Colour Enhanced Diamonds

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Pink Blue Orange & Yellow Diamonds

Coloured Diamonds
Fancy or intensely coloured diamonds are very rare, and are also very attractive and desirable. Because they are not actively marketed, certainly not by De Beers, knowledge levels and demand for them is still relatively low. Even so, they command high prices, often much more than colourless diamonds. These intensely coloured diamonds are known as "Fancy" coloured or "Fancies".
Natural fancy coloured diamonds are so rare that most people will never have seen one. Most people only "know" or think they do, that whiter is better.

Why Enhance Colour?
Simple. Some colours are more desirable and attractive than others. If you own a slightly "off" coloured diamond, and could turn it into a "better" or more desirable colour, then you would be silly not to. Colour is very important to most of us in our lives. If you choose the colour of your car, your walls, or your curtains, then why not choose the colour of your diamond?
Unfortunately it is not quite so easy. Not all diamonds can have their colour enhanced, added to which there is the cost of the process, and the risk involved.

Colour Enhancement Processes
There are a number of different ways to change the colour of a diamond. Most of the companies who perform colour enhancement treatments are quite secretive about their exact techniques, although there is also international research aimed at being able to detect and identify enhancement processes. the basic methods for enhancement are:

• Irridiation
  Radiation by controlled exposure to radioactivity probably mirrors the processes which natural fancy coloured diamonds went through millions of years ago. The diamonds may also be heat treated afterwards to stabilise the new colour.
  Only a small percentage of diamonds can be successfully colour improved using these methods.
• High Pressure High Temperature or HPHT
  Diamonds are held under very high pressures and temperatures, similar to the conditions under which diamonds were naturally created, and under which created or synthetic diamonds are made. This is thought to allow internal stresses within some diamonds to be removed or relieved in a similar manner to annealing metal alloys.
  This process can improve some brown diamonds to white, pink or blue, and other colour change effects may be possible. Only certain diamond types are susceptible to improvement by processing.
• Infusion
  Surface infusion is now being used by a small number of laboratories. We are trying to source more technical information on this process.
• Other Methods
  There may be other methods in existence, or which may be developed in the future.

Enhancement Should Be Disclosed
We strongly believe that any colour enhancement of diamonds should be clearly disclosed by vendors, and we try to ensure that we show clearly on our websites which diamonds are enhanced and which are natural. There is also a CIBJO accord which encourages all jewellers to adhere to the same code of practice with regard to gemstone treatments.

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