[Guest Post] Colour Treated vs Fancy Colour Diamonds

Image by Oussaief Imen via Flickr

Ever heard of the saying, "Diamonds are a girl's best friend?" Well, the saying is not wrong because who wouldn't love to indulge in something so beautiful and classy? The shimmering glow is enough to pull the heartstrings. Of course, the existent of coloured diamonds can make a girl swoon even more! Here's all you need to know about colour-treated vs natural coloured diamonds.

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Natural coloured diamonds are some of the rarest gemstones found on this Earth. With all the incredible properties of diamonds, and the stunning and varied colours, they are an extraordinary gemstone.

You may well have seen coloured diamonds before, but, did you realise that diamonds actually exist in ten different colours? In fact, more than 300 different colours have been identified, but we will stick with the basic colours that you may be familiar with.

Natural Fancy Coloured Diamonds

If you are looking to find a ring with the perfect stone at the best price possible, you’re going to need to know which colour stone you or your beloved may prefer. Below is a list of coloured diamonds which has been devised from least rare to more common:

 Yellow

 Brown

 White or colourless

 Blue

 Green

 Black

 Pink

 Orange

 Purple

 Red

Since natural coloured diamonds are rare, they are a lot more expensive than colourless diamonds, aside from drown and yellow diamonds. For instance, a ½ carat natural blue round diamond can cost anywhere in excess of $80,000 as opposed to the same colourless diamond for approximately $2,500.

Colour Treated Diamonds

Many of the beautiful coloured diamonds that you see in jewellery stores are actually stones that have been treated in order to enhance their hues. This can help keep costs down. It is worth noting that treated pink diamonds are still costly as white diamonds very rarely turn pink with heat treatment or radiation.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with a treated diamond, provided the treatment is legitimate, the stone remains durable, and the colour is permanent. If you are looking for treated diamonds, Diamonds for Less is Toronto’s most trusted jeweller with a wide selection to choose from.

A Few of the Safer Types of Treatment

There are two particularly common types of colour treatments: HPHT (high pressure, high temperature) and irradiation. Both methods are completely safe and result in a permanent change to the diamond. The colour will not fade over time.

Irradiation

This is the most common form of diamond colour treatment. You should ensure you get a diamond that was treated within the laws specified which require manufacturers to use a certain type of irradiation with alpha rays. There are a lot of overseas companies that don’t have regulations and tend to use cheaper processes, such as gamma rays. This only serves to leave the stone radioactive after it has been coloured.

High Pressure, High Temperature

The method of HPHT uses a great deal of pressure along with high temperatures to expunge the diamond’s natural colour. This treatment tends to make it much harder to control the colour of the diamond.

Stay Away from Diamonds with Surface Coating Treatments

Coloured diamonds that have had a surface coating treatment are not a good deal at all. For starters, the coating can wear off. The other issue is that you have to remove this kind of stone from a pendant or ring for any basic jewellery repairs. This includes prong pre-tipping, rhodium plating, or event cleaning the ring using an ultrasonic cleaner.

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I honestly had zero knowledge about diamonds prior to this, so I hope this Diamond 101 guide was useful to you! Psst.. It's good to bookmark this for future reference (ahem, perhaps when you're choosing a ring or something, ladies? :p)

Disclaimer: This article is published in partnership with MediaBuzzer.

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