3 diamond ring

[bogus]

just curious when looking at a 3 diamond ring should all three diamonds
be the same color and clarity? also 18k or 14k white gold?
thanx for your thoughts.

 

[Magnum]

Not necessarily. There should be a little bit of leeway. Adjacent color grades should be hard to tell apart side by side (as long as you don't get too far down the color chart where the range of what defines a certain color gets bigger). Also, it depends on the size of the center diamond and the side stones. Color and clarity is less noticeable in smaller stones. So, while the center stone may be G/VS2, you might be able to go as low as H/I and SI1/SI2 in the side stones depending on how small they are. Besides color/clarity, it might also be a good idea to make sure the cut of the side stones is close to that of the center stone, so that there isn't a noticeable difference in the amount of sparkle. As far as the gold, I haven't heard much about 18K white gold. Assuming it's similar to 18k yellow gold, it wil be softer than 14k gold. I'm not sure if it will be any more or less white than 14k white gold.

 

[niceice]

We prefer that all three diamonds be the same color, but as Magnum pointed out the intensity of color is more noticeable in smaller stones and thus a variance of one color grade may be appropriate depending on the spread between the sizes you plan to use.

14k white gold is more durable than 18k gold, but not so much so that you would probably notice the difference over the spread of a lifetime of reasonable wear... 18k is richer looking and doesn't cost that much more... Personal preference really.

 

[valeria101]

It's usually considered just an extra touch of "bon ton" having the stones match perfectly, and unlike other unreasonable habits of diamond buying this is easy to accomplish...

If the 'look' of the ring is all that matters, than there is leeway, esp. if the shape of the stone sis not the same. Definitely one color grade does not make a difference and clarity is for the eye to tell (for example, smaller, brillaint cut sides can get away with much lower clarity grades if needs be).


This is about all I know about the issue.

Once the shape and size of stone sis pinned down, other details may come into play - such as what each cut model make those color and clarity grades look like (e.g.: SI2 in larger baguette sides is not appealing at all, I would say, but it may make little difference for a pair of small round sides...).


Just my 0.2, of course