Diamond & Jewelry News, Advice and Prices for Consumers
Diamond & Jewelry News, Advice and Prices for Consumers
July 23, 2010
I'm looking to buy an engagement ring for my girlfriend, but my budget is pretty limited. The diamond I've chosen on my budget is a 0.25 carat square cut diamond with a I clarity grade. The diamond isn't very brilliant and isn't large but it's the best I could afford. Could I use different settings to maximize my selected diamond's brilliance and its apparent size?
September 17, 2010
July 25, 2010
Certainly. A diamond's apparent brilliance and size can be enhanced by the setting you choose. Here are a few engagement ring diamond settings that could help with your diamond' brilliance and its size:
1. The prong setting – the prong setting is perhaps the most traditional and the most common setting to be used in solitaire engagement rings. The setting's metal base forms an enclosed space around the diamond's girdle, while its prongs, or claws, hold it in place. Thus, a prong setting leaves most of the diamond's surface uncovered, allowing light to travel through its body and out of its crown and sides. The increased amount of light traveling through the diamond gives the precious gemstone a brilliant appearance.
2. The invisible setting – invisible settings are as the name implies: invisible. The diamond's girdle is set into a metal framework which is embedded within the engagement ring's metal band. The invisible setting creates the illusion of a larger and more brilliant diamond since it allows a larger amount of light to reflect off of the diamond's surface, back into the eye of the beholder.
3. The tension setting – tension created by the metal band's denseness holds the diamond in place. Therefore, the diamond remains mostly uncovered, which gives the precious gemstone the illusion of being bigger and more brilliant.
4. The illusion setting - the diamond or precious gemstone is surrounded by reflective metal plates, which cause the diamond to look larger and increase the light which is reflected off of its surface, thus enhancing its brilliance.
5. The trellis setting – similar to the prong,
or claw setting, the trellis setting is in fact two intertwined wire prongs which
hold the diamond center stone in place. As with the prong setting, light is free
to travel within the diamond's body, and to exit from its crown. This setting successfully
enhances a diamond's apparent brilliance and size.
