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A guide to designing with colored diamonds

Oct 02, 2015

A Guide to Designing with Colored Diamonds

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LISA

Have your heart set on a fancy colored diamond (FCD)? We don’t blame you. With their array of eye-catching shades, these beauties add a pop of color and a quirky-cool edge to your jewelry. Just like their more traditional white cousins, FCDs are the hardest stones on the market and can be easily customized into the piece of your dreams. But since they are colored, you’ll have a few extra things to keep in mind during the design process.

Here’s what you—and your jeweler—should know.
Pink Diamond Surrounded by a Green Halo
Pink Diamond Surrounded by a Green Halo
in a Marquise Halo Pave Engagement Ring

Consider Accent Stones


Natural, untreated fancy colored diamonds are usually very pale, as are their lab-created diamond twins, so highlighting that faint hue is your first order of business. An effective but stunning way to do that is by using accent stones. A halo (or double halo) of extra-bright white diamonds makes a barely-there color pop, as do stones of a contrasting color. For example, I’ve encircled a light pink center stone with green accent stones, and it looked fantastic.
Mokume Falling Water Ring with a Champagne Diamond in a Rose Gold Setting
Mokume Falling Water Ring with a
Champagne Diamond in a Rose Gold Setting

Consider Metals


Don’t discount the importance of your metal—the right one will showcase the beauty of your FCD. But as with accent stones, stick with metals in complementary colors. If you have a pale blue or pink diamond, go with a polished white metal, like platinum. It makes the hue of the stone really stand out. Want to bring out smaller, pale pink accent diamonds? Consider rose gold, which will amplify the warmth of the stones. (I recommend avoiding rose gold with a pink center stone, however; it will wash it out.)

For yellow diamonds, I suggest a yellow gold for a chic, two-tone look. But—caveat—give yourself extra time to choose the precise shade you want. Diamonds almost always have an overtone, or secondary color, like gray, green, yellow or pink. To get the most visual bang for your buck, choose a gold that complements your stone’s overtone.
 
Yellow Diamond Trillions in a Mokume Engagement Ring
Yellow Diamond Trillions in a
Mokume Engagement Ring

Consider Cut


Corners saturate your diamond’s color, and you’ll want a fancy colored diamond’s hue to appear a little saturated. To achieve that, skip round cuts and opt for something with corners, like pear, marquis, square, radiant, trillion or cushion cut.
Carved Branch Ring with a Lab Blue Diamond Set in Prongs
Carved Branch Ring with a Lab
Blue Diamond Set in Prongs

Consider Setting


Hands down, one of the biggest perks of owning a colored diamond is the view. These stones look just as beautiful from the side as they do from the top. To capitalize on that, choose a setting with an open side profile, like prong or bezel—and be prepared to show off your gorgeous stone for years to come.
Krikawa.  Where Your Dream Ring Comes True.
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