The Romantic Appeal of Warmer Diamonds | Rare Carat

Why To Go for a Warmer Diamond

Everyone wants an icy, white diamond, right? ...not quite. In fact, some people find crisp white diamonds kind of cold-looking. Only 0.4% of people splurge for D color, flawless stones. 

Here’s the thing - back in the day, icy white diamonds were considered kind of boring, and today some people still think they look fake. Think about it. CZs also happen to be really white.

But if we take a trip back to jewelry's golden age (think the jazz era) most center stones were a warmer color, and, well, kind of yellow. We don’t mean a fancy, canary yellow diamond either. But a soft, drenched-in-candlelight, yellow color that would make anyone fall in love with the same person twice.

And in 2018 with warmer diamonds being a rarity, we can’t stop swooning over the Gatsby era rings, while everyone else puts their stones on ice. Luckily for us, warmer diamonds are making a comeback and because they aren’t the current standard of diamond perfection (whatever that means) they can also be quite a bit cheaper than whiter stones.

Just search here for K colored diamonds and you’ll see what we mean. 

Want to up the romantic appeal on your engagement ring, 1930’s style?

Choosing and setting a warmer diamond is completely different than selecting a white diamond, but the result is absolutely show-stopping. If you’re looking for a romantic ring, that glows like candlelight, here’s what you need to know. We promise the results are unique,  breathtaking - and worth the extra effort.

Skip the white metal

The key is to complement your stone’s warmth, not highlight it. Warm diamonds can’t be set the same way colorless diamonds are, so cool metal bands are out.

While diamonds in the colorless to near-colorless range (D-I) look best when set in white gold or platinum, warmer diamonds (K and lower) glow when set in yellow or rose gold.

The stark white metals, which lend a beautiful, icy look to whiter stones, don’t do much to enhance warmer stones and make them appear “yellow” instead of “warm.”

Instead, a yellow gold setting gives the stone an overall warmth, bringing out the richness of the diamond.

If yellow gold feels too much like your mom’s wedding ring from the 80s, consider setting your warmer diamond in a more modern (yet timeless) rose gold. 

Depending on the look, rose gold can complement both warm and colorless stones. With a whiter diamond color, the rose gold presents a striking contrast, making the diamond pop, while “pink” gold enhances a diamond’s warmth.

Old European Cut

Many of the antique and vintage stones on the market are warm colored diamonds (M,L,N,O) and these faint colored diamonds are generally old European cut.

OEC is the hand-cut ancestor to today’s “brilliant” cut, and these old European rounds have larger facets that diamond lovers have nicknamed “the romantic cut.”

Sporting 58 facets, old European cut stones are cut to glow, while contemporary brilliant cuts are made to sparkle.

Fun fact: For a long time, jewelers were re-cutting old stones to modern, brilliant standards, until old stone lovers (and those who coveted that candlelight ring) stepped up to the plate and rescued these diamonds as-is.

Finding an antique, old European stone in the L,M,N,O color range offers the perfect stone for a warm and authentic jazz-era ring.

Warm and Round

Diamond cuts make all the difference between a yellow-looking ring and a "warm" one. Round stones are cut to maximize brilliance and because of this they “hide” other imperfections fairly easily.

Warmth isn’t an imperfection per se, but a warm step-cut stone (like an emerald cut) is going to look like a yellowish slab of stained glass.

That’s because step-cut stones aren’t meant to sparkle, but mirror large flashes of light.

Warm, round cut diamonds actually twinkle, and designed to radiate the richness, warmth and sparkle that round diamond lovers covet- without actually looking yellow.

Sunny Side Up

Warm diamonds, the kind that look like they’re blushing, is a soft throwback to a romantic era, where the wealthy spared no expense to create show-stopping engagement rings with incredible craftsmanship. It’s an era of opulence, diamond-lovers may never actually see again.

While icy-white rings are sleek, modern and the  contemporary standard, there’s nothing that compares with the rich romance of a warmer colored diamond. And we think that makes warm stones the perfect contender for the most romantic ring on the market.

We can help you find it here.