Diamonds and Gold - Which type of diamonds go well with which types of gold and vice versa?

Ok, as you said there should be a good match between a metal and a diamond and I must say that the jewelry industry is improving style-wise in recent years. Still, a gemologist who sets a diamond in a jewel often isn't a fashion designer (to say the least) and a fashion designer (or a goldsmith) on the other hand doesn't care much about the diamond's physical attributes, which results in misunderstandings and the production of inappropriate combinations of metal and diamonds.

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Here are some general guidelines according which I believe the jewelry industry sets diamonds in gold:

• Small diamonds - When it comes to small diamonds, 1/4 carat or less, the embedding procedure is extremely difficult, and hence a soft metal is preferably used. A 18K gold jewelry could be used, but the metal alloy should be quite soft. The same goes for very tiny diamonds (2-5 points) as well.
• White diamonds - Normally white diamonds are set in white gold pieces, to intensify the white color and to create an optical illusion in which the white metal reflects back the sparkle of the diamond. White gold has a hard alloy, thus insetting diamonds in it could be a difficult task. Anyway a diamond has to be in perfect conditions, without any cracks in order to be embedded in white gold successfully.
• Yellowish diamonds - Non of us likes low color graded diamonds, but the goldsmith can in fact make yellowish diamonds seem quite nice if he manages to choose a suitable metal. Yellow gold goes well with yellowish diamonds, and somehow manages to create the illusion the all the "yellow" is in the metal rather than in the diamond. The more yellow a diamond is (though I'm not recommending to use a poor color graded diamond for jewelry) the more intense the metal's yellow color should be.
• Pink fancy diamonds - Everything goes well with pink (you would be surprised!) but pink gold is no doubt the best choice for such diamonds.
• Yellow fancy diamonds - Unlike the low color graded yellowish diamonds above, here the diamond's color shouldn't be suppressed. Still, yellow 18K gold could be appropriate, as well as white gold.
• Black diamonds - The black and white combination is mesmerizing -  white gold goes best with black diamonds.

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