Quick answer: A colored (or "fancy color") diamond is a real diamond whose colour is a feature, not a flaw. Unlike white diamonds — graded D–Z, where less colour is rarer — fancy color diamonds are graded on the opposite logic: the more vivid the colour, the rarer and more valuable. Natural fancy colors are extraordinarily rare, so lab-grown fancy color diamonds are what make a pink, yellow or blue diamond attainable.
What is a fancy color diamond?
A fancy color diamond is a real diamond with a distinct, desirable bodycolor — yellow, pink, blue, green and more — strong enough to be graded as a colour in its own right, not as a tint to be avoided. It's the same crystallized carbon as a white diamond, with the same hardness (Mohs 10); a trace element or a quirk in the crystal is what gives it colour.
The mental flip to make: on a white diamond, colour is a downgrade. On a fancy color diamond, colour is the whole point — and the reason it's rare.
How are fancy color diamonds graded? (it's the opposite of white diamonds)
Fancy color diamonds are graded on a completely different scale from the D–Z one used for white diamonds. Instead of ranking "how little colour," it grades how much, across three dimensions:
- Hue — the actual colour (yellow, pink, blue, and mixes like orangy-pink).
- Tone — how light or dark the colour is.
- Saturation — how strong and pure the colour is; this is the value driver.
The saturation grades climb from Faint → Very Light → Light → Fancy Light → Fancy → Fancy Intense → Fancy Vivid → Fancy Deep/Dark. The higher and more saturated the colour, the rarer and more valuable the stone. So a "Fancy Vivid Yellow" is far more prized — and pricier — than a "Fancy Light Yellow," the reverse of how the white scale works.
What gives a diamond its colour?
Colour comes from trace elements or structural quirks locked in as the diamond grew:
| Colour | What causes it |
|---|---|
| Yellow | Nitrogen in the crystal |
| Blue | Boron in the crystal |
| Pink / red | Structural deformation in the crystal lattice (not a trace element) |
| Green | Natural irradiation near the earth's surface |
This is why some colours are rarer than others: blue and pink require unusual conditions, which is why natural stones in those colours are among the most valuable gems on earth.
Why are pink diamonds so expensive?
Because their colour has the strangest origin of all: not a trace element, but a distortion of the crystal lattice itself — the carbon grid subtly warped under extreme stress, changing how the stone bends light. Almost nowhere on earth did that happen commercially; for decades, Australia's now-closed Argyle mine produced ~90% of the world's pinks, and its closure in 2020 only tightened the vise. Extreme rarity + a colour people adore = natural pinks selling for many multiples of comparable whites. It's also the sharpest illustration of the lab-grown case: a lab-grown pink delivers the same warped-lattice colour at a small fraction of that price.
Do colored diamonds fade over time?
No — the colour of a fancy color diamond, natural or lab-grown, is locked into the crystal itself (a trace element or a lattice distortion), and it does not fade with light, wear or time. The caveat worth knowing: this applies to body-colored diamonds. Surface-coated stones — a cheap treatment that paints colour on — can wear at the coating, which is one more reason the report should state exactly how a stone's colour came to be.
What are the most popular colored diamonds?
- Yellow ("canary") — the most available and the friendliest entry point.
- Pink — romantic and highly sought; natural pinks are exceptionally rare.
- Blue — cool and dramatic; natural blues are among the rarest of all.
- Green — unusual and collectible.
- Champagne / cognac — warm browns, understated and affordable.
- Salt & pepper — heavily included greys with a modern, editorial look.
- Black — opaque and graphic.
What is the rarest diamond colour?
Red. Fewer than a handful of true Fancy Red diamonds surface in a typical year, and most known specimens are under a carat — making red diamonds, gram for gram, among the most expensive objects on earth. After red: blue, pink and green in the saturated grades. At the other end, yellow and brown are the most common fancy colours — which is exactly why they're the attainable entry into colored diamonds.
Are salt and pepper diamonds real diamonds — and do they last?
Yes, they're real diamonds — ones so full of black and white inclusions (the "salt" and "pepper") that the inclusions become the look: a smoky, galaxy-like interior, each stone unrepeatable. Two honest notes. First, that's also why they cost a fraction of clear diamonds — heavily included material is abundant, so you're paying for aesthetics, not rarity. Second, durability deserves a real answer: the carbon is still Mohs-10 hard, but many inclusions can mean structural weak points, especially inclusions reaching the surface. A well-chosen stone (we screen for surface-reaching fractures) in a protective setting wears well for years; a poorly chosen one can chip where a clear diamond wouldn't. Choose it for the look, with eyes open.
Do black diamonds sparkle?
No — and that's their appeal. A black diamond is opaque: light doesn't pass through it, so instead of brilliance it gives a hard, glossy, almost metallic surface shine — graphic where a white diamond is fiery. Worth knowing before buying: most black diamonds on the market are treated (heated to turn dark grey material black), while natural-black stones (colored by dense inclusions or graphite) are rarer and pricier — the report states which yours is. They test as diamond (they are), wear hard, and read unmistakably modern on the hand.
Are champagne diamonds just brown diamonds?
Technically yes — "champagne" is the trade's affectionate name for naturally brown diamonds, from light straw to deep cognac. And the reframe is deserved: warm browns are genuinely lovely against gold metals, they're among the most affordable natural diamonds (typically well below comparable whites, because brown is the most common diamond colour), and their warmth photographs beautifully. Nothing is treated, nothing is hidden — it's simply the one fancy colour where nature's abundance works for your budget instead of against it.
Are lab-grown fancy color diamonds a good idea?
For most buyers, yes — lab-grown is what makes a colored diamond attainable. A natural Fancy Vivid pink or blue can cost many times more than an equivalent white diamond, because nature almost never makes them. A lab-grown fancy color diamond is the same real diamond, colored by the same causes, at a fraction of the price — so a vivid yellow, pink or blue that would be out of reach naturally becomes a realistic choice.
The honest trade-off is the same as with white lab-grown diamonds: you're buying beauty and rarity of look, not resale value. If the colour is what you love, that's exactly the right reason.
Are colored diamonds real diamonds?
Yes — a colored diamond is a genuine diamond, whether natural or lab-grown. What can vary is how the colour got there:
- Natural color — the colour formed in the earth; the rarest and most valuable.
- Treated color — a white or off-color diamond given colour by irradiation or high-pressure treatment; always disclosed, and priced accordingly.
- Lab-grown color — a real diamond grown with the colour built in.
Whatever the origin, DelaFuente discloses it plainly and every stone comes with an independent report stating the colour and whether it's natural, treated or lab-grown.
How do I choose a colored diamond engagement ring?
With a colored diamond, the priorities flip from a white stone:
- Chase saturation, not clarity. A vivid, even colour matters far more than a flawless grade — inclusions are much harder to notice inside a saturated colour.
- Let the colour lead the metal. Yellow gold amplifies a yellow diamond; white metals (platinum, white gold) keep a pink or blue reading cool and true; rose gold flatters pinks.
- See it on video. Colour reads differently in daylight versus indoor light — always view the actual stone before you commit.
Tell us the colour you're dreaming of and your budget, and we'll show you what natural and lab-grown each make possible.
