The Best Places To Buy Colored Diamonds

Colored diamonds are not like picking up a colorless stone. You can not just filter by carat and clarity and call it done. The color is the whole point. That means where you buy matters a lot more than it does with a standard diamond.

I have been in this business for over 25 years. I have looked at colored diamonds from dozens of stores, online and in person. Most stores carry a handful of yellow or brown stones and call it a collection. A few do it right. Here is where I would send you if you are serious about buying a colored diamond.

Bottom Line Up Front

Brilliant Earth is the first place I send most buyers, especially if you are open to a lab grown colored diamond. Brilliant Earth has one of the largest selections of lab grown colored diamonds available online, including yellow, pink, blue, and green stones, all certified and set in original ring designs. Lab grown colored diamonds give you the same look and the same certification at a fraction of what a natural fancy colored diamond costs. If you want a natural colored diamond, Brilliant Earth carries those too, with sourcing standards that most stores can not match.

Here’s What We’ll Cover:

• What Makes a Diamond a “Colored Diamond”?
• Natural vs. Lab Grown Colored Diamonds
• Best Places to Buy Colored Diamonds
• What to Look for When Buying
• Bottom Line
• FAQ

What Makes a Diamond a “Colored Diamond”?

A colored diamond, or fancy colored diamond, is a diamond that shows a distinct color. Not a slight yellowish tint you are trying to avoid on the D-to-Z grading scale. A real color. Yellow, pink, blue, green, orange, red. That is what the word “fancy” means in the diamond world.

These colors come from trace elements or changes in the crystal structure during formation. Nitrogen creates yellow and orange diamonds. Boron creates blue ones. Pink diamonds get their color from structural changes during formation. Green diamonds pick up color from natural radiation. The rarer the cause, the rarer the color.

The GIA grades colored diamonds on nine levels of intensity, from Faint all the way up to Fancy Vivid. The deeper and more saturated the color, the higher the grade, and the higher the price. A Fancy Vivid yellow diamond costs far more per carat than a Fancy Light yellow diamond.

For context on how rare these stones are: only about one colored diamond exists for every 10,000 colorless diamonds mined. Red diamonds are so rare that only a handful are known to exist. Blue and green diamonds almost never reach deep saturation levels naturally.

Natural vs. Lab Grown Colored Diamonds

This is one of the most important decisions you will make before you start shopping. Natural and lab grown colored diamonds look the same. They are both real diamonds. The difference is where they came from and what you pay for each.

Natural colored diamonds are rare. A natural fancy intense pink diamond can cost more per carat than a colorless D-Flawless. The rarity drives the price, and the rarity is real. These stones took hundreds of millions of years to form. That said, natural colored diamonds are not always treated to have their color. Untreated stones carry a significant premium over treated ones, and you should always ask whether the color is natural or enhanced before you buy.

Lab grown colored diamonds are the same material grown in a lab under controlled conditions. A lab grown fancy intense pink diamond has the same chemical structure, the same hardness, and the same sparkle as a natural one. What it does not have is the rarity premium. That means you can buy a significantly larger, more vivid stone for far less money. For most buyers, a lab grown colored diamond is the smarter choice on value.

My advice: if budget matters at all, go lab grown on colored diamonds. You will get a better-looking stone for the money. If you are specifically after the rarity and investment angle of a natural fancy color, make sure you understand what you are paying for and insist on a GIA report confirming the color is natural and untreated.

Best Places to Buy Colored Diamonds

Here are the stores I would look at, in the order I would look at them.

1. Brilliant Earth

Best for: Lab grown colored diamonds, ethical natural colored diamonds, in-person appointments

Brilliant Earth is where I start most buyers on colored diamonds, and for good reason. The lab grown colored diamond selection is one of the largest available online. Yellow, pink, blue, and green stones in a wide range of sizes and grades, all certified by GIA or IGI.

What makes Brilliant Earth stand out beyond the selection is the full package. Brilliant Earth carries its own original ring settings, designed by an award-winning in-house team. That means you can find a colored diamond and a setting that actually looks like it was made for the stone, not just whatever generic styles the same wholesaler sells to everyone.

