Diamond Jewelry Color

The majority of diamond jewelry sold in the jewelry industry ranges in color from near colorless to very light yellow or brown, but diamond jewelry does come in all colors - pale yellow, canary, pink, red, green, blue and brown and these are known as "fancies".

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 uthenticity.

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.

The more color the stone in your diamond jewelry has, the less it will seem to sparkle. This is caused by the color in the stone blocking some of the light from passing through the stone.

Colorless diamonds allow the most light to pass through them which creates the maximum amount of brilliance (or fire). Trully colorless diamonds, however, are rare and valuble.

In the diamond jewelry trade, cut stones are graded for for color, against a white background (anyone who shows you diamonds against a black background is out to con you), according to the to Gemological Institute of America's professional color scale that begins with the highest rating of D for colorless, and ends with a rating of Z for stones with traces of a very faint yellow or brown color.