In recent times, we have all seen excellent examples of elegant colored diamond engagement rings on the rich and famous. Fancy colored diamond engagement rings have risen in popularity dramatically in recent years. A fancy natural colored diamond is generally rarer than a traditional white diamond, and this will be reflected in the cost.

Fancy colored diamonds can vary in cost depending on the actual color, such as pink, black, or red, and then its intensity. Along with the more traditional white diamonds, colored diamonds share all of the wonderful properties that make them ideal for an engagement ring stone.

The elegant colored diamonds are available in more than pink, yellow and black. Other colors include red, purple, green, orange, violet, gray, blue, and the various browns, sometimes known as champagne and cognac.

The rarest of the naturally colored diamonds is red, followed by green. A pink diamond will be more expensive than a yellow one. Blue, orange and green will be even more expensive than a pink. Fancy black and brown colored diamonds can actually be less expensive than their natural white cousins, and can be a great selection for those couples who want natural diamonds with a bit of color and better value for money.

Natural colored diamonds can achieve their colors in a number of ways. Green diamonds have been exposed to radiation while they were forming under the earth’s crust. Natural orange diamonds get their coloration from the presence of nitrogen and carbon. Blue diamonds generally get their gorgeous color from containing boron and not nitrogen.

Most of the pink and brown diamonds are mined from the Argyle diamond mine in Australia. Colored diamonds can also be mined from South Africa, Brazil, and Venezuela.

Whatever the color of the diamond, the grading system remains the same for pricing. At the lower end of the value scale is the most subdued color, moving on to light, fantasy, dark fantasy, and then the most desirable and valuable are intense fantasy, deep fantasy, and vivid fantasy.

Some celebrities with colored diamond engagement rings include Mariah Carey in pink, Carmen Electra in black, and Heidi Klum in yellow, sometimes known as canary.

Colored diamond engagement rings can be a great way to incorporate colors, from very subtle to intense, while maintaining the enduring properties of diamonds. At the moment, the most popular diamond color is yellow. However, whatever your favorite color, there will be a colored diamond engagement ring to match or complement.