The Popularity and Desirability of Pink Diamond Rings
Pink diamond rings are simply amazing pieces of jewelry to own. It is even more amazing when you know that the gem on your finger was formed up to 3 billion years ago.
It is becoming more popular to opt for colored diamonds rather than a tradition clear gemstones and pink diamond engagement rings and dress rings have been seen on the celebrity fingers of Jennifer Lopez and Victoria Beckham.
The largest pink diamond in the world is a 186 carat gem known as the Sea of Light (Darya-I-Noor) which forms part of the Iranian Crown Jewels. This is not a vivid pink gem, but a pale pink in comparison to the famous Steinmetz Pink, a 60 carat fancy vivid pink diamond which took 20 nail biting months of expert work to cut!
Natural Pink Diamonds are Very Rare!
For every million carats of rough white diamond mined, only one carat will be a fancy pink. Only 50 – 60 carats are mined each year, mainly from the Australian Argyle mine. These rarities can be sold for many thousands per carat.
Why Are They So Pink?
Pink diamonds get their color from an irregular crystal development when forming. This is a different process to blue and yellow diamonds which contained elements such as boron and nitrogen when forming which created their color.
Most pink diamonds are quite pale in color and the smaller the gem the harder it is to see the pink color. Diamonds mined from Australia are usually pinker in tone than those from India, Brazil or Africa and Australia produces 90% of all pink gems overall.
The Meaning Of Pink
Pink diamonds have a magical soft feminine appeal. Pink is the universal color of love, joy and happiness and signifies romance, charm, sugar and spice and all things nice! It is a perfect choice for an engagement ring or eternity ring or as an ultimate gift for someone very special.
Different Classifications Of Pink’ness’ – Strength of Color
The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) has a 9 tier color rating system which runs from D to Z (Z being the pinkest) at which point a Z diamond will be known as a fancy colored diamond. Normally colorless diamonds are far more prized than colored, but when a diamond is a fancy color it then becomes just as valuable, sometimes, even more so than white. There are five color categories and subcategories within each. These are pink; purplish pink; brownish pink; orange pink; and pink champagne. It is a highly specialist procedure to determine the color grade of diamonds and is still practised manually by expert eyes.
Natural Enhanced Pink Diamonds
This is the process where a natural paler pink diamond is treated by a physical process to become pinker. Few diamonds are suitable and the results can be unreliable. However, it is still used frequently on gems which could benefit. Many pink diamond rings contain gems which have been subject to enhancement which is a safe recognised treatment.
Why Choose Pink Diamond Rings ?
Why get excited about pink diamonds, when you could go for topaz, or pink sapphires instead? The best pink sapphires are expensive, and do not possess the brightness and sparkle that pink diamonds have. Additionally, sapphires, although very hard crystals, are no match for the high durability and strength of diamonds – being the most robust form of carbon, they are almost indestructible in daily use, which provides their ‘diamonds are forever’ reputation!
Remember the 4 ‘C’s !
Carat = weight/mass of the diamond
Cut = the faceting of a raw diamond
Clarity = the purity of the diamond covering any defects and inclusions
Color = Colorless clear diamonds or fancy colors are the most valuable gemstones.
Pink Diamond Rings Styles:
The Solitaire: Solitaires (single stones) are classic styles, and the main choice for most women, especially as engagement rings. You will find some stunning designs and a good choice of styles, gemstone sizes and colors when opting for solitaire pink diamond rings. Rings are commonly mounted in quality sterling silver, yellow gold, white 14k gold or platinum.
3 and 5 Stone set: Three and five stone rings are also very popular as engagement rings and tend to contain a ‘principal gemstone’ flanked by two or four smaller stones. Jewels may be all pinks or mixed with white stones to produce a beautiful effect.
The Cluster: More often this is a dress ring, but will work beautifully as an engagement ring. A cluster consists of more than 5 stones usually similar sizes and can comprise many tiny gems, either all pinks, pink and white or multi colored effects.
Which ever type you finally choose, beautiful pink diamond rings are gorgeous items of jewellery, guaranteed to produce the ultimate ring envy and will provide a lifetime of joy and pleasure to the wearer.