All You Need To Know About Diamond Accents
Diamond accents refer to the small stones that are placed beside the centerpiece in a jewelry set. As their name suggests, they are primarily used to accentuate or highlight the center stone.
They add elegance, style, and character to your piece of jewelry and enhance the sparkle. Accents are generally chosen based upon their size, color, shape, and quality. They have a substantive impact on the beauty of your setting. Here is a guide to choosing your accents and using them to their fullest.
What Are The Different Type Of Accents?
Before getting into the details of different diamond accents, it is important to point out that accents are real diamonds. They are small diamonds and are worth relatively less individually. However, they exhibit all the characteristics of diamonds and are evaluated based on the diamond 4Cs as well.
The popular choices for accents are generally Baguettes, Trillion cuts, or small Round Diamonds. A Princess cut or an Emerald cut might also be a preferred choice in a three-stone diamond ring situation.
Baguette Diamonds
Owing to their large table and appealing symmetry, baguettes are preferred accents. They have a classic look and feel about them and are arranged next to other baguettes to create a row of diamonds. They lack the brilliance of a trillion cut or a small round diamond. The step cuts of a baguette provide an excellent contrast to the centerpiece and help in highlighting it.
Tapered Baguettes
These have a rectangular shape with a tapered edge. They are used to accent the curve of a jewelry setting. They help enhance the brilliance of the piece and also give it a classy and elegant look.
Tapered Baguettes are used primarily used as side stones or as flank stones in a Three Stone Setting. They perfectly compliment all diamond shapes.
Straight Baguettes
These are almost perfectly rectangular. They appear slightly bigger than other diamonds of the same carat weight. They can either be placed alongside the center stone or are placed adjacent to each other in rows. They appear as a diamond band.
This particular kind of Baguette is used to compliment several diamond shapes except for Round Brilliants, Marquise Cuts, and Asscher Cuts.
Trillion Cut Diamonds
This unique cut comes in the form of a triangle and follows the natural curvature of a ring. Different from the common square or round cuts, these diamonds are perfect as flank stones. They are popularly used in three-stone settings. Their unique shape directs attention to the center stone.
They work best with Round Brilliant diamonds, Princess Cuts, Cushion Cuts, and Radiant Cut Diamonds.
Small Round Diamonds
This is the most common and classy choice when it comes to accent diamonds. They are commonly used in a Channel Setting, Pave’ Setting, or in a Three Stone Diamond Ring Setting.
Owing to their popularity as accent stones, there are three different types of small round diamonds that exist. They are commonly known as ‘Stars’, they have a carat weight below 0.02. ‘Full Cuts’ have carat weights between .02 and .07. They are separate from ‘ Single Cuts’ which are not used anymore. ‘Melee Diamonds’ have carat weights between .08 to .18.
Small Round Diamonds have the same number of facets as a regular Round Brilliant. They are popularly used in ring settings, diamond necklaces, and bracelets.
In a Channel Setting, they are placed in rows and help create a stunning sparkle. This setting is thick and the round diamonds help accentuate the entire ring setting. In a Pave’ Setting there is much less exposed material to cover up. The size and style of your ring setting might just allow you to cover the entire area with these sparkly round diamonds.
How Are Accent Diamonds Priced?
Diamonds are priced according to their carat weight. It is no different in the case of accent diamonds. However, owing to their low carat weight, they are relatively much cheaper than their larger equivalents.
These diamonds are not sold separately. They are bought by jewelers at a wholesale price and used in different pieces of jewelry. Accent stones are graded exactly as other diamonds are. However, since they are not the belle of the ball, you can afford to buy these diamonds of a lower grade.
The general price of accent diamonds will be around $300 to $400 per carat. The price may go up to $1000 if you are choosing diamonds of more premium quality and grade.
How Are Accent Diamonds Matched?
The primary purpose of your accent diamonds is to highlight your centerpiece. Choosing a diamond of a higher color grade is not going to be fruitful as it needs to accentuate your main diamond.
We would recommend you to choose a color grade that is at least 2 to 3 grades lower than your center stone. You need to pay attention to your color grade as well. Choosing accent stones of varying color grades will not look aesthetically pleasing.
That does not mean you have to choose all of the same color grades. Choosing close color grades is always an option as they can hardly be distinguished with the naked eye. You will not be able to tell the difference between an H color and a G color diamond. Also choosing higher color grades will elevate your price unnecessarily.
The same rule applies to your diamond clarity. Choosing higher clarity grades is not a good option as it amounts to an unnecessary cost. Its always recommended choosing eye-clean diamonds. Also, the clarity of your accent diamonds needs to be at least 2-3 grades lower than your center diamond.
Similar to close color grades, close clarity grades cannot be differentiated by using the naked eye. However, the difference in price between color grades is stark and very much noticeable. For this reason, it is important to always be careful about choosing clarity grades for your accent stones.
If you are using small accent diamonds, of .02 carat weight or lesser, then your clarity grade holds little importance. You might be able to go down 2 to 4 grades below your center stone. Using Melee diamonds is a good option.
Figuring The Carat Weight Of Your Diamond Accents
The general carat weight for diamond accents is between 0.02 to 0.18. Diamonds of different carat weights accent your centerpiece in different ways. Choosing diamond accents is a matter of personal preference. However, there are certain things to keep in mind.
In the case of Three Stone and Side Stone settings, your diamond accents need to be about half the size of your center stone. Also, the diameter of your side stones needs to equal the table of your center stone. Your diamond’s table size can be determined by multiplying the dimensions of your center stone with its table percentage.
The outside diameter measurements or the carat weights can help you determine the ratio or size comparison between the center stone and the diamond accents.
For a Pave setting using diamond accents 1/6th the size of the center stone is recommended. Smaller accents look better with this setting because it generally involves several accents. The same applies to a channel setting.
Only certain tension settings use diamond accents. These accents are held in place by pressure exerted on the open ends rather than on the prongs. Generally, these accents are small to suit the intricate design of the tension setting.
As mentioned earlier, choosing your accents are up to you. It is always better to go with smaller diamond accents in the case of Channel or Pave’ Settings. It is only with Side stone settings and Three stone settings that you need to consider the size of your accent diamond. It is also important to consider the size of the wearer’s hand when choosing accents for your diamond jewelry.
Diamonds vs Diamond Accents
By themselves, diamond accents do not stand out. Their prime role as said many times is to accentuate the center stone. It is important to keep this as your main point of focus. Consider the shape, cut, and most importantly the size of your diamond accent.
When choosing your central diamond, make sure you choose your diamond shape in accordance with the accents you are planning to get. The right combination can result in the most beautiful piece of jewelry possible.
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