What Are Accent Diamonds Or Accent Stones?
Accent diamonds are smaller diamonds or stones that are set on a ring or other jewellery piece. Often, they are set on the ring's side, so they become part of the ring rather than just sitting around on a flat piece of metal. They're usually placed next to larger diamonds, making them much more visible and creating a dramatic effect. Sometimes you will see the words 'accent stones'. As long as the 'stones' are diamonds then the terms are interchangeable!
Jewellery designers use accent diamonds to add depth and dimension, but they don’t take much space. This makes accent diamonds particularly useful in smaller pieces of jewellery.
Accent diamonds usually come in three shapes: small round, baguette, and trillion. In our designs, we often use accent diamonds to form a halo around a central stone. This gives the effect of a larger single diamond at a lower cost.
Trillion Cut Diamond Accents
With their unique triangular shape, trillion cut accent stones easily follow the natural curve of a diamond ring. This makes them ideal for enhancing the visual size of a diamond ring because of their large table width.
The way you style your ring has a big impact on how it will look. In general, the larger the diamond, the more dramatic the style will look. When it comes to accent diamonds, the trick is choosing one that complements the size of the diamond.
Baguette Accent Diamonds
The baguette accent diamond is a popular shape for any budget. Because the baguette’s shape makes a great contrast to cushion-cut or round diamonds, it is an ideal shape for any style and fits most budgets.
Baguette cuts are slightly different from round cuts in that the baguette shape doesn't have a flat end on one side, but a rounded one. However, the rounded edge gives baguettes the unique sparkle that makes them so popular among jewellery aficionados.
Baguette accents can be a perfect choice if you want something to complement a round or emerald shaped stone. Tapered accents are also good for side stones or three-stone settings.
Small Round Diamond Accents
Small, round diamonds, typically with a brilliant-cut are the most commonly found form of accent diamonds. The shape is an easy match for most centre diamond shapes and can be set in a range of styles.
Round accent diamonds fall into three categories: The first type are called 'Stars', these diamonds are sized at 0.02ct or smaller. Then we have 'full cuts' sized between 0.02ct and 0.07ct and finally 'melee diamonds' which are sized from 0.08ct to 0.18ct.
Small round accent diamonds are a great match for three-stone, pave, side-stone and channel settings. Our designers often choose round diamonds to make thicker settings look less bulky, but they also look beautiful in slender pave settings where their small size can really sparkle and shine.
Think About The Colour, Clarity, Carat And Setting Style Of Accent Diamonds.
As well as selecting the right shape and style of the jewellery piece as a whole, make sure that your centre and accent diamonds are as similar in shape, clarity and carat as possible to make your jewellery look like one single piece. In almost every case, at All Diamond, we use diamonds of the same grade of clarity and colour as the main diamond(s). We think this gives the best effect for our clients. Some designers and retailers use lower graded diamonds in accents.
Guidelines For Considering Accent Diamonds In Your Jewellery
If you are looking at jewellery where lower grade diamonds are used as accents, then the following guidelines apply:
1) When it comes to choosing a centre diamond for your diamond jewellery, your goal is to have it appear as the most colourless stone. Although to the naked eye, all your diamonds should look colourless, if the designer chooses accent diamonds graded from 1-3 lower than the centre diamond the attention of the viewer is immediately pulled to the brilliant white centre stone.
2) The same idea also applies to the clarity of the accent diamonds. It is usually recommended that designers choose accent diamonds that are eye clean (any inclusions should not be visible to the naked eye), accent diamonds can be graded 1-2 clarity grades less than the main diamond. In addition, clarity is not of great importance in diamonds of less than 0.02 ct. Some designers will use accent diamonds that are as much as 2-4 grades lower in clarity than the centre diamond.
3) Pave and channel settings generally use smaller accent diamonds because the designs use a large number of stones set in a field. If the accents are large they can overpower the visual effect of the larger diamond. As a rule of thumb, accent stones should be no larger than about 15% of the size of the centre stone.
4) If you want to stand out from the crowd, go for coloured gemstones as accents to the central diamond. Gemstone accents are a way of adding a dash of colour to diamond jewellery. Just think of it as a way of adding some spice to your everyday outfits.
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This gorgeous diamond bangle is a great way to express your style. This UK hallmarked bangle showcases a band made from 18k white gold for a classic look and a sparkling 1.00ct of ethically sourced G/SI quality diamonds placed on… read more
5) When talking about small diamonds, you will often come across the term 'diamond points'. For example, a 0.30 ct diamond may be referred to as being a '30 point' stone because a carat has 100 points. We do not use this term and always use the traditional carat weight to avoid confusion.
Your Taste Is The Most Important Thing!
When you buy jewellery, bear in mind the most important factor is the wearer's taste and style. Choose the best size, style, and shape to complement the wearer's hand, neckline or ears - depending on the jewellery being considered.
Please take a moment to browse our impressive range of diamond jewellery, both solitaire designs and with accent stones. All of our fine diamond jewellery is designed and handcrafted in the UK using the highest quality materials and workmanship.
We look forward to being of service to you when you choose your next piece of diamond jewellery!
