Diamond jewelry pieces will be one of the most expensive purchases that most people do. In fact, you can hardly find a person, particularly women, who do not own at least one diamond ring. Diamond has got great importance in our culture as well. The trend of proposing to one’s partner with a lustrous diamond engagement ring is one of the perfect examples for this. Note that the main diamond in an engagement ring is regarded as the representation of love and commitment shared by a couple. Since diamonds are eternal, the relationship marked by beautiful diamond rings is also considered timeless. Traditionally, a round diamond solitaire ring was used for engagement. However, the trends in the field tend to change almost every day and the millennial couples are leaving no stones unturned to purchase a unique and captivating rock.
Currently, fancy colored diamonds are ruling the field. Some of the most popular options include pink diamonds, blue diamonds, black diamonds, etc. Of course, most people may look for something unique and rare in this case so as to stand out from the rest of the crowd. One of the most popular options that you may consider in this case is the alluring orange diamonds. Unlike the above-mentioned diamond colors, most people will not be familiar with these options. In fact, orange diamonds are the fifth rarest diamond colors after red, pink, violet, and blue colored diamonds. Plus, only two places in the world are mainly known to mine orange diamonds; the Argyle mine in Australia and the mines of South Africa. Without any doubts, considering an orange diamond engagement ring will be a great option if you are planning to propose to your better half. Some of the important points that you must know before making your purchase are listed below.
The formation of orange colored diamonds
Just like all the colored diamonds, orange diamonds are also formed due to the imperfections in its atomic structure. Note that diamonds tend to get their colors depending on the presence of certain minerals in its crystal lattice. In the case of orange diamonds, it is because of the presence of nitrogen atoms. The same mineral is responsible for giving the yellow color to diamonds as well. However, the way nitrogen atoms are arranged in orange and yellow diamonds are different making them exhibit different colors.
Orange diamonds are formed through a rare process in which the nitrogen atoms tend to group in a distinct permutation. This organization of nitrogen atoms during the formation of orange diamonds are known as hyper-specific arrangement. In this case, the diamond tends to absorb yellow and blue light on the color spectrum radiating the seductive orange color. Depending on the number of nitrogen atoms present in the crystal lattice of orange diamonds, they exhibit color tones ranging from faint to vivid.
The rarity of orange diamonds
As mentioned above, orange diamonds are the fifth rarest diamonds in the world. Depending on the rarity, orange diamonds itself are divided into two categories; type 1B and type 1A. In the former case, the organization of nitrogen atoms in the diamond tend to change continuously and as a result, the gemstone tends to absorb green and the blue light giving it a darker color tone. This type of diamonds will be rare than their regular Type A counterparts. In fact, Type B orange diamonds constitutes only less than 0.1% of the overall orange diamond count. Apart from this, another main factor that determines the rarity of orange diamonds is its purity.
Note that orange diamonds without any overtones are regarded as the purest ones. However, it is nearly impossible to found such diamonds and is not a coveted option as the red diamonds in the genre. Usually, pure fancy vivid orange diamonds are termed as pumpkin diamonds. On a related note, orange diamonds tend to showcase some secondary hues such as yellow and brown and these options will be relatively less expensive. However, some orange diamonds tend to feature rare undertones such as pink and red making them incredibly expensive. Factually, a fancy reddish orange diamond will be more expensive than its pure fancy vivid orange counterpart.
How to purchase
Just like all other diamonds, you can purchase orange diamonds as well from any of the credible physical or online diamond retailers. However, online diamond shopping will be a bit challenging in this case since it will be harder for you to determine the quality of colored diamonds, unlike their colorless counterparts. Note that the quality of colored diamonds is mainly determined on the basis of its color. Hence, you must be able to thoroughly evaluate its saturation, hue, and color tone. This process can be a bit intimidating when it comes to online diamond shopping.
Most importantly, a good amount of your savings will be at stake here. Hence, most professionals recommend relying on physical diamond stores when it comes to colored diamond purchase. Otherwise, you must have any incredible skill in assessing diamond colors or extremely trustworthy online diamond retailers. Furthermore, orange diamonds can be considered a good future investment because of their high size to value ratio and relatively affordable price.