Is there such thing as coloured lab grown diamonds?
However you feel about lab grown diamonds, there’s no denying that they’ve been the biggest newcomer to the engagement ring scene this century. Lab grown white diamonds for jewellery have gone from unheard of, to being a very common gemstone used for engagement rings, in less than a decade. In this scheme of jewellery’s evolution, that is an incredible pace of change.
All the attention, so far, has been on lab grown diamonds that are white in colour.
Natural diamonds can be found in all sorts of colours, though, not just white. In fact some of the most valuable diamonds around are in vivid shades of pink, red, and blue. Bright yellows are also a popular choice for statement coloured diamond engagement rings.
So if manufacturers can create white lab grown diamonds, can they create coloured lab grown diamonds too?
To answer this, let’s take a step back to how lab grown diamonds emerged.
When did lab grown white diamonds emerge in Australia?
While lab grown diamonds became a growing choice for Australians’ engagement rings in the 2020s, the technology to manufacture diamonds has actually been around a lot longer than that. Manufacturers have been creating diamond material in laboratories for decades, with the earliest lab grown diamonds seen as early as the 1950s.
In these early decades, it was possible to create diamond material, but not of the quality needed for use as gemstones. So the diamonds they made from the 1950s methods were used for industrial applications, like creating machining and cutting tools - which strong diamond material is perfect for.
Gem quality lab grown diamonds followed a few decades later, but it has only been from the 2020s that a ‘breakthrough’ allowed fine quality white lab grown diamonds to be produced in a way that was properly feasible for the jewellery industry. Lab grown diamonds are beautiful in colour just like natural bright white diamonds, with the same physical and optical properties of their natural counterparts.
A lab grown radiant cut pink diamond.
When did lab grown coloured diamonds emerge in Australia?
While white lab grown diamonds were becoming mainstream, the technology took a few more years to advance before manufacturers could produce coloured diamonds suitable for jewellery.
In nature, colour in diamonds results from a range of different factors - like changes in the diamond’s atomic structure when it forms (which can create pink and red), to chemical impurities in the material (which can create yellow and blue), to natural irradiation processes in the Earth’s surface (which can create green). These complex processes that produce the uniqueness of gem quality coloured diamonds, took a little while longer to be properly replicated in a laboratory.
Initially, colours were nice but didn’t quite measure up to the ‘essence’ produced by nature. However, colours are improving more and more as years go by, with many laboratory grown diamonds now rivalling the colours and beauty of natural diamonds, especially in diamonds of smaller sizes. As of 2025, both natural coloured diamonds and lab grown coloured diamonds are beautiful choices for an engagement ring.
Looking for advice on selecting an excellent lab grown coloured diamond?
Book an appointment directly with a jewellery designer and maker (not a salesperson) to get personalised advice on lab grown coloured diamonds for a custom made engagement ring.
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