Yellow Diamond Engagement Rings

Yellow diamond engagement rings (also called canary diamond engagement rings) are fabulous.

A yellow diamond isn't a poor quality version of white or colorless diamond, but instead a precious and rare stone that is part of the colored fancy diamond group.

The confusing part is that a white diamond that has a yellow tinge (the most common color flaw in an otherwise colorless white diamond) is considered poor quality in terms of color grade but that isn't the case here. These are natural yellow diamonds and the more intense the color, the better and more valuable the stone.

There are seven color grades ranging from faint, very light, light, fancy, fancy intense, fancy vivid (one of the more common), and fancy deep (another very popular shade). Diamond aficionados choose the fancy intense yellow as their number one pick.

Here's an illustration of 5 of the color grades from the lightest to the most intense. From left to right they are: Light Yellow, Fancy Light Yellow, Fancy Yellow, Fancy Intense Yellow, Fancy Vivid Yellow

Because these natural diamonds are rarer than traditional white ones, they're more expensive. You can check out some prices for various stones here.

Ring courtesy of JamesAllen

Here's a beautiful example of a designer ring with a fancy yellow surrounded by brilliant cut round diamonds.

The overall design and setting is striking and looks amazing with a white diamond, but the yellow diamond ads a special sunny touch that works beautifully with the split pave shank.

Yellow diamond engagement rings, like this one, have become more popular recently which is likely due to the popularity the stone has with many celebrities. Most notably, Paris Hilton received a 24 carat emerald cut canary ring from one of her suitors which was rumored to cost in the neighborhood of $2 million. Lucky girl!

Cheaper Yellow Diamond Engagement Rings?

If a natural canary diamond ring isn't in your budget, there are other options. The canary-like color in yellow diamond engagement rings comes from nitrogen atoms present during its formation. Like with all the other fancy colored diamonds, gemologist have found a way to simulate the hue in a couple of ways. Lucky for us!

Color Enhanced

Using a real white diamond found in nature and putting it through a process of irradiation and intense heat treatments in a controlled environment gemologists are able to replicate the shades and tones. So you get the color and a real diamond but it isn't considered a natural yellow diamond and thankfully doesn't have the price tag to match.

Lab Created or Man-made

Another lesser expensive option for yellow diamond engagement rings is to choose one with a man-made stone. The stone itself isn't synthetic but the process by which the diamond is formed is. Scientists and gemologists basically recreate what happens over the course of hundreds and thousands of years in a lab.

What you end up with is a real diamond (by definition) which is formed in record time and holds all the same scientific qualities as the ones that are found in nature. During this process they can add the same ingredients (in this case trace elements of Nitrogen) without the need for mining and in record time.

Another option are similarly colored sapphires. They are a hard and durable gemstone (second only to diamonds), look very similar and are a fraction of the cost.

Learn about Yellow Sapphire Engagement Rings

Yellow diamond engagement rings are as rare as they are beautiful. You won't find any in your average jewelry store because the stones are so hard to come by, and because they're so expensive, they cater to specific markets and clientele.

We took these pictures during our travels to Palm Beach and Las Vegas. The shop owners told us that some people choose them for their beauty, others for the prestige, while others simply because yellow is their favorite color.

Like we say throughout this site.... "This is your engagement, and your ring, so go with what you love and what feels right for you!"