The Jeweler's Eye
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I am a jewelry designer and gemologist. I love creating beautiful heirloom jewelry for clients all over the world. In this blog, I feature many of my designs and current projects as well as articles about colored gemstones, diamonds and antique jewelry. As a historian and lover of antique and estate jewelry, I am often inspired by jewels from the past.

Sunday, December 21, 2008

A Trilliant Yellow Diamond

Several years ago a diamond cutter showed me a beautiful yellow diamond. The stone was a trilliant cut with nicely bowed edges and an intoxicating, glowing shade of yellow. (A trilliant-cut diamond is triangular in shape and sparkles with brilliant faceting.) The cutter knew I could not resist a beautifully cut diamond with exceptional color.

Usually I acquire diamonds as part of a custom design project for a client. Every so often an exceptional stone comes along that I purchase for inventory and create a special jewel to showcase. The trilliant yellow diamond was one of those exceptional stones.


Trilliant yellow diamond set in a hand-engraved platinum ring.

I was inspired by the yellow diamond to create a hand-engraved platinum ring. I selected platinum to complement the brilliance of the diamond. Platinum has a beautiful mirror-like lustre and readily accepts detailed engraving. The shoulders and sides of the ring were hand engraved in a classic chevron pattern.

The diamond is a soft golden yellow reminiscent of a daffodil in the early spring. It weighs 0.87 carats and, because it is a trilliant cut, appears larger than a round stone of similar weight.


Trilliant yellow diamond set in a hand-engraved platinum ring.

This ring was specifically hand crafted and designed for the yellow diamond. Thus I could play with the design to best complement and accentuate the beauty of the diamond. The diamond is set with three prongs crafted of 18kt yellow gold. The prongs rise up from the hand-engraved band while the shoulders of the ring narrow slightly and sweep upward. This creates the illusion that the diamond is floating above the ring.

When creating a ring for a special gemstone I focus on refining and evolving the design so that the finished jewel perfectly complements and showcases the beauty of the gemstone. I strive for a true marriage between the gemstone and its setting. I am very happy with the ring that resulted from this project.


You can view additional photos and details of this ring in our Diamond Rings Gallery.



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