The Jeweler's Eye
My photo
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.

Monday, May 25, 2009

Scintillating Diamonds


Scintillate - To throw off sparks. To sparkle or shine. To twinkle as the stars.

Ideal cut round diamonds have a mesmerizing balance of brilliant white light, scintillation and fire (spectral hues). You can actually see light dancing across a well cut diamond as it is moved and turned.

I work with many diamond shapes and styles of cuts and when creating a more traditional look, I prefer the Ideal Round Brilliant cut.

Recently a client hired me to locate a high quality ideal cut round diamond for an engagement ring. After helping him select the best stone, I then worked on creating a ring to best capture the beauty and brilliance of this dazzling diamond.



The shoulders of the ring have seven graduated size, sparkling diamonds bead set within a tapered channel. The edges of the channel are millegrained for added sparkle. When designing with diamonds and platinum the goal is to balance the mirror-like finish of the platinum with the brilliance of the diamonds. When done right the effect is scintillating ..... just like this ring!

The tops of the prongs are polished to a narrow point for dramatic effect. I call these "spear-tip points" and often use them in my ring designs.


The ideal-cut diamond is cradled within four tapered prongs that gracefully rise up from the band of the ring. The prongs are crafted from half round wire that was tapered in gauge from top to base.

The challenge was to create a secure setting for the diamond that would also allow a straight or non-contoured wedding band to fit flush against the ring. Therefore, I made the base of the setting narrow to accomplish a smaller profile. The graceful curve of the prongs is complemented by the gentle upsweep of the shoulders of the ring. Because this ring was custom designed and hand crafted, each of the design elements was created to best match and complement the beauty of the diamonds and meet the client's wishes.


My goal is always to create the perfect balance between beauty, functionality and durablity. These are the neccessary ingredients for a jewel that will past the test of time and become an heirloom for future generations.

I am currently making a matching wedding band for this scintillating diamond engagement ring. I anticipate that the set will be drop dead gorgeous and will garner much attention at the wedding reception ! Stay tuned for an addendum once the wedding band is completed.

To learn more about our Scintillating Diamond Ring, please visit our Diamond Ring Gallery. Other unique designs are featured in our Custom Engagement Ring Gallery.

No comments: