Coloured diamonds: fad or forever?

Over the last couple of decades fancy coloured diamonds have moved from the heads of royals to the ring fingers of the masses. While still expensive, they are far more affordable and accessible than they have ever been before, and are now offered by the best jewellers in Sydney.

But does this recent rise in popularity constitute a fad, or are yellow, blue, black and pink diamonds here to stay?

A question of access

The answer to this question has already been somewhat explained above. It’s not that coloured diamonds were unpopular until recently – it’s simply that most people couldn’t get their hands on them. The only hope a working class person had of grabbing a pink diamond 100 years ago was if they stole the crown jewels.

The sudden availability of coloured diamonds can be put down to two main factors:

Mining

With new surveying techniques able to identify diamond sources far easier than ever before, and mining machinery churning through far more diamond-rich rock than the pan-handlers of the past, we are able to find and extract far more gems today than we have ever before.

Synthetic manufacturing

By understanding how coloured diamonds are forged in nature, scientists have been able to develop techniques that can both enhance a diamond’s natural colour, or imbue a clear diamond with entirely synthetic colour.

A pop culture phenomenon

That said, coloured diamonds have a lot to thank celebrities for. As Hollywood A-listers began to choose pink and yellow diamonds as their preferred bling through the 90s and early 2000s, the general public soon felt a desire to follow suit.

The likes of Mariah Carey, Heidi Klum and Jennifer Lopez have all turned heads with their eye-catching coloured diamond engagement rings, kicking off the trend that we see today.

But this is a trend that is unlikely to terminate. A fad that’s unlikely to fade. Coloured diamonds, as the slogan says, are forever.