Quick and Easy Buying Guide
Carat weight: 1 carat = 200 milligrams = 6.5 mm diameter. Doubling weight doesn't double diameter.
Diamond clarity: FL/IF/VVS/VS = super expensive, near perfect. SI = best value if you can check a photo for obvious inclusions (defects).
Color: D-G = colorless, expensive, only if you have money to burn. H-J = best value. Can go lower in gold metal settings than white metal.
Cut: Better cut ratings let more light into a diamond, making it sparkle more. Very important property, don't skimp here.
Set a budget and minimum cut (Premium). Go J color for gold and I/H for white metals. Go searching for SI1/SI2 clarity diamonds at James Allen. Pick a diamond with small/no inclusions. Choose a ring setting and buy it risk-free (60-day returns).
Fancy Color Diamonds
Are you interested in diamonds that are even more unique and interesting than white diamonds? If so, fancy colored diamonds might be your thing!
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Fancy colored diamonds are rare diamonds that are prized for their color, rather than their whiteness like normal diamonds. Top fancy color diamonds may appear bright pink, blue and so forth.
Here is an example fancy color diamond. It is a 0.19 Carat, Fancy Deep Bluish Green, Radiant, VS2 diamond certified by the GIA. It is worth around $20,000 - so you can see that these fancy color diamonds are worth far more than similar sized white diamonds.
Because they are so rare - fancy color diamonds make up less than 1% of the total rough diamonds processed internationally every year - these diamonds are especially precious and prized by aficianados and famous celebrities all around the world. For example, look at any major international show such as the Academy Awards or Grammys and you are bound to see celebrities strutting their stuff with large, showy fancy colored diamonds.
There are of course some similarities between fancy color diamonds and white diamonds. The price of a fancy color diamond is also affected by the 4Cs: Color, Clarity, Cut and Carat. However, the way in which a fancy diamond is priced based on these factors is different to how a white diamond is priced.
One of the most obvious differences is that fancy color diamonds have a totally different color grading system. Instead of being classified a letter between D and J like for white diamonds, fancy colored diamonds are instead given a classification of Light, Fancy Light, Fancy Intense, Fancy Deep, Fancy Dark or Fancy Vivid. Because these diamonds are selected based on their color, the stronger the color, the more expensive the diamond.
Fancy color diamonds that have only one primary color are more valuable than fancy color diamonds that have a secondary hue. For example, a blue or pink diamond is worth more than a fancy Grayish Blue or a fancy Orangey Pink. The rarest fancy color diamond is red.
The color in a fancy diamond can come from a number of sources. Trace elements such as nitrogen can affect the color, as can certain conditions during the formation of the stone, such as the presence of radiation. Inclusions, much avoided with pure white diamonds, can sometimes add to the color and appeal of a fancy color diamond.
More affordable fancy color diamonds can also be synthetically created in a laboratory. This effect is achieved through irradiation and the application of extreme heat to the stone. While these stones are not "naturally" formed fancy color stones, they are still genuine stones and an affordable alternative.
A fancy colored diamond is also cut and polished in a different way to a white diamond. It is cut to show off the color rather than to try and make the diamond appear as white as possible.
To read more about fancy color diamonds, you can visit FancyDiamonds.net (run by Leibish & Co.).
Leibish & Co. also have a VIP Members Club with free membership. Club members get a 12% discount on payments made by wire within the first 14 days of their registration, and then 7% thereafter. Members also get notifications about new stock and discount offers as they become available.