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Did you know that the world’s  most valuable diamonds are  red? Only the wealthiest  people can afford them. Think  about this: God owns all the  diamonds in the world. How  rich He must be! Diamonds come in many colors:  red, yellow, orange, green,  blue, pink, purple, brown,  gray, black, and white. How do  they get that way, and where  do they come from? Click the  diamonds to find out.

YELLOW Where: Yellow diamonds are found in the ground all around the world. Why: A fancy yellow diamond gets its color from small amounts of nitrogen in its crystal structure (lattice).

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ORANGE Where: Mostly South America and Western Australia Why: Like yellow diamonds, orange shades come from nitrogen in a diamond’s crystal.

GREEN Where: Mostly South America or Africa Why: Green diamonds come from rocks with radioactive material inside (such as thorium or uranium). When radiation enters a diamond, it can knock electrons or carbon atoms out of place. The lattice changes, and so does the color of the outer layer of the diamond.

BLUE Where: South Africa, India, Australia Why: Blue color comes from boron trapped in a diamond’s structure.

PINK Where: Almost all pink diamonds come from Australia’s Argyle Diamond Mine. Why: Intense heat and pressure changes the diamond’s crystal lattice, turning the diamond pink.

BROWN Where: Brazil, Angola,  the Congo, Borneo, Australia Why: Brown is the most  common natural diamond  color. Great pressure deforms  the diamond’s structure. This  changes the way a diamond reflects  light and creates popular brown  diamond colors known as chocolate,  cognac (KOWN-yak), and champagne.

PURPLE Where: South Africa, Russia, Australia Why: Purple diamonds likely get their color from an unusual amount of hydrogen.

GRAY Where: Australia, South Africa, India, Russia, and Brazil Why: Gray diamonds have a high concentration of hydrogen and also sometimes some boron.

BLACK Where: Brazil and the Central African Republic Why: Black diamonds have usually been tainted with graphite, pyrite, or hematite.

Where: Australia, Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Venezuela, South America Why: These are different from colorless diamonds. They contain irregularities that change the way light passes through. The color of white diamonds might remind you more of milk than water.

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RED Where: Most come from Australia’s Argyle Diamond Mine. Some have been found in India, Russia, and South America. Why: No one is sure. The red might come from the way the diamond’s carbon atoms are twisted. This is called “carbon distortion.”