Color enhanced diamonds are real, not synthetic diamonds. Typically, these diamonds are nearly colorless in their raw state but subsequently undergo a color-enhancement process to attain brilliant colors.

Natural Fancy Color diamonds are very desirable but unfortunately extremely rare. In order to make up for nature’s shortcomings, man has used his ingenuity to create better technologies to reproduce all the colors in the lab.

When diamond’s trademark brilliance and legendary hardness is combined with color, the result can be electrifying - creating a highly desirable and unique gemstone.

Yes, plenty of precious gems from pearls to sapphires are sometimes enhanced or treated – but not always the same way, or for the same reason.

No – and this is what makes color-enhancement of diamonds different from treatments of other stones. In fact, any existing inclusions or flaws become more, not less, visible after enhancement. For example, an inclusion in a blue-enhanced diamond, such as a feather, becomes more easily visible against a background color.

Lots of good reasons. They are unique, affordable and stylish – and now consistently available in great varieties of colors, shapes and sizes.

Although the process of color enhancement was discovered in 1904, it was not until the 1950s that colored diamonds were made in commercial quantities, and not until the 1990s that they became prominent and widely accepted in the jewelry market.

There are three different color enhancement processes used – Irradiation, HPHT & coating.
Irradiation - The first step is irradiation. That process rearranges the diamond’s atomic structure in a way that activates its ‘color center.’ Then, the diamond is heated at high temperatures, or annealed. Together, this process can induce the diamond to give off brilliant colors.
HPHT - The HPHT Process recreates the high pressure and high temperature conditions that existed naturally within the mantel of the earth during the formation of the diamond to allow different natural elements within the diamond to relax and display their natural color.
Coating - Coated Diamonds are a result of a hi-tech coating process that results in a very thin film at the pavilion of the diamond which imparts the color to the rest of the diamond. See more details here.

In irradiation and HPHT no color is actually added. It emerges through the activation of the diamond’s own color center - and it’s not something that’s artificially introduced into the diamond, like paint, oil or chemicals. In coating since the color is not generated from within the diamond it is the result of a film being imparted on the pavilion of the diamond some people might argue that color is ‘added’ to the diamonds.

The Irradiation & HPHT processes are suited to manufacture most of the colors except True Pink. The reason is that these processes yield very few pink colors and even then most of them have purplish undertones. Hence, we started using a new coating process to manufacture Ice Pink Diamonds. This not only yields a natural looking Pink color but also the process allows us to manufacture as many as we need.

Selecting the right group of diamonds for a particular color is the hardest part of the process. The key is deciding the efficient combination of raw material and process to yield the best color. This is where Lotus’s long experience and insight - as well as our ongoing research - has translated into producing stones with maximum knowledge and efficiency. We assort diamonds carefully before the process, and grade them systematically afterwards, thus ensuring minimal rejection and consistent supply.

Absolutely. We do all our color enhancement using strict US safety standards. We only distribute irradiated diamonds enhanced in the U.S., and we never buy colored diamonds from outside sources (other than black diamonds).

They’re safe so long as their manufacturers follow proper safety procedures. But unless you know this for a fact, you should be cautious. Previously a group of improperly irradiated and illegally produced cat’s eye stones were found to contain unsafe levels of radiation. This cautionary tale does not discredit the process of irradiation, but illustrates how important it is to get irradiated products only from legitimate sources.

If you’re in the jewelry trade, you should always have a Geiger counter on hand to check not only colored diamonds but other gemstones as well. In addition, most certified labs will test your gemstones for a small fee.

The prices are determined by a variation on the Four C’s: carat, clarity, color, and cut – the standard way to determine the price in white diamonds.

If the diamonds’ clarity is similar, most colored diamonds have prices slightly lower than white diamonds. However, enhanced black diamonds are very inexpensive than white diamonds – while enhanced pinks and purples are more expensive than whites.

The cost of raw material and ease of production determines the price differences across different colors. Enhanced black diamonds are relatively inexpensive because black is the easiest color to produce, and you can use any decent-clarity diamond as their base. On the other hand, enhanced pinks and purples sell for much more because they are the hardest to produce consistently in commercial quantities, and it is very difficult to predict which base stones will emerge in those colors.

The term color enhanced diamonds can also be hyphenated as color-enhanced diamonds. Synonyms include colored diamonds, enhanced diamonds, irradiated diamonds and treated diamonds. We do not like to use the term treated diamonds since it implies that the diamonds were somehow defective at origin. We also avoid irradiated diamonds because while correct, the term can be misunderstood to imply that the stones are radioactive or otherwise unsafe.

Yes. The color won’t fade over time, and colored diamonds can be handled like any other diamond. With irradiated diamonds, the only thing that can affect the color is extreme heat (450 C/900 F or above) – and even then any negative effects can be avoided with proper care.
Coated diamonds, like all diamonds, are hardy and durable, resistant to general wear and tear, unless they’re subjected to extreme temperatures (above 500 C) or the pavilion is exposed to acids or abrasive materials (recutting or exposure to jewelry polishing wheel).

HPHT & Irradiated enhanced diamonds can be cleaned just like regular white diamonds. They can be cleaned using steam, ultrasonic, acid or any jewelry cleaner. Coated diamonds can be cleaned in ultrasonic or by steam but cannot be exposed to acids.

Colored diamonds can be channel set, invisible set, bezel set, flush set and pave set. However, irradiated & coated diamonds cannot be wax set, since that process involves high temperatures. Also, the pavilion of the coated diamonds need to be protected hence they cannot be tension set.