The world’s largest Fancy Intense Blue Diamond ring is scheduled to go up for auction at Christie’s on June 9^th, 2016.  The breathtaking jewel is expected to bring anywhere from 23 to 29 million dollars, and is just one polished piece of the largest blue diamond of this extraordinary quality ever to be discovered.  No one can be sure just yet if the Cullinan Dream will rest peacefully in someone’s private diamond collection or be worn proudly on some very lucky lady’s ring finger, but regardless of the extremely rare gem’s destination, the media spotlight shining upon the Cullinan Dream has sparked a renewed passion for fancy colored diamonds amongst both jewelers and consumers, worldwide. [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="255"] Image Compliments of Christie's[/caption] While it’s true that the majority of us will never have the opportunity, or perhaps even the inclination, to wear a 24+ carat diamond of such value upon our fingers, there are fortunately many fancy colored diamonds out there for us “regular folk” to enjoy.  You might be wondering how colored diamonds come to be in nature.  In the case of the Cullinan Dream, the element boron was present during the formation of the diamond millions of years ago, imbuing the precious stone with its lovely, intense blue color.  Alternate natural elements can result in alternate colors, while imperfections in the crystalline structure are credited with the colorization of red, pink and purple diamonds; some of the rarest gems on Earth. Fancy colored diamonds – whatever their color or size – are a highly desirable alternative to traditional diamonds, and a really unique way to add character to diamond jewelry in all its beautiful forms.  Large carat weight natural colored diamonds can be expensive because of their rarity.  But smaller colored diamond accents are an affordable alternative that allows you to enjoy the beauty of fancy colored diamonds in a variety of jewelry designs from diamond earrings to engagement rings… virtually any style of jewelry you can imagine can be customized with fancy colored diamond accents to create a one-of-a-kind piece featuring nature’s rarest and most beautiful treasures. As the jewelry world waits with bated breath to see just how many millions of dollars the coveted Cullinan Dream Blue Diamond will bring, and just who the fortunate new owner will be, the rest of us have the luxury of incorporating small pieces of nature’s colorful radiance into our own jewelry collections with fancy colored diamond accents.