Colorful Diamonds - Not For Individuals Looking for Champagne on a Beer Budget

Pink diamond engagement rings received a lot of attention recently when J-Lo received an exquisite 6 carat pink diamond in 2002 from Ben Affleck. Although the romance fizzled, the desire for pink diamonds did not.

Only a small number of pink diamonds are found each year, making them both extremely rare and highly sought after. Due to the supply/demand factor, they are often extremely costly and can easily run over $10,000 and typically much much more. Natural pink diamonds are light in color with just a hint of pink. Most of the world's pink diamonds are found in Australia.

An appealing alternative to pink diamonds are pink sapphires, which are less expensive ($500 and up), come in a wider variety of shapes and sizes, and have both light and deep shades of pink. Pink sapphires receive their color from small amounts of chromium. They are a hard gemstone and are therefore suitable for everyday wear. Pink tourmalines are another alternative to pink diamonds. For those who fall into the "want champagne on a beer budget category," you can always combine small pink diamonds with more affordable gemstones. Also, colorless diamonds can undergo treatment to develop a pink hue at a more affordable price.

One of the most famous canary yellow engagement rings was worn by Paris Hilton. The emerald cut ring weighed in at a hefty 24 carats. Regular couples today are also selecting canary yellow stones for their engagement rings. While diamonds with a slight yellowish hue are not considered desirable, those with a natural intense yellow color are actually becoming quite valuable. Only 1 in 1,000 diamonds are classified as canary yellow. The yellow color is believed to be due to the presence of nitrogen atoms when the diamond is formed. Diamonds can also undergo a process called irridiation or high pressure/high temperature treaments in order to give them a yellow hue.

Yellow diamonds are more expensive than their white counterparts, and the intensity of the color factors into this. If couples can't afford a natural yellow diamond as a center-stone, as with pink diamonds, there are always alternatives. Smaller yellow diamonds can be used as sidestones or natural yellow gemstones such as yellow sapphires or citrine can be used instead.