Chocolate Diamond Rings
They sound yummy – and they look yummy too, but sorry, unfortunately you can’t taste them. The term takes three different things that we all know and love – chocolate and diamonds and rings – and blends them into one delightful treat (or, more aptly, a gift). Chocolate diamond rings are also known as cognac, cinnamon, honey and champagne diamond rings. Now, you might be thinking “what’s with all these food-and-drink-related names?” when in truth, they all refer to the same thing: brown diamond rings.
Doesn’t sound so glamorous now, does it? Now you know why they use chocolate or cognac instead. Yum.
History
The road traveled by chocolate diamond rings was rough and bumpy. It didn’t get a running start, as did pink diamonds and rare red diamonds. In fact, they were struggling to survive as loose diamonds, not even as jewellery, due to their perceived low value. People considered brown to be a low color, associated it with the color of dirt and mud, and seldom gave it more than a second glance. Brown diamonds simply couldn’t fetch a good price.
Then a company called Le Vian had a Eureka moment and blessed plain brown diamonds with a new name. It was a part of their marketing ploy, no doubt, but it was a successful marketing ploy and it propelled brown diamonds to the heights of fame in Hollywood, studding the jewellery of international stars under the ingenious name of ‘chocolate diamonds’.
The name stuck, and so did the diamond’s popularity. Today they join the ranks of other colored and clear diamonds to beautify rings in jewellery shops all over the world. They are classed between C1 and C9 and, having picked up on the magic trick that transformed the fate of newly-christened chocolate diamonds, each of these classes is given a yummy food- or beverage-related name. The ploy seems to work even now.
Natural vs Synthetic
As with other colored diamonds, chocolate diamonds have fallen prey to the glut of demand left, right, and center, and thus synthetic chocolate diamonds have been created to better bridge that gap. These man-made diamonds are still diamonds – the raw ingredient and the output both remain the same bit of precious stone – except that their colors have changed.
One surprising fact: not all diamonds are attractive. Some diamonds are deemed to have too low a color to be attractive as jewellery. These are the diamonds that get a color enhancement treatment in the laboratory to emerge, proud as peacocks, with bold, fresh colors. It just so happens that brown is one of the easier colors to create with this method. This is another reason why synthetic chocolate diamond rings are not uncommon.
Owning a synthetic brown diamond ring is not necessarily a bad thing. It is still a real diamond ring, albeit with a color makeover, with all the qualities of a real diamond (because it is real; has this been emphasized enough yet?). It also happens to be significantly more affordable than natural brown diamond rings, which, while are affordable when compared to other diamond rings, are limited in supply.
So unless you’re really adamant that a natural chocolate diamond ring is the only way to go because you want it really, really natural from the beginning to the end, you can consider giving synthetic chocolate diamond rings a shot.
Here are some reasons why you should still keep chocolate diamond rings on your list:
- Affordable.
Their affinity for names of edibles aside, chocolate diamond rings are actually quite affordable as far as diamond rings go. They are ranked kind of low in the diamond hierarchy, close to yellow, but that does not mean they’re not beautiful. Far from it, actually. Have you ever been figuratively lost in someone’s brown eyes before? Or perhaps those of your pet? If yes, then you will know that brown can be beautiful and not just relegated to its unenviable reference to mud and certain waste products. Seriously.
Besides, even if chocolate diamond rings are a little out of your budget range, there are synthetic chocolate diamond rings to consider. Ignore the distasteful word ‘synthetic’, focus on the facts that they are brown, are still real diamonds, and are value for money considering all you want is a (real diamond) chocolate diamond ring, and you might find yourself sealing a deal.
- Versatile.
Brown is an earthy color, often associated with traits such as simplicity, friendliness, dependability and health. As a neutral color along with black and white and the grays in between, it is greatly versatile and can go well with many different colors, so that’s one less worry for your partner when it comes to finding clothes that match the ring!
Brown, or chocolate as it is now affectionately called in the diamond world, goes well together with many types of metals: silver, gold, titanium, platinum…again, its neutrality gives it an edge. All the metals complement and enhance chocolate diamonds, while chocolate diamonds are impartial as to which metal bears them.
It is also versatile because it can be used both as a solitaire ring and as a part of an ensemble in a multiple-diamond ring. Brown is a beautiful, neutral color that can stand on its own in any piece of jewellery. However, it can be accented by other surrounding diamonds in a set – white diamonds in particular, although other combinations can be just as tasteful if done right. The relative affordability of chocolate diamonds means that you can probably afford a multiple-diamond ring in exchange for a single, more valuable diamond-studded ring like pink or blue diamonds.
Where to Buy
As with other diamond rings, chocolate diamond rings can be bought either offline or online, although the former is preferably for its reliability: you get to check out the diamond ring firsthand and look at the proofs of authenticity – a certificate of authenticity, at the very least – before deciding on a purchase.
A higher risk of fraud is not the only problem you’re dealing with when it comes to purchasing chocolate diamond rings online. Some websites are misdirecting; they appear as results in search engines, but in reality they do not stock chocolate diamond rings. Others post incomplete information about the items: no price listed, et cetera.
In the end, a brick-and-mortar store is still the best regardless of the advent of technology and the Internet.