If given a choice between diamonds and any other colored gemstones, which one would you pick up? I would ,anytime, pick diamonds! A major misconception about diamonds is that all diamonds are colorless. But,though they are rare,diamonds come in all colors. So if it is a red color that you want,though not easily available attributing to its rarity, you will get a red colored diamond! Now which one is it that you prefer? Diamonds or any other gemstone?

Edited in keeping with AnswerPool's policy regarding attempts at free advertising. (Thanks for the Alert, Fred.)

This message has been edited. Last edited by: DorianGreyed,

Whatever they were I'd never buy them through the website you so helpfully refer us to

Buying diamonds and coloured stones is fraught with difficulty, even when you can inspect the stones with a loupe and under a proper light and you know what you are looking for . Rubies have often been heat treated to improve the colour. Emeralds almost always have inclusions and their colour is usually suspect too.Sapphires are subject to fashion and they too may have been heated. At one time the favoured colour in the high street was quite dark blue, almost black .Australia was a the favoured source for these. Now it's a paler shade.The collector appears more interested in country of origin, but that's because e.g an old sapphire from Ceylon has such a lovely blue shade and lustre.Heating is so common that London auction houses often insert a disclaimer in their catalogues, relieving them of liability if a stone proves to have been treated.

And coloured ("fancy") diamonds? Depends on the colour: yellow diamonds may be industrial grade, worthless as gems, but a yellowish tinge in a diamond makes it worth far less than anything else. Many's the innocent who has been sold a pale yellowish stone by some crook who claims that any yellow is desirable. A dark yellow of gem quality is a very rare and expensive stone. I once saw a necklace made of stones of every fancy diamond colour. It had taken its owner, a diamond dealer in London's jewellery quarter, a lifetime in the business to make up! At auction, it fetched a price you would not believe !