Three-Stone Diamond Rings

What To Look For When Buying A Three-Stone Diamond Ring

The 3-stone diamond ring is one of the hottest jewelry design trends of the decade. De Beers hit the jewelry jackpot when it introduced the three-stone ring in the late 1990s. The idea was the culmination of the company's half-century campaign to make the diamond the gem of choice for any and every special occasion - from engagements and weddings to anniversaries, birthdays and holidays.

In the case of the diamond three-stone ring, the jewelry/diamonds are a symbol of lifelong commitment - one diamond each for the past, present and future of the relationship. But if buying a single-stone diamond ring requires close inspection of the diamond and its mounting, buying a diamond three-stone ring takes triple care and caution.

What to look for when buying a 3-Stone diamond ring

• Number One: Make sure the center and flanking diamonds are evenly matched for color, clarity, weight, size and shape. If there is an intentional color contrast between the center and side stones, make sure the later are matched.
• Number Two: Make sure the center and flanking diamonds are level and secure. None of the stones should look tilted or be set too high or low. All the stones should make a pleasing, even arc.
• Number Three: Make sure all prongs holding the diamonds in place are identically sized, shaped, secure, polished and positioned.
• Number Four: Make sure the shank of the ring has a smooth finish and that the appropriate metal fineness mark and the manufacturer's registered trademark are stamped on the inside. Make sure the inside of the ring is smooth and free of polish marks.
• Number Five: Make sure all metal junctures contain no excess solder and that as much attention has been paid to detail inside the shank as outside.

Colored Or Colorless Diamonds?

Some peole are a little confused about fancy colored diamonds; some think that the more colorless they are, the more valuable they are. On the other hand, some of the colored diamonds are worth more then the colorless ones. You just need to understand about diamonds and how the colored ones are worth more then the colorless ones.

It is true that fine colorless diamonds are generally more valuable than colored diamonds. However there are exceptions. The pink, blue and canary yellow diamonds can be more valuable when they occur naturally in nature and are not artificially colored.

All crystals of gem materials have a refractive index which is how the stone bends light for reflection and refraction. If the stone is cut properly the light should be reflected back out of the top of the stone so all you see is sparkle and light reflected. If you look down the center of the stone and you can see right through it, read through, you can read a paper without distortion then you have a 'window' you can see through. Properly cut gems should not have a 'window' in the middle.

How is a diamond cut

Diamonds are usually the best cut and most of the time you cannot see through a diamond from the back since all the light is reflected back out through the table. Colored stones rarely are cut as well diamonds and they have much lower refractives indices so have to be cut much differently. Most cutters of colored stones try to get the color in the bottom of the pavilion so it will reflect evenly throughout the stone.

The concntration of color on the girdle is because it is the thickest part of the stone usually. Paler color is usualy due to the color zoning in the crystal and sometimes the cut can help but not always. The window in colored stones has nothing to do with color but mainly with the cut.

Black diamonds are one of the few stones that alot of people would like to have. When it comes to colored stones you may wonder if the colored stones come out of the ground already colored. The answer is yes, they are that color out of the ground. Mostly the white stones are more valuable. However some of the large rare colors, if they are very clean, can demand high prices. It depends on the size and clarity and how pretty the color is and how rare it is. Usually diamond producing areas are quite vast and a number of different variations of colorless to pale yellow and brown or gray colors of diamonds can be found in a certain mine. There are exceptions. The diamond mines in Australia have high concentrations of unusually fancy colored diamonds.

So, if you decide to buy one of the 3 stone diamond rings, you have a choice of colorless or fancy colored diamonds, depending upon your tastes and budget.