3 Best Places to Buy Colored Diamonds: Top Tips & Red Flags

Last Updated on September 4, 2023 by Juli "Jewels" Church

Looking for the perfect place to colored diamond jewelry online?

You're in the right place! 

In this Learning Jewelry guide I'll answer common questions like:

  • What should you look for when buying colored diamonds online?
  • Why are colored diamonds so expensive?
  • How do you know you’re getting a good deal?
  • What are the red flags to watch out for when buying?
4 best places to buy colored diamonds

1. James Allen

James Allen is my pick for best place to buy colored diamonds.

They offer many fancy colors like yellow, blue, pink, purple, gray, green, brown, orange and black diamonds. There are around 4300 loose mined colored diamonds, but over half are yellow diamonds.  

The lab-grown colored diamond selection is around 4100, with almost all of them being yellow. They offer a few green, pink, and blue lab created colored diamonds. All of James Allen’s colored diamonds will be IGI certified. 

James Allen’s prices are affordable for everyone. There’s a large range of different qualities for different budgets. They also offer a free lifetime warranty that covers routine maintenance for your ring. 

Pros

  • 8400 Colored Diamonds
  • IGI certified
  • 360˚ view on all diamonds
  • Free lifetime warranty on ring settings
  • Free Ring setting over $30,000

Cons

  • Mostly yellow

2. Leibish

leibish & co gemstone banner

If I had all the money in the world, Leibish would probably be my favorite place to buy colored diamonds. But most of us can’t afford the overwhelming high prices. 

Leibish & Co. is for the collectors, or those who want the best of colored diamonds.

They have exceptional quality and a range of hues in every color, like a champagne brown diamond or a milky white diamond.

Their pride and joy is their collection of Argyle Pink Diamonds. These diamonds only come from one mine in the world, the Argyle mine. The Argyle mine was closed in 2020. It was in production for 37 years and won't open again.

Argyle Pink diamonds are for the person who wants a rare piece of history. 

Leibish only carries natural diamonds with natural color. You won't find a lab grown diamond or natural treated colored diamond.

The diamonds can be certified by the GIA, IGI, or by an in-house GIA gemologist. They don’t offer a warranty for their ring settings

Pros

  • 3600 Colored Diamonds
  • Free Appraisal Upon Request
  • All Untreated
  • Offers GIA Certified Diamonds

Cons

  • Highly expensive
  • No warranty for settings

Read also: Leibish Review


3. Brilliant Earth

brilliant earth gemstone banner

Brilliant Earth is a popular online retailer that sells natural colored diamonds and lab-grown colored diamonds. 

They carry around 70 colored diamonds, but most of them are yellow. There’s not a lot of range with these colors either. They currently carry yellow, pink, and green diamonds

The colors are lighter, but that’s to be expected with natural diamonds. The yellow diamonds have better intensities, but the pink diamonds barely have any. 

The lab-grown colored diamond section has about 60 options. They’re offered in blue, pink, yellow, and green diamonds. The color hues in this selection are gorgeous and priced well. 

Brilliant Earth offers a repair warranty called an Extended Service Plan. It’s a cost based plan and it only lasts for three years. I wish it was lifetime, but many places don’t offer an option. 

Pros

  • All GIA certified
  • Natural and Lab Grown Diamonds
  • Treated diamonds more affordable
  • Ethics focused company

Cons

  • Paid warranty only lasts 3 years
  • Stock depletes quickly

I go into detail on the formation and grading of fancy diamonds in my Fancy Color Diamond Guide.

Colored Diamonds FAQ

Are Colored Diamonds Cheaper to Buy Online?

Most loose diamonds online are cheaper than what you’ll find in retail stores like Kay or Zales. The same goes for colored diamonds. You must attend a special event to obtain requested fancy diamonds, such as a Le Vian or Dana Augustine event. And they're much more expensive under a brand.

Even then, you don’t get a pool to pick one from. A local bench jeweler could source a stone for you at a better price than a chain store, but you’re not gonna get to choose.

You still have to pick before being able to hold it anywhere you go. 

Buying colored diamonds online isn’t just cheaper, but you’ll have a much bigger selection to choose from. 

fancy green diamonds from James Allen
fancy purple colored diamond from James Allen

Are Colored Diamonds More Expensive?

Natural fancy color diamonds with no treatment are the most expensive type of diamond. They fetch prices over $10,000, just for a faint tone. 

The reason why natural colored diamonds are expensive is due to their rarity. Diamonds get their coloring from impurities that enter the crystal as it’s forming. Some impurities are very common, and some are rare. 

A rare impurity that enters a diamond crystal and colors it throughout increases the price heavily. 

Nitrogen is a common impurity in diamonds. It makes them yellow. That's why a fancy intense yellow diamond can be as affordable as a colorless diamond with D color and good diamond clarity.

But boron is not an element normally found in diamonds. Only in rare situations does boron make its way to where diamonds form. When they do, they create a blue diamond

Blue is normally considered the rarest and priciest color, but a red diamond is far more rare. There have only been 20 to 30 pure red diamonds found in the world and most are below 1 carat. 

Saffron diamonds are extremely rare too, so rare that very few have heard of them, and you can't even buy them from retailers.

Yellow, brown, and black diamonds are the least expensive, unless you're buying them from a brand, like LeVian. 

Red Flags When Buying Colored Diamonds

The biggest thing to remember is to buy from a reputable dealer. A reputable dealer should disclose any treatments to the fancy color diamond, the origin, and of course provide a legitimate grading report. 

If the price of a “natural colored diamond” of a rarer diamond color seems too good to be true, it probably is.

Fancy light diamonds should be the least expensive, but fancy intense and fancy vivid are the best color. 

Fancy dark, and fancy deep are usually too dark for desired color and cost a little less. 

If you’re concerned about if you’re getting a real diamond, there are some ways you can test your diamond

How to Get The Best Deal When Shopping for Colored Diamonds Online

  • Always buy colored diamonds with grading reports
  • Ask about the treatments. A treated natural diamond is less expensive than an untreated one
  • If you want more color and less cost, go for lab-grown colored diamonds
  • Choose fancy diamond shapes, not round diamond shapes
  • Choose a retailer that lets you just buy the stone if you want a different setting
  • Choose a retailer with a lifetime warranty
  • Buy online instead of in-store

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