Why is it that people talk of "buying" diamonds, but when it comes to the pink variety, it is seen as an investment? It is because pink diamonds are extremely rare, expensive, beautiful and highly coveted. It is the most unique and priciest of stones in the diamond family and is thus naturally linked to royalty and celebrities. Purchasing the pink variety goes beyond the act of just buying a diamond to a realm where it becomes a part of the family heirloom to be passed down to future generations.

Purchasing a pink diamond can be an overwhelming experience. Hence it is critical that you have clarity of thought and knowledge about pink diamonds before you reach for your chequebook.

Here is a guide to make things easy for you and what you should know before making the big purchase!

Pink Diamonds are very expensive

Pink diamonds have a certain aura and exclusivity about them and stand out as a prestigious and pricey stone, linked closely to luxury and the top echelons of society. They can cost hundreds and thousands of dollars per carat as seen from auctions at well-known houses like Sotheby's and Christie's. The question now is why they are so expensive? It is because finding a high-quality pink diamond is very difficult as the stone is the second rarest in the family of diamonds. This brings this post to the next point.

Pink Diamonds are rare

A few statistics will explain better the extent of the rarity of pink diamonds. About 12 to 14 million carats of diamonds are polished and sold every year. Of this lot, only 0.01 per cent falls in the category of fancy coloured diamonds. About 80 per cent have brown to yellow hues, and 20 per cent are grey or black diamonds. So where is the pink lot? They constitute a microscopic 0.0001 per cent of all diamonds marketed every year. These are figures from the Argyle Mines in Kimberley, Western Australia that produces 90 per cent of the world's pink diamonds. Hence if you buy a pink diamond ring for your partner, you immediately stand out among the lesser mortals on this earth.

Colour quality of pink diamonds

While evaluating the colour of pink diamonds, three things have to be considered. The first is the hue which signifies the primary and secondary colours. The primary colours range from brown-pink to purple-pink followed by the secondary colours brown, orange and purple. The second consideration is saturation which is the distribution of colour within the stone, and the third is the tone which denotes the intensity of depth of the colour. The intensity grading lies between Faint to Fancy Deep pink. If you look at the GIA scale, the various grades for pink diamonds in descending order are fancy deep pink, fancy intense pink, fancy pink, light pink and faint pink.

The costliest variety is one that has a pure pink colour running through the stone, followed by purple-pink hues. A pink diamond with vivid pink hues ranks higher than one with a lighter tone.

The origin of pink diamonds

When it comes to coloured diamonds, the cause of their colour has more or less been established. Diamonds get their colour from trace elements present in them during formation – boron for blue and nitrogen for yellow diamonds for example. However, the origins of pink diamonds are still not clear. One school of thought is that the pink in the diamonds surfaced due to enormous pressure on them during formation. Another theory is exclusive to the pink diamonds mined in the Argyle Mines in Western Australia. Scientists hypothesise that seismic shock pushed colourless diamonds to the surface leading to a change in molecular structure and giving diamonds their unique pink colour.

Pink diamonds engagement rings

While colourless diamonds have their pride of place in the diamond family, more and more people are turning to coloured diamonds for an exclusive and unique touch. Pink is undoubtedly the favourite because it not symbolises not only femineity but also beauty, class and creativity. On the practical side, pink diamonds are extremely durable and scratch-resistant and are ideal for everyday use. However, if your chosen option is pink only, but the budget of buying a pink diamond is beyond your means, pink sapphire is a choice to be considered even though the same fire and sparkle of a diamond will not be there.

When you are investing in pink diamonds, always choose an outlet that has a reputation in this field. You can be sure of getting a quality stone from ADC.com.au with an authenticity certificate and be assured that your purchase is of the highest quality only. Australian Diamond Company in Melbourne, Bakker Diamonds in Brisbane or GS Diamonds in Sydney are among the top jewellery stores in Australia with a range of pink diamond jewellery on offer. The salespeople will also help you in choosing the perfect pink diamond ring within your budget.