Yellow diamonds make a great center stone for engagement rings and are a popular item these days. A diamond is the hardest of all natural stones and has the best polish and luster. Other color stones look less brilliant, less shiny and sometimes just dull in comparison.
The Yellow Diamond
Most natural diamonds are yellow to some degree. The yellow color is caused by small amounts of Nitrogen in the diamond. The GIA grading system has a color range for colorless diamonds starting from colorless to light, where light is usually a hint of yellow or brown. Stones which have more color then light or Z grade are considered fancy colored. Fancy color diamonds are worth much more then light colored ones. Fancy color range is from Fancy Yellow to Fancy Intense Yellow and to Fancy Vivid Yellow.
While a Fancy yellow diamond may cost under $5,000 per carat in a one carat size, a Fancy Vivid yellow diamond will cost as much as $50,000. This may be a prohibiting factor for some potential buyers. There are alternatives which can give you the desired look for less.
Yellow Diamond Alternatives
For a natural alternative to a yellow diamond, one only has to consider what price he is willing to pay. The buyer who wants the look of a yellow diamond and have a natural stone, not a CZ, for a very small price will often choose a Citrine or a Golden Topaz. These two stones provide the best alternative at the lowest price point. Citrine is yellow quartz and is often derived from heating Amethyst. The heat causes the color to change to yellow, the change is permanent. If golden topaz is heated it looses its color so one has to be a little careful.
A more expensive alternative may be a yellow sapphire. Sapphire is the second strongest natural stone after diamond. It is a 9 on the Mohs scale where diamond is a 10. Sapphires come in many colors, from blue, green, yellow and pink. Red Sapphires are called Rubies. A yellow sapphire is a good alternative to a yellow diamond because it has good hardness which means it is able to take a good polish and will not break easily. It will not be as brilliant as a diamond but it will be close. “Diamond Alternatives for Engagement Rings” offers more information on the subject.
Yellow Diamonds For Less
Synthetic diamonds are becoming more and more popular. These man made diamonds come in a wide range of colors. Yellow is the most commonly produced color. A synthetic yellow diamond has all of the chemical properties of a natural one and no one can tell the difference between natural and synthetic without expensive equipment. This means that this yellow diamond will look just like a natural one and no one has to know that it isn’t natural.
These yellow diamonds are not cheap per say, but they are much less expensive then their natural counterpart. When compared to a natural Fancy Vivid Yellow diamond, one can save as much as ninety percent of the cost. “Lab Created or Synthetic Diamonds: Buy a Man Made Diamond” offers more information on Pros and Cons of buying a synthetic yellow diamond.
Roman Rabinovich - Roman Rabinovich GG, AJP GIA. A Graduate Gemologist and an Accredited Jewelery Professional from the Gemological Institute of America ...
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