The engagement rings industry has idealized high quality diamonds for numerous generations. “She deserves a better diamond” is a common message with regard to unique engagement rings. The question is, what is a “better diamond”, and under what circumstances does it make sense to invest the marginal amount into diamonds with, for example, an ideal cut and VS1 versus a very good cut and SI2? The fact is that cheap engagement rings are offered at discounted prices due to savvy jewelers’ abilities to produce gorgeous designs with the right proportions of metals and diamond quality. If all engagement rings were produced in 18 karat gold with IF diamonds, affordable engagement rings would not exist, and prices of unique engagement rings would skyrocket beyond recognition. Does your favorite engagement rings store educate you on the application of various diamond quality in engagement ring designs? In this issue of DT Era we observe specific engagement rings to illustrate situations on both sides of the spectrum, to help our readers better understand and decide when a more expensive diamond does and does not make sense.
We begin our analysis with Italian engagement rings. This stunning Italian solitaire diamond engagement ring offers a shank in 18k white gold with a one fifth carat VS1 diamond. One of the typical challenges with solitaire engagement rings is a lack of complexity in the design, where 100% of the focus ultimately converges on the diamond. In addition, because there is only one diamond, solitaire engagement rings tend to feature larger diamonds, 1/5 carat or more. The larger the diamond, the more visible the inclusions. For these reasons, with solitaire diamond engagement rings we recommend no less than an eye clean SI2 or, better yet, a GIA VS2. And unless you want the diamond to show yellow, we recommend a minimum G color for diamonds up to one carat in weight and no less than F for diamonds above one carat.
Next we review this beautifully unique halo diamond engagement ring, produced in 14k white gold with I1-I2 round cut diamonds. Is this a poor quality engagement ring? Here’s a thought – the largest diamond in this unique engagement ring is 0.03 carats. While the final halo design is gorgeous, no human eye can detect inclusions in a diamond this small. In fact, many diamond grading labs will not even grade a diamond below 0.3 carats. In the end, with small diamonds, I1-I2 is generally more than sufficient to achieve a great design with immense fire and scintillation.
Last but not least we examine unique wedding rings. This particular unique wedding ring is a modified three stone trilogy, and look at how beautifully it was designed and produced! The shank is made in 14k white gold and, believe it or not, the diamonds are H-I and I1-I2, but do you notice it? Again, the largest diamond in this trilogy is 0.06 carats by weight, which simply isn’t large enough for the unaided eye to notice any inclusions or a yellow color. Most people would agree that this unique wedding ring takes the trilogy design to a whole new level.
As you can see, each diamond has a place, and set in the correct engagement ring or wedding ring, each diamond has the potential to light up the final ring. In the engagement rings and wedding ring examples below we barely scratched the tip of the iceberg, as there are literally millions of instances where affordable engagement rings and affordable wedding rings are made possible with the mastery of setting lower priced diamonds without compromising any of the aesthetic components of the final design of the rings. As always, we recommend seeking professional guidance in your search through wedding rings and engagement rings, as the perfect ring at the right price is out there, waiting for you to find it.
