When it comes to a colored diamond engagement ring, there are some critical differences between these rings and traditional white ones. These differences can be as significant as the shade of the stone or as subtle as the shape. While diamonds are colorless when viewed under a microscope, colored gemstones can have a special meaning for you and your partner. The most important considerations are your budget and what metal your ring will be made of.
GIA certification is one of the best ways to ensure the authenticity of your purchase. To get a GIA certificate for your colored diamond, you should ensure that the stone has undergone independent grading. You can also use a GIA guide to color-graded diamonds, which will help you understand the jargon. When buying a colored diamond ring, the most important C is the color intensity.
Things to Know about Diamond Color
If you’re looking for a diamond engagement ring, you’ll need to grasp what diamond color is if you want to appreciate the quality and value of diamonds. Check out our seven crucial points about the diamond color. You should know if you’re curious about what colors diamonds come in and how color grading affects value.
Diamond Value and Shade
The color of a diamond is essential: most engagement rings use near-colorless diamonds with hints of yellow or brown. When all other factors are equal, the more colorless a diamond is, the rarer it is, and its price reflects this rarity. The GIA’s D-to-Z Guide, The Color Scale, determines a diamond’s colorlessness. The letter “D” denotes a colorless diamond, with each subsequent letter denoting a diamond with a faintly yellow or brown tint.
A Grading Lab Should Establish The Color Rating
The differences between diamond color grades can be so slight that the untrained eye misses them. They do, however, make a significant difference in the price of a diamond. As a result, it’s best to leave determining a diamond’s color grade to a gemological laboratory like GIA, which has the expertise and protocols to ensure objective, unbiased color grading.
When determining the color of a diamond, GIA graders follow a stringent process that specifies the type of lighting and neutral background to be utilized and how the diamond should be held and seen. When all master stones are arranged table down in a grading tray, a color grade is assessed by multiplying the gem to master stones – a set of chroma gems of known location on the GIA D-to-Z color-grading scale. When viewed face-up, this view posture reduces the complexity of a faceted colorless to near-colorless diamond.
Colored Diamonds Are Better Appreciated Than Colorless Diamonds
In colored diamonds, color is undoubtedly the essential factor. Yellow, brown, pink, red, blue, orange, purple, green, grey, and black are among the most popular colors for diamonds. This does not apply to slightly yellowish, slightly brownish, or slightly grey diamonds. Diamonds are called fancy-color diamonds, fancy diamonds, or fancies when the color is natural.
Colored diamonds are graded differently than colorless diamonds by the GIA. The grading system for colored diamonds is based on the presence of color when the diamond is viewed face-up, as opposed to the D-to-Z grading system for colorless to light yellow diamonds, which is based on the absence of color when the diamond is viewed table down. The GIA uses Faint, Very Light, Light, Fancy Light, Fancy Dark, Fancy Intense, Fancy Deep, and Fancy Vivid to characterize colored diamonds.
Treatments Can Help To Improve The Color Of Diamonds
Treatments can change the hue of a diamond. Diamonds that have not been handled are more costly than diamonds that have been treated, assuming all other factors are equal. The seller is required by law to disclose any treatments. It’s easier to comprehend how diamonds have been treated if you know their hue.
HPHT (high pressure, high temperature) processing is the most popular method for changing, enhancing, or removing color. Some brown diamonds can be treated with HPHT to become colorless or various colors such as yellow, greenish-yellow, or green. This procedure is also linked to pink, blue, and orange-yellow diamonds that have been treated. Although the color is thought to be permanent, HPHT therapy should always be disclosed.
Another method for changing the color of gem material, especially after irradiation, is annealing, which involves controlled heating and cooling. Other methods for improving a diamond’s color include irradiating it or coating it.
Engagement Ring Settings Can Affect The Perception Of Diamond Shade
Diamonds are highly reflective; their facets are a collection of small mirrors that reflect light and the environment. As a result, it should be no surprise that the hue of a ring’s prongs and shank might affect the diamond’s color. A white metal, such as platinum or white gold, can emphasize a colorless or near-colorless diamond’s lack of color, whereas a gold band can make a diamond low on the D-to-Z scale seem more yellow.
Knowledge Of Color Diamonds
Diamonds come in vibrant colors, ranging from red and pink to green, violet, blue, yellow, brown, and black. Colors like red, blue, and green are highly scarce and will command exorbitant prices. The saturation level of fancy colors has nine levels, with the deepest being the most precious, affecting the price. They are, in order of lightest to most saturated:
- Faint
- Very light
- Light
- Fancy light
- Fancy
- Fancy dark
- Fancy deep
- Fancy intense
- Fancy vivid
Yellow diamonds (as well as brown and black diamonds) are a little more challenging to work with. Beautiful yellow diamonds have been worn by royalty and Hollywood icons. The phrase “canary” is often used to describe these bright yellow diamonds, but it’s a marketing term that neither labs nor appraisers use. Most yellow and brown diamonds were formerly thought to be less valuable cousins to the highly precious colorless or near-colorless diamonds.
However, in recent years, diamond businesses have discovered ways to rebrand yellow, brown, and black diamonds, branding brown diamonds as “cognac” and “champagne” and yellow diamonds as “sun” or “golden,” catching the demand of celebrities seeking a unique jewelry style. Celebrities, performers, and models have made fashionable yellow, brown, and black diamonds.
