Are Colored Diamonds More Expensive?

In their search for the perfect diamond engagement ring, people often ask if colored diamonds are more expensive than white diamonds.

Colored diamonds have an aesthetic appeal to them. Just imagine the bright dazzle of a high-quality diamond with dark hue of purple or a deep blue. Not only are colored diamonds beautiful, they also stand out since clear diamonds are most popular.

In order to understand the difference in price for colored and white diamonds, let’s compare costs of loose colored and white diamonds.

Key Rule – The Rarer The Diamond, The Greater The Price

As for the price difference, the general rule when it comes to diamonds is that the rarer they are, the more expensive they get.

Colored diamonds only make up about 1-10% of all extracted diamonds; the rest is made up of white diamonds. Despite colored diamonds being as rare as they are, there are certain types of colored diamonds that are surprisingly affordable; in some cases they may even lost lower than white diamonds.

The pricing of colored diamond is determined by its supply and demand. Colored diamonds that are low in supply but high in demand will inevitably have higher prices. On the other hand there are colored diamonds that have a fairly high supply but not necessarily a great demand; these can cost you less than their white diamond counterparts.

How We Dictate Trends

Humans have a tendency to long for what we can’t have. When we realize that others too can’t have it, we get even more excited.

The value of colored diamonds depends on their rarity and on fashion trends. When Ben Affleck proposed to Jennifer Lopez with a stunning 6 carat pink diamond, the demand for pink diamonds shot up. Of course, the average consumer can’t afford a rock like J’LO’s but they can still pick smaller diamonds with a pink hue.

The same happened when Paris Hilton resurfaced in magazines, showing off her massive canary yellow diamond engagement ring.

The prices for colored diamonds

Colored diamonds can be broken into 4 main groups based on prices:

In this group we have the yellow, brown and gray diamonds. These diamonds don’t quite have the demand to push the prices up therefore their costs are comparatively low.

Mid-range diamonds include vivid yellow diamonds and orange diamonds. Diamonds that have color with high-intensity fall into this range. You’ll find diamonds that have a pure orange color; these are amongst the most expensive colored diamonds. You’ll also find orange diamonds with hues of brown, these will cost much less.

Customers can get away with buying dark diamonds of lower carat weights because the dark color hides and flaws.

There’s a reason Ben Affleck proposed with a pink diamond – it’s incredibly rare and very expensive. The world’s rarest colored diamonds are pink, blue, green, purple and violet. These glistening gems are sold in auctions for millions of dollars. A single carat of these diamonds can costs tens of thousands of dollars. Any improvements in color and size will only make the price higher.

Out of all known diamond colors, one is worth more than any other color.

The red diamond is the rarest of them all, making it the most expensive diamond. They only come with a Fancy intensity.

It’s tough to get an estimate on the cost of red diamonds because of the huge differences in their hues. A purplish red diamond of 0.20ct can cost $300,000 while a 0.40ct can cost $500,000.

Back in 2013 a red diamond weight 1.56 carat named the Argyle Phoenix was sold for undisclosed amount. What we do know is that the cost per carat was a whopping $1.25million!

Love diamonds? Solitaire Jewelers has an exquisite collection of diamond jewelry. Our jewelry collection consists of engagement rings, wedding bands, luxury watches and more.

Browse though our collection online or visit us in our showroom in Honolulu, Hawaii.