On natural colored diamonds, Brilliant Earth’s Beyond Conflict Free™ standard means every stone is traced to specific mine operations in low-risk countries like Canada and Botswana. Less than 1% of the world’s natural diamonds qualify for this standard. If you are buying a natural colored diamond and you care about where it came from, this matters.

Brilliant Earth also has 40+ stores across the US where you can see colored diamonds in person before you buy. That is not something most online stores offer. And the appointment experience, in my own secret-shopping visits, is low pressure and genuinely helpful.

The lab grown colored diamond selection at Brilliant Earth is the single strongest argument I can make for starting here. You get certified stones, original settings, traceable sourcing, and the option to see everything in person. That combination is hard to find elsewhere.

2. Frank Darling

Best for: Buyers who want a custom-designed setting and a curated stone selection

Frank Darling is a custom ring design store based in New York. Their design process is built around working with you on a personalized setting, and they filter through a broader network of certified diamonds to find stones that match what you are looking for. They carry some fancy colored diamonds as part of that network, and their design team can sketch a ring around a colored stone if that is the direction you want to go.

Where Frank Darling falls short is selection and sourcing depth. Their inventory is not purpose-built for colored diamond shopping the way Brilliant Earth’s is. Sourcing relies on the Kimberley Process as the baseline, with no equivalent to Brilliant Earth’s. And if you are not in New York, the in-person experience is not accessible. Frank Darling works best for buyers who already know what stone they want and are focused on custom design. For colored diamond selection and sourcing confidence, Brilliant Earth covers more ground.

3. Ritani

Best for: GIA-certified natural colored diamonds across a range of shapes

Ritani carries GIA-certified natural colored diamonds in yellow, pink, blue, green, orange, and red. The search tools let you filter by color intensity and shape, which is more useful than what a lot of general stores offer. If you are specifically looking for a natural colored loose stone to set into a custom ring, they have enough inventory to make it worth a look.

Where Ritani falls short is on the full package. There is no sourcing standard comparable to Brilliant Earth’s. Ritani does not have a meaningful lab grown colored diamond collection to speak of. And the ring design options are not as deep. If you already know exactly what stone you want and you are just searching for inventory, Ritani can work. If you want guidance, original settings, and the ability to see things in person, Brilliant Earth covers a lot more ground.

4. With Clarity

Best for: Lab grown colored diamonds with a home try-on option

With Clarity added a lab grown colored diamond selection in recent years and now carries certified fancy colored stones alongside their main colorless lab grown inventory. One feature worth knowing about is their Home Preview program, where they send you a replica of your chosen ring to try on before you commit. For buyers who are unsure about setting or stone size, that is a useful option.

That said, With Clarity’s colored diamond selection is newer and not as deep as Brilliant Earth’s. Sourcing transparency is limited, and there are no stores to visit. With Clarity is worth a look if the Home Preview program appeals to you, but for colored diamond range, certification options, and the ability to see stones in person, Brilliant Earth is the stronger choice.

What to Look for When Buying a Colored Diamond

Buying a colored diamond is different from buying a colorless one. Here are the things that actually matter.

GIA or IGI Certification

Do not buy a colored diamond without a certificate from GIA or IGI. The certificate tells you the color grade, whether the color is natural or treated, and what treatments were applied. “Treated” colored diamonds are cheaper because the color was added artificially. There is nothing wrong with treated stones if you know what you are buying, but you should know. Insist on a certificate.

Color Grade and Intensity

GIA grades colored diamonds on a scale that includes Fancy Light, Fancy, Fancy Intense, and Fancy Vivid at the top. A Fancy Vivid stone has the richest, most saturated color. It is also the rarest and most expensive. Fancy Intense is a step below and still beautiful. Most buyers are happy with Fancy Intense if the price of Fancy Vivid is out of range.

Natural or Lab Grown

Decide this before you start shopping. Lab grown colored diamonds look the same as natural ones and are certified the same way. If having a naturally mined stone matters to you, you will pay more for it. If color and quality are the priority, lab grown is the stronger choice.

