When diamonds are discussed, the visual image that comes to mind is one of clear, white diamonds. Colored diamonds, however, represent another segment of the diamond market that is becoming popular.

Diamonds are a girl's best friend, goes the old Marilyn Monroe song, and there are very few women who can resist a diamond's charms. This beautiful stone, with its relationship to romance and love, offers many women the sentiments and extravagance they long for. However, today's diamond lovers are looking for more than just the typical round, white diamond of years past. Now, women are interested in the many colored diamonds available.

There are a restricted number of colors that diamonds can come in. These range between steel gray, white, blue, yellow, orange, red, pink, purple, brown and black. The most expensive and rare of all of the colored diamonds is the red diamond, but all of the colored diamonds can be expensive. It all depends on their cut, clarity and carat weight (color is different, because colored diamonds do not fall within the color rating scale). Blue is the second most rare and expensive diamond. Diamonds such as the vibrant Hope diamond fall into this category.

Yellow and pink colored diamonds are some of the most popular colored diamonds, made that way because several celebrities in recent years have had engagement rings made with these colors. They are not as rare as red diamonds (most diamond dealers will never see this color of diamond) or blue diamonds (these are rare as well and are only mined in two specific spots in Australia and South Africa), but yellow and pink diamonds can be just as beautiful.

The price of a colored diamond is determined differently from that of a colorless or white diamond. With a colorless diamond, the lighter the stone is the higher the quality. It is the opposite for a colored diamond – generally the darker the hue, the more expensive and higher the quality of the diamond. Yellow diamonds can range in price from starting at about $10,000 all the way up to $20,000 per carat (diamonds less than .8 carat are often up to 20 percent less costly). Pink diamonds can range from $10,000 all the way up to $250,000 per carat for a pink diamond that is rated “fancy vivid”.

Choosing to purchase colored diamonds can be an expensive proposition. These diamonds are not as common as the white or colorless variety, and so they can be hard to find. This, of course, makes them even harder to afford for you and me. They make a great statement, however. If you really want to wow the woman you love, buy her one of a fancy colored diamond.