Buying A Colored Diamond Engagement Ring

Buying A Colored Diamond Engagement RingBy: Lee DobbinsThe most famous diamonds in the world are colored diamonds so why shouldn't you have one in your engagement ring? You could get a yellow diamond like the Tiffany diamond or perhaps a blue like the Hope diamond. Another very popular color is pink. In fact, colored diamonds are becoming quite a trend among celebrities as well as everyday people.
Plus buying a colored diamond for your ring may be a better investment. Color diamonds have an amazing financial track record. In over 30 years, the value of colored diamonds has never decreased on wholesale level. In fact, the pink and blue diamonds have doubled every 5 years in a strong economy. If you have invested in a colored diamond you could make a killing, in fact a high quality blue diamond could go for $50,000 in the 1970s and that same In the 1970's stone would be worth between 2 and 3 million today!
While natural colored diamonds are quite expensive, gemologists have developed new ways to create versions that are affordable for the average person. They do this by treating the less desirable diamonds with irradiation followed by intense heat. This amazing process turns brown and yellowish diamonds into beautifully colored diamonds that you can afford. It can also produce stunning greens, blues, yellows, reds, purples and other colors. Although these colors are considered permanent, there is a possibility they could change during repairs if a high heat is used.
If you are shopping for an engagement ring with a colored diamond stone, you should probably assume that anything remotely affordable has been treated. If you are not sure ask about the stones origin and request to view a lab certificate to verify authenticity.
Another type of colored diamond that is affordable is a synthetic colored diamond. These are real diamonds that are grown in a lab. As they are grown, the natural coloring and process of diamond formation is simulated. Natural fancy color diamonds get their coloring from different trace elements like nitrogen and other minerals that are present in the stones. Lab created 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. Interestingly enough, inclusions are regarded as flaws in a colorless diamond and are very undesirable, but in a colored diamond the inclusions give unique tones and brilliant flashes of color and are desirable.
When shopping for your engagement ring, remember that natural fancy colored diamonds are extremely expensive, and any colored diamond which is labeled to be sold as a natural colored diamond should be accompanied by a certificate from a respected grading lab verifying it as such.
Author BioLee Dobbins is a jewelry designer and owner of Artisan Jewelry Online where you can find out more about handmade jewelry, diamonds and other gem stones.
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