Treated vs. Untreated

For natural colored diamonds, always check whether the color is natural or enhanced through treatment. GIA notes this on the certificate. An untreated natural fancy intense pink diamond is worth far more than a treated one. If you are paying natural-diamond prices, you should be buying natural, untreated color.

Where the Diamond Came From

For natural colored diamonds, sourcing matters. Brilliant Earth traces natural diamonds to specific mine operations in countries rated low to moderate risk (Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, Canada). If sourcing is part of why you are buying from a particular place, make sure the store can actually back it up.

Quick Comparison

Bottom Line

Colored diamonds are one of the most personal purchases you can make. The color is the whole story. You are not just picking specs on a chart. You are picking something that says something.

If you are open to a lab grown colored diamond, start with Brilliant Earth. The selection is large, the certification is solid, and you can see the stones in person at 40+ stores. You will get the most diamond for your money, and you will know where it came from.

If you want a natural fancy colored diamond for its rarity, make sure you have a GIA certificate that confirms the color is natural and untreated. And make sure the store you are buying from can tell you where the stone was mined. Brilliant Earth can do that. Most other stores cannot.

Either way, do not rush this. Colored diamonds vary a lot, and the color looks different in photos than it does in real life. If you can see it in person first, do that.

Visit brilliantearth.com to explore their full colored diamond selection.

FAQ

What is a colored diamond?

A colored diamond, also called a fancy colored diamond, is a diamond with a distinct visible color. This is different from the yellowish tint you might see in a lower-grade colorless diamond. Real fancy colors include yellow, pink, blue, green, orange, and red. The GIA grades these stones on intensity, from Fancy Light up to Fancy Vivid.

Are lab grown colored diamonds real diamonds?

Yes. Lab grown colored diamonds are genuine diamonds with the same chemical structure and physical properties as natural ones. The only difference is that they were grown in a lab instead of mined from the earth. They carry the same certification and the same look at a much lower price.

What is the most affordable colored diamond?

Yellow and brown diamonds are the most common fancy colors and carry lower prices than pink, blue, or green. Lab grown yellow diamonds are the most affordable entry point into fancy colored diamonds. Brilliant Earth carries a strong selection of lab grown yellow and other colored diamonds at multiple price ranges.

Should I buy a natural or lab grown colored diamond?

For most buyers, a lab grown colored diamond makes sense. You get the same color and the same certification at a significantly lower price. Natural fancy colored diamonds carry a rarity premium that only matters if the origin of the stone is important to you. If color and quality are the priority, go lab grown.

What is the rarest colored diamond?

Red diamonds are the rarest. Only a handful of natural red diamonds are known to exist, and the largest on record is just over 5 carats. Blue and green diamonds are also extremely rare at high saturation levels. Pink diamonds from the Argyle mine in Australia are highly sought after because that mine closed in 2020 and will not reopen.

Where is the best place to buy a colored diamond?

Brilliant Earth is the first place I recommend for most buyers. Brilliant Earth has one of the largest selections of lab grown colored diamonds online, with certified stones in yellow, pink, blue, and green. For natural colored diamonds, Brilliant Earth’s Beyond Conflict Free™ sourcing standard means every stone is traced to specific mine operations. Frank Darling is worth a look if you want a fully custom setting built around your colored stone, though their colored diamond inventory is smaller. With Clarity has a growing lab grown colored diamond selection and a useful home preview program if you want to try before you commit.

Do colored diamonds come in engagement ring settings?

Yes. Brilliant Earth lets you pair any colored diamond with their full range of engagement ring settings. That includes hundreds of original designs from their own design team. You can use the online ring builder or visit a store in person. If you want a colored center stone in a custom or semi-custom setting, Brilliant Earth is one of the few places where the design options are strong enough to do it well.

About the author

Mike Fried Mike Fried has over 25 years experience in the diamond industry working with Leo Schachter Diamonds, Moshe Namdar Diamonds, and joining The Diamond Pro in 2007. He is recognized as an industry expert and has been quoted in publications such as Us, People, Page Six, The Next Web and more.