Last Updated on July 12, 2023 by Rolf Hartmann
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In this guide to orange lab-grown diamonds, we’ll teach you all about orange diamonds created in the laboratory, what the differences are from mined orange diamonds, how they are made in the laboratory, how orange lab diamonds get their color, and more. We’ll also guide you to the best places to buy orange lab-grown diamonds and give you tips on how to save on orange diamonds.
3 best places to buy orange lab-grown diamonds
- What are orange lab-grown diamonds?
- How are orange lab-grown diamonds created?
- Orange lab-grown diamonds vs. lab-grown yellow diamonds
- Saffron diamonds vs. Canary diamonds
- Why you should buy a lab-created orange diamond ring
- How to save on orange lab-grown diamonds
- Best places to buy orange lab-grown diamonds
What are orange lab-grown diamonds?
Mined orange diamonds are extremely rare, though they are low in demand. For that reason, many people don’t know that orange lab-grown diamonds exist.
It’s not too far of a stretch if you think about it, with yellow lab-grown diamonds existing. Yellow diamonds often have secondary orange hues, so it’d make sense there’d be lab-grown orange diamonds too.
However, unlike many lab-grown fancy colors, the hues of orange lab-grown diamonds have been limited. Most orange diamonds created are brownish orange, yellowish orange, or pinkish-orange, which is the most common and desired hue of created orange diamonds.
Which color is which? You might be surprised!
How are orange lab-grown diamonds created?
An orange lab-grown diamond is created using the chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method. Instead of subjecting to high heat and pressure alone like an HPHT diamond, a diamond seed is placed in a vacuum chamber.
The vacuum chamber is filled with methane and heated until it turns into plasma around the diamond seed. Then, all the other elements disintegrate, leaving nothing but pure carbon crystallized into a diamond.
To turn that diamond orange, the CVD lab-grown diamond has to be irradiated and/or use low-temperature annealing to produce orange hues.
Orange lab-grown diamonds vs. lab-grown yellow diamonds
Since orange and yellow are on the same section of the color wheel, it also makes sense that nitrogen is the origin of both fancy colors. It also makes it very difficult to tell them apart when you go into deeper yellow hues with secondary orange colors.
Like many particular shades of a gemstone, there isn’t a rulebook as to what makes a diamond yellow or orange. But if you get down to it, most gemologists judge it based on the absorption spectrum of the diamond. The primary color of the diamond is yellow when it is measured as ~510 nm. If it’s ~600 nm and above, it’s considered orange. There are some exceptions to that as well.
Which is orange and which is yellow?
The science behind diamonds can be a bit confusing for most consumers. But if you’re searching for an orange lab-grown diamond and want to make sure you’re being sold one, a diamond certificate will tell you for sure which color your diamond is before you buy it.
Saffron diamonds vs. Canary diamonds
You already know that fancy color diamonds come in a variety of shades. Certain colors have top-tier hues or tones that have a trading name.
For yellow diamonds, the trade name is “canary diamonds”. In some circles, a canary yellow diamond is any fancy yellow diamond. Though there’s no definitive gemology guide to what makes a yellow diamond a genuine canary diamond, it’s said that pure yellow of fancy intense, and fancy vivid shades were the bar. These yellow diamonds would have high yellow intensity with no secondary colors of orange, brown, or green.
For orange diamonds, saffron diamonds are the top-tier color. These diamonds are described with high intensities and two primary hues of both yellow and orange. They should have equal amounts of each color present in the stone.
Only a handful of mined saffron diamonds are found each year. They’re usually sold at high-profile auctions and events.
Though saffron diamonds and canary diamonds are harder to come by, lab-created yellow and orange diamonds can achieve these shades at a lower price, but they’re not as rare.
Why you should buy a lab-created orange diamond ring
If having a rare and mined diamond is important to you, you might not want to purchase an orange lab-grown diamond for your engagement ring. If you wish to resell it and buy the diamond as an investment, you will not want an orange lab-grown diamond. But we don’t recommend investing in diamonds anyway.
But if you want a fancy-colored diamond of rare hues that only the super-rich had before, you might want an orange lab-grown diamond. These stones are rare, even among traditional lab-grown colored diamonds. So if you get your hands on one of those new pure orange lab-created diamonds, you’ll have something rare and brand-new.
Additionally, an orange lab-grown diamond can achieve stunning hues and saturation that you could only dream of finding in a mined orange diamond. The lab diamond clarity is likely to be better than a mined diamond as well. Lab-created orange diamonds are thousands of dollars less expensive and truly a beautiful sight to behold.
How to save on orange lab-grown diamonds
Lab-grown orange diamonds are already much cheaper than mined diamonds, but you can save even more. This is how:
- Consider downgrading on some diamond grades. Unlike colorless diamonds, the most important for lab fancy-colored diamonds are their color and saturation. So you could opt for slightly lesser clarity and cut grade, which will be less expensive.
- Get a smaller diamond. Large fancy-colored lab diamonds are much rarer and thus much more expensive than smaller ones. Picking a smaller diamond can both save you money and allow you to go up on color quality.
- Choose a less expensive color. While some fancy-colored lab-grown diamonds are both rare (i.e., harder to create) and popular, others are cheaper to create and more abundant. For example, yellow lab-grown diamonds are typically much cheaper than orange lab-grown diamonds, but they are close to each other on the color scale.
- Buy orange lab-grown diamonds online at a reputable seller. Choose one of our best-rated places to buy lab-grown fancy-colored diamonds, and you’ll both save and get a better lab-grown orange diamond.
- Look for sales and discounts on orange lab-grown diamonds. See our list of all of the best sales and deals on lab-grown diamonds!
- And, of course, buy an orange lab-grown diamond instead of a mined one. Lab-grown diamonds are much cheaper than mined ones, but precisely the same. Especially fancy-colored diamonds, such as orange, are significantly cheaper. See how much lab-grown diamonds are cheaper than mined diamonds.
Best places to buy orange lab-grown diamonds
At LabGrownCarats.com, we review and rate the best places to buy lab-grown diamonds online. Unfortunately, not all diamond jewelers offer fancy-colored lab-grown diamonds, particularly the rarer orange lab-grown diamonds.
We recommend buying orange lab-grown diamonds from Ritani, Brilliant Earth, and James Allen due to their large inventory of lab-grown orange diamonds, their low prices, and their fantastic customer service and shopping experience. Read our review or see below why they are the best places to buy orange lab-grown diamonds.
- Read our Ritani review: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
- Read our Brilliant Earth review: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
- Read our James Allen review: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
