Yellow Diamond Rings
Yellow is the color of the sun, almost-gold, and almost everything bright and happy. It is a warm color often associated with cheerfulness, happiness and joy (but some people might interpret it as slyness, deceit and cowardice, so pick with care). Yellow is also a very noticeable color; one of the most noticeable, in fact, after black and white, and is especially strong when paired with the former. It is for this reason that yellow is used as a danger sign, though not as dangerous as red. Think about traffic lights to grasp the order of importance.
Yellow diamonds get their color from an unusually high amount of nitrogen in its atomic makeup. The nitrogen content in each stone varies, which means that the exact hues of the yellow stones are also variegated: you can get pure yellow, orange-yellow, or even the very rare – and very expensive – canary yellow.
So how can you go about choosing the correct yellow diamond ring? Here are a few pointers:
- The Diamond.
- The Setting.
A diamond’s setting refers to the way the diamond – or diamonds – is set in the ring. There are several settings, such as the bevel setting, ballerina setting, Pave setting and prong setting, and each of these position and show off the diamond differently.
You can choose to have tiny prongs clasp onto your diamond; or you can place multiple diamonds together, almost touching but not quite to enhance the illusion of size, as in the Pave setting; or you can have multiple tapered baguettes arranged to form the classic, delicate ballerina setting.
- The Metal.
Of course, the ring itself is important when you want to choose your diamond ring. The color of the metal should at least match, and preferably enhance the color of the diamond – or diamonds – set in it. In the case of yellow diamond rings, platinum or yellow gold (at least for the band surrounding the diamond) will enhance their color.
You can always do some research online and offline to find the perfect match for your yellow diamond: there is a wealth of information in magazines, the Internet, and trusty – if sometimes finicky – friends and family.
The most important thing, of course, is the centerpiece itself. Diamonds are judged based on the four Cs: cut, color, clarity, and carat, so you can use the four Cs as your starting point.
Cut.
The cut refers to the style used to polish the diamond into our perception of perfection. There are many cuts that are meant to display a certain aspect of a diamond, but there are also some that are simple due to limitations in technology and tools at the time of their creation. Some of these styles include the Asscher cut, the princess cut, the cushion cut, the emerald cut and the baguette cut. Each of these cuts features a different number of facets, which affects the sparkle of the diamond (unless it is naturally black, which is opaque), a different shape, and a different table, which refers to the large, flat surface of a diamond that faces away from the ring.
As each of these cuts emphasize different parts of a diamond, you will have to choose which aspects you would prefer highlighted. Do you want its color highlighted? Then perhaps the emerald cut is for you. Do you wish for simplicity – or complexity? Then the baguette cut for the former and the Asscher cut for the latter. Do you want a lot of fire and sparkle? The Asscher cut it is.
Color.
Of course, the color of the diamond is important, especially since the diamond in question is a colored diamond. Generally, the purer the color the more expensive it is – but don’t go mistaking color purity for higher quality, since there are other factors that determine quality too. No, your best bet when it comes to color is to just pick a shade that you like. Of course, the price of the diamond will vary according to the availability of the shade of your choice – canary yellow, for one, is rare and expensive, while brown-mottled yellow diamonds are cheaper and easier to find.
Vivid-colored diamonds are also priced much higher than paler ones; when it comes to colored diamonds, color intensity is paramount. While this might also depend on the cut, because a faulty or unwise cut might not fully display the full power of a diamond’s color, sometimes it just depends on the diamond’s atomic makeup. Sometimes the cut itself makes the choice of sacrificing color for sparkle, or sparkle for color, as is the case with the baguette cut.
Clarity.
As you might have guessed already, the cut plays a vital role in the making or breaking of a diamond, and yellow diamonds are not exempted. Besides determining the extent of sparkle and display of color, the cut also determines the clarity of the diamond. It is intertwined with the color of the diamond. A slight murkiness or a dark spot will lower the value of the diamond, like the unfortunate bow tie effect of the marquise cut.
Any chips, cracks or ‘bubbles’ in the diamond will also cloud its clarity. Besides, they will also impair the refraction and reflection of light in the diamond, causing them to lose some fire and sparkle.
Carat.
A diamond’s carat is basically its implied size. This, too, can be defined by the cut, because some cuts will cost a diamond more than others. A rough diamond can lose anywhere between 20 percent to 70 percent of its size depending on its cut and the skill of the jeweler, so the size of the final, polished diamond is always smaller than its pre-polished state. Still, some big diamonds still claim an impressive carat count even after polishing, and these are really, really valuable and really, really rare.
However, most people will not need too big a diamond to set into their rings; there is only so much one can tolerate before the ring feels more like a burden than a symbol of pride and joy. Bigger diamonds will also, logically, cost more, though this will vary according to the other three Cs as well.
Conclusion
Yellow diamond rings are pretty; regardless of the shade you choose, it will be like having your own little sun, or a mini pot of melting gold that glimmers at the slightest touch of light. It is no wonder that yellow diamond rings continue to make waves in jewellery shops today.