, or lab-grown.
Colored diamonds will be graded based on the intensity of their color. Diamonds with lower intensity will be given the grade “Faint”, whereas, diamonds with intense colors will be graded as “Fancy Vivid”.
Best Cut For Fancy-Colored Diamonds
The cushion cut is commonly used for colored diamonds, as it can enhance the intensity of the color. Even though round brilliant cut can accentuate the brilliance of colorless diamonds, it might not be a good option for colored diamonds, as this cut cannot show off the color when compared to the cushion cut.
When getting colored diamonds, make sure that you do not spend a huge amount on heat-treated or lab-grown diamonds, as they have significantly low value in comparison with natural colored diamonds.