Did you know diamonds can be found in green, yellow, blue, grey, pink, black, and even purple?
While colorless diamonds are admired for their brilliance, they are actually less rare than fancy colored diamonds. The rarest of all? Red diamonds.
The presence of trace elements and natural conditions deep within the earth determine a diamond’s color. These extraordinary gemstones are graded not for lack of color (like traditional diamonds) but for the intensity and saturation of their hues. The grading scale includes: Fancy Light, Fancy Intense, Fancy Vivid, Fancy Deep, and Fancy Dark.
Fancy colored diamonds are exceptionally rare—only about 1 in 10,000 diamonds is naturally colored. Their vibrance, individuality, and rarity make them works of art in the world of fine jewelry.
Would you be deserving of one of these rare masterpieces? At Diamond Tales, we specialize in guiding our clients through the journey of finding their perfect stone—whether timelessly classic or vividly unique.
Explore our colored gemstone and diamond rings — from vivid sapphires and emeralds to rare fancy-colored diamonds. Book a free private consultation to find the rare stone that's right for you.
The Science Behind Fancy Color Diamonds
White diamonds get their transparency from a pure carbon structure. Fancy colored diamonds form when trace elements become incorporated during crystallization, or when structural irregularities alter how the stone absorbs light. Nitrogen produces yellow and orange hues — the most common cause of diamond color. Boron creates blue diamonds (including the famous Hope Diamond). Green diamonds acquire their color from natural radiation exposure over millions of years deep within the earth. Red and pink diamonds, the rarest of all, are caused by plastic deformation in the crystal lattice — a structural shift that science still doesn't fully understand.
How Fancy Color Diamonds Are Graded
The GIA grades fancy color diamonds using 27 hue categories and three dimensions: hue (the primary color), tone (lightness or darkness), and saturation (intensity). The saturation scale runs from Faint through Very Light, Light, Fancy Light, Fancy, Fancy Intense, Fancy Vivid, Fancy Deep, and Fancy Dark. A Fancy Vivid yellow diamond commands a premium precisely because that depth of saturation is so rarely achieved in nature. When purchasing a fancy color diamond, always ask for the GIA Colored Diamond Grading Report, which provides objective grading in all three dimensions and confirms whether the color is natural or treated.
Natural vs. Treated Color Diamonds
Not all colored diamonds are natural. Irradiation, HPHT (high pressure high temperature) treatment, and coatings can be used to introduce or enhance color in otherwise colorless diamonds. These treated stones are significantly less valuable than naturally colored diamonds and must be disclosed by law. A reputable jeweler will always identify whether a diamond's color is natural or treated, and the GIA report will state this clearly. At Diamond Tales, we work exclusively with natural colored diamonds and can provide full documentation for every stone.
Shop Fancy Color Diamond Jewelry
Diamond Tales carries a curated selection of jewelry featuring natural fancy-colored diamonds and rare colored gemstones. Our 18k yellow gold fancy yellow diamond studs bring the warmth and rarity of natural yellow diamonds into an everyday wearable form. For those seeking a statement piece, our radiant cut fancy yellow diamond pave ring in platinum is a museum-worthy design built for daily life. And the platinum GIA rectangular fancy yellow diamond pave ring offers GIA-certified color in a bold architectural setting. Every piece comes with full provenance documentation and our commitment to natural, untreated stones.
