One of the most interesting unexplored areas of jewellery is the vast array of semi-precious stones on the market and particularily the black diamond ring. Everyone, of course, has heard of the big four – emeralds (green), rubies (red), sapphires (blue) and amethysts (purple). Most people, however, do not venture to explore beyond this.
A particular issue faced by people who are looking to experiment with using different kinds of stones is that sometimes, semi-precious stones are not seen as “appropriate” for certain kinds of jewellery. Clearly, any stone can be used for more informal pieces, like necklaces, amulets and bracelets – but what about wedding or engagement rings?
Tradition dictates that the only stone that can be appropriately used is a diamond; and very few people seem willing to violate this tradition, even though the tradition is extremely expensive and, from some perspectives, grounded more in marketing than in common sense. Furthermore, with all the recent controversy over the sources of diamonds and the political profiteering involved in the African diamond-mining industry, there are a growing number of people who are looking for ways to steer clear of the usual “diamond standard” for wedding and engagement rings.
Still, the problem is somewhat harder than it sounds. For so many decades, women have been used to receiving diamonds – it would be rather unrealistic to expect that to suddenly change. Small steps, then, are called for. There are a number of gemstones that are rather visually similar to diamonds – moissanite is one example; and of course everyone knows about cubic zirconia. However, most women are of the (usually accurate) opinion that these replacements are somewhat lacking in originality; apart from their visual similarity to diamonds, they offer very little in the way of distinctive beauty. And after all, what is jewellery about if not distinctive beauty?
A number of solutions have been proposed, but none are more interesting than the black diamond, which, as the name indicates, is a diamond-like gemstone that is a beautiful sparkling black colour. The deep colour creates the opposite visual effect of a white diamond – it sparkles, and simultaneously pulls one’s gaze deeply into its inky depths. The colour of the diamond is absolutely dazzling, and far more vivid than the pale, misty colours of sapphires and emeralds.
These diamonds became particularly popular after many decided to abandon the traditional white diamond wedding and engagement rings, replacing them with black diamonds. Black diamond rings allow suitors to make a very unique visual statement about the visceral nature of their attraction to the person they are wooing; the sight of a sparkling black diamond engagement ring resting in a case lined with ivory leather is breathtaking, and so they have become much more popular with young couples in the last few years – although still not quite popular enough to detract from the uniqueness of the idea.
Another staggeringly beautiful way to design black diamond engagement rings is to use white gold for the ring. The black diamond white gold ring, then, is one of the most unique and beautiful ways to design an engagement ring. Setting an inverse version of a diamond against the dazzlingly clear beauty of white gold is an idea that is so revolutionary that it turns tradition on its head, ridding engagement rings of their stiff informality and replacing it with pure style and beauty.
If you are indeed looking for an alternative to traditional diamonds, then, be aware that there are other options out there. Moissanite, cubic zirconia, and black diamonds all pose very interesting alternatives to engagement rings.