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Naturally colored diamonds

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bigalpha

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I really like naturally-colored diamonds. I''m not a big fan of fake stuff, since I think it''s just not as cool (plus, I''m a geologist, so I like rocks/minerals anyways). I like that they look like a ruby or emerald, but they''re actually a diamond. I''m a fairly unconventional kinda guy. I''ve decided to get a colored diamond when I do the whole engagement thing.

After a little bit of research, I found out that red diamonds are super rare and expensive. Shame, since that''s her favorite color. I like the look of the black diamonds, but I''ve decided between green and blue instead. I''d like to get the type of band that has the 3 or 4 smaller diamonds right next to the large one.

Where would be the best place to source a naturally-colored diamond from? I imagine I''d have better luck buying the stone then having it set in an appropriate band.

Thoughts, ideas, pictures?

TIA
 

elle_chris

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If you think reds are expensive have you checked what natural greens (If you can find any) and blues go for?
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Unless you have an unlimited budget, I''d stick to fancy yellows/oranges.

For some nice eye candy there''s Icestore for colors
 

Lorelei

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Date: 4/21/2009 9:47:51 AM
Author: elle_chris
If you think reds are expensive have you checked what natural greens (If you can find any) and blues go for?
2.gif


Unless you have an unlimited budget, I''d stick to fancy yellows/oranges.

For some nice eye candy there''s Icestore for colors
Welcome Bigalpha!

Ditto Elle, with these you are getting into megabucks territory, so unless budget isn''t an issue and you really want a non colour treated diamond, I would look at fancy yellows initially.
 

bigalpha

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I actually haven''t found a place to price out colored diamonds. I read on a few sites that the reds were super rare and almost impossible to get.

Where can you price the colored diamonds?


Shame they''re so expensive.
 

emeraldlover1

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http://www.amgad.com/

I like this site but agree with the others. Mega bucks for even the smallest natural greens and blues.

If she likes reds why not a gemstone e-ring?
 

elle_chris

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Date: 4/21/2009 10:03:01 AM
Author: bigalpha
I actually haven''t found a place to price out colored diamonds. I read on a few sites that the reds were super rare and almost impossible to get.

Where can you price the colored diamonds?


Shame they''re so expensive.
If you click the Icestore link that i put in the above post (it''s underlined), you can fill in a form, tell them what you''re looking for and they''ll get back to you.
They only list prices for yellow diamonds.

Other than that, if you''re in the NYC area, there''s always the diamond district. I would never reccomend to buy there but you can most certainly go look and get an idea what fancy colors go for.
 

Rockit

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If yellow is not your cup of tea, and since your GF likes red, you may want to look for a less pricey diamond in the red "family." For example, although pink is pricey, you may be able to find something to your liking in a modified pink (brownish-pink, orangy-pink) or a pinkish-brown colored diamond. Some of the browns are beautiful. In addition to the vendors mentioned, diamondsbylauren features fancy colored diamonds.

Or, how about a three-stone ring with a colorless center diamond flanked by two stunning red rubies?
 

bigalpha

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Thanks for the info everyone. I really wanted a naturally-colored diamond, but they are much too expensive.

Part of the reason why I liked the colored diamonds is because it''s traditional, yet exotic. Unfortunately, I''m not a big fan of the pinks and yellows.

I suppose it''s back to the drawing board for now.
 

oldminer

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In nature, some gemstones are colored by naturally occuring radiation. If you look into irradiated blue diamonds the color won''t have arisen from nautural irradiation, but it is permanent and visually in the same ballpark as some natural blue colors. They are way less costly and just as interesting for a scientist type. Of course, irradiated blue diamonds are not semi-conductors like nearly all natuural blue diamonds, but the last quarterly GIA Gems & Gemology Magazine told about some new find of natural blue diamonds without boron which did not act as semi-conductors.

I can well understand your aversion to coated and painted diamonds as "fake", but irradiation is more or less a "treatment" which mimics natural events. It does offer a way to go on a better budget. There are also green colored irradiated diamonds, too. Man-made, synthetic blue diamonds are also for sale these days and while not "natural" they have been grown rapidly in a way which is similar to nature speeded up.
 

Inanna

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I agree. If she likes red and blue, perhaps you should look for top color rubies and blue sapphires. Just keep in mind it is much MUCH more difficult to find a colored stone than a white diamond. I have a natural blue sapphire center stone in my e-ring and it took about 6 months to find the right one - I also should also add that I far prefer the color intensity of a cornflower/royal blue sapphire over blue diamonds (every natural blue diamond I''ve seen looks somewhat dull to me, often with a strong gray undertone).
 

bigalpha

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I suppose you can call me a purist. No offense meant, but I find irradiated gems/minerals 'cheating', if you will. My girl shares the same viewpoint as well, lol.

I have an insatiable urge, in almost everything I do, to "one-up" the process and steer away from traditionalism. To make everything more unique than is expected. Sometimes, it works quite well. Sometimes, not so much (colored diamonds).

Part of the allure is that it's not something that everyone else has. For a while, I thought about trying to get a really nice diamond in it's natural crystalline form and having it set. I didn't delve too far into that, as I figure it's pretty close, in difficulty, as finding a red diamond.

Her favorite mineral is tourmaline. I thought about getting some green and/or blue pieces cut and set in the band next to the diamond. We're both pretty active people, so I was aiming for a band that the stones are inset or semi-inset so they don't snag on anything (versus the stereotypical rings with the big rock that sticks out).