Different Colored Diamond Engagement Rings
You don’t need to fly to Switzerland or Paris to shop the great auction houses if you’ve determined that a fancy-color diamond is the only option for your engagement ring. Color-enhanced diamonds are a cost-effective solution. Some of the loveliest shades of color of diamond engagement rings may be seen here. Choose from the following options:
Jared Aquamarine & Diamonds Engagement Ring
Aquamarine is an unusual yet lovely engagement ring choice. The subtle tint, coupled with a plain silver band, is classic and distinctive.
DAVIDOR Ring with Arch Cut Pink Tourmaline
This stunning 18k white gold ring with a pink tourmaline stone, handcrafted in DAVIDOR’s Paris Atelier, is ideal for a classic bride who appreciates a pop of color. The arch detailing, in particular, is an unusual addition.
Ocean Bleu White London Blue Diamond Engagement Ring
A stone with a brilliant cerulean hue, London blue topaz, is usually an excellent choice, especially for the atypical bride. It’s also a color that’ll never go out of style.
Kwiat Colombian Emerald Ring With Diamonds
This gorgeous emerald ring by Kwiat, the famed jeweler, is truly spectacular. The emeralds are sourced ethically and responsibly from Colombia’s Muzo and Chivor mines.
Mejuri Round Cut Ring
We couldn’t resist this peachy number with morganite, diamonds, and 14K white gold from Mejuri, known for its cheap, colorful engagement rings. A jaw-dropping ring for a reasonable price? We’ll gladly accept it.
Flora Blue Sapphire Ring in Yellow Shade
This beautiful sapphire ring features a complimentary 18k yellow gold band and distinctive diamond side stone accents. It’s a traditional shape with a sleek, modern twist.
Ring Concierge Yellow Emerald Cut Micro Pavé Engagement Ring
Choose this magnificent yellow emerald-cut diamond masterpiece for a ring that will take your breath away. It has a well-balanced brilliance, thanks to the tiny pavé band.
Natural Fancy Shade Yellow Brown Halo Ring
This stunning pear-shaped diamond is elevated to new heights with a diamond halo. We adore the distinctive golden-brown color scheme with gleaming embellishments. For the win, it’s Sparkles.
Kataoka Water Lily Ring
Texture and color strike their stride with this ultra-pretty engagement ring by Japanese jeweler YoshinobuKataoka. Oh, the aquamarine, pearls, and diamonds!
Bulgari Gold Ring
The bezel setting on this beautiful tourmaline center stone gives it an old-world air. You won’t be able to resist this Bulgari masterpiece, which is 2.40 carats and bordered by an engraved chevron pattern.
What To Examine When Picking A Colored Engagement Ring?
Cut
You could believe that the color of your bold bling is the most crucial characteristic to consider, but you’d be wrong. “The cut of your diamond or gemstone is crucial in deciding how well it glows. Fancy colored diamonds and gemstones are cut to enhance their face-up color and sparkle, while D-Z color categories have stricter criteria, “Brantner explains.
Stone
The stone is the fascinating choice in this scenario because it dictates the entire look! “When it comes to the hue of the center stone, you have many options! The most frequent gemstone is blue sapphire, though you may prefer a lighter, ice blue tint to the traditional medium blue, “Brantner explains. There’s a style, cut, and setting for every appearance, whether your particular preference leans toward a softer pastel hue or a more deep, flaming tone.
Style
It all starts and finishes with the stone when choosing a colored engagement ring. “First choose your gemstone type, then your outline shape,” Brantner advises. Consider whether the stone’s color or shape is more important to you. You may fall in love with the color of one stone but not the shape of another due to the scarcity of some colored gemstones and diamonds. You may need to decide which is more important to you in this situation. Concentrate on the element that has the most impact on your style.
What Do Hardness & Toughness In Gemstones Mean?
The Hardness of a gemstone determines how well it resists scratches and abrasions, which is significant in its wearability. Moh’s Hardness is a scale used to determine the scratch resistance of some commonly available stones, not their toughness. A diamond is the world’s most complex natural material, yet it’s also the most brittle. A gemologist’s adage goes that if you smack a diamond with a hammer, it will shatter into a dozen pieces, a piece of quartz will split in half, and a piece of jade will ring like a bell! Is this even possible?
The glue that binds the particles together inside a crystal structure determines the material’s Hardness. The simplicity with which the strata of electrons at a surface can be split by exerting pressure on a specimen of another substance demonstrates this bonding. If the second substance is more challenging than the first, it will leave a furrow or scratch on the microscopic scale, representing the breakdown of millions of atomic bonds. As a result, a mineral’s Hardness is defined as its “scratch-ability,” Each mineral can be graded based on the elements it can scratch.
Toughness refers to a mineral’s resistance to breaking and chipping, commonly expressed as tenacity or resistance to blows. A diamond, for example, cannot be scratched by steel, yet a hammer strike may shatter it. Toughness is graded on low, fair, reasonable, outstanding, and extraordinary scales. Although diamond is the hardest natural substance on the planet, it is only rated ‘good’ in terms of toughness; corundum (ruby, sapphire) is the most durable stone, measuring 8 on the Moh’s Scale but rated ‘outstanding’ in terms of toughness.
Conclusion
If you want an economic fancy-color diamond, look for diamonds with modifiers to the primary colors. A fancy light yellow-brown diamond, for example, has yellow overtones and is a fancy light brown diamond. On the other hand, some modifiers may raise a stone’s value. But be assured, a color engagement ring that lays out the red carpet for your future will together tickle your fiancé’s cherry.