Thanks again for everyone's advice, keep it coming! Is there a good website to compare different gemstones? Like the one with the colored diamonds?
 

stone-cold11

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tourmaline is not that hard, definitely not suited for everyday wear as a ring if you decide to go that way.
 

vespergirl

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I love the idea of adding color to the ring. However, as was mentioned, true colored diamonds are prohibitively expensive for most (myself included!) So, how about getting a diamond and then maybe adding a ruby, sapphire or emerald halo? Here''s a pic of CharmCity''s ring with a ruby halo, and her thread for more pics - I love this look:

https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/fay-cullen-er.92053/

faycul1.jpg
 

bigalpha

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You don''t think the tourmaline would be hard enough even if it was a small chip?

The style I''d like to get would be similar to
THIS. Of course, it''d have a bigger stone in the middle, but I''d like for it to be kind of low-key and not stick out a lot.

Would it look ridiculous to have a really nice diamond in the center, then have two other colors (one on each side of the diamond)? Say, red and blue?
 

Rockdiamond

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Date: 4/21/2009 1:53:21 PM
Author: bigalpha
You don't think the tourmaline would be hard enough even if it was a small chip?

The style I'd like to get would be similar to
THIS. Of course, it'd have a bigger stone in the middle, but I'd like for it to be kind of low-key and not stick out a lot.

Would it look ridiculous to have a really nice diamond in the center, then have two other colors (one on each side of the diamond)? Say, red and blue?
Did you mean a ruby on one side and a sapphire on the other?
Sounds pretty patriotic to me!

BTW- we've seen smaller paraiba tourmalines that were gorgeous- but I agree with whoever said they're kinda soft for this type of application
 

stone-cold11

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Even in channel setting, as you pictured it, the table might get scratch and soon may become dull. I think I read somewhere that it is preferable to be higher than 8 on the Mohr scale. Others who wear color gems might give you better advice. Post in the color stone forum?
 

Inanna

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Date: 4/21/2009 1:36:14 PM
Author: Rockdiamond

I''ve recently seen some very nice irradiated blue diamonds, but I''ve always felt like you- I love the natural stones.

Inanna- here''s a blue diamond that does not look at all dull....

David - that is a very pretty stone. Perhaps I used the wrong wording when I wrote "dull" (although I have seen many gray/blue diamonds I do consider dull). Natural blue diamonds IMHO don''t have the same depth (color, saturation, richness) that a top quality blue sapphire can have (again, this is just my personal taste... I don''t want to offend anyone).

For example, look at how amazing Lost Sapphire''s blueberry is: https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/the-lost-sapphire-has-been-found.93860/

Or MissRocks ring: https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/my-new-engagement-ring-glamour-shots.75275/

The color of those just make me drool every time!

Bigalpha - if you do decide to explore stones other than diamond, head over the the Colored Stones section. There is a list of recommended vendors (Jeff White, Wildfish, Fine Water, etc.). You definitely will want to stay higher than an 8 on the Mohs scale ( for reference, diamond is 10, rubies/sapphires are 9, and I believe spinel is 8).
 

bigalpha

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Date: 4/21/2009 1:56:10 PM
Author: Rockdiamond
Date: 4/21/2009 1:53:21 PM

Author: bigalpha

You don''t think the tourmaline would be hard enough even if it was a small chip?


The style I''d like to get would be similar to

THIS. Of course, it''d have a bigger stone in the middle, but I''d like for it to be kind of low-key and not stick out a lot.


Would it look ridiculous to have a really nice diamond in the center, then have two other colors (one on each side of the diamond)? Say, red and blue?
Did you mean a ruby on one side and a sapphire on the other?

Sounds pretty patriotic to me!

Yeah. Would that take away from the diamond in the middle? It seems like it might pull the focus away from the main piece.


I''ll head on over to the colored stones sub forum and have a looksie. I''ll also stay above an 8. I have lots of experience with Moh. We learned a lot about minerals in the Mineralogy class we took.
 

Rockdiamond

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Thank you inanna!

bigalpha- have you considere natural brown diamonds? They are quite exotic in appearance, and far less costly then Blue or pinks- in fact they are quite a bit less than colorless diamonds!~
 

bigalpha

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Date: 4/21/2009 2:14:08 PM
Author: Rockdiamond
Thank you inanna!


bigalpha- have you considere natural brown diamonds? They are quite exotic in appearance, and far less costly then Blue or pinks- in fact they are quite a bit less than colorless diamonds!~

Yes, I think so. It''s not the kind of color I''m looking for. Thanks.
 

CharmCity

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That looks familiar!
 

LD

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Something else to throw into the mix ............ are you aware that Labs can''t tell the difference between an irradiated green diamond and a natural green diamond unless they''ve seen the rough etc? This is because the process used to irradiate diamonds to make them green is exactly the same process that occurs in nature. Very good irradiated diamonds can cost much more than you think and are harder to find that one would assume. The lower clarity yucky deep unattractive irradiated diamonds are easy to find - Ebay is littered with them!!!
 

dkodner

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Hi bigalpha-

I hate to think you are giving up so easily on natural colored diamonds...o)

There are a lot of colors which may be more a lot affordable and still give you the desired look. How about a really fine olive green, like the one below. Or a deep chameleon with green as the prominent color will give you a great green hue without the cost of a pure green. Plus, the fact that it has a natural color change has got to be of great interest as a geologist. Do some good hunting before you give up on the natural diamond idea. That''s my 2 pennies at least...
1.gif
Good luck!

olive125a.jpg
 

DiamondFlame

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If red is her color, I wd take a look at red spinels too...
3.gif


I love natural fancy colored diamonds too... fancy greenish yellow/brown grades are no where near as expensive as fancy greens.
31.gif
 
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