The price of a diamond for engagement ring mounts only depends on certain factors, the main factor being the carat weight of the stone.
Sometimes, buying a diamond that fulfills your specifications, including size, and which is of course within your budget could turn out to be a difficult proposition. The best option for you would be to buy a bigger-looking stone within your budget from any of the best engagement ring jewelers in NYC. Here are 6 tips that will guide you in making a diamond look larger than it really is:
Tip#1: Go For Buying Fancy Shapes Instead of Round Cuts
A Round-shaped diamond often looks smaller compared to a fancy-cut diamond that has an equivalent carat weight. Hence, an emerald cut or a marquise cut diamond would provide a better spread as well as lower prices instead of a round diamond. In addition, a fancy-shaped diamond gives character to the ring, and helps to add its own identity among the mainstream designs. The best shapes that work well with this method are the elongated shapes like oval, marquise, and pear.
The downside of fancy-cut diamonds is its inherent loss of brilliancy compared to the equivalent round diamonds. A well-cut brilliant will perform better in terms of light performance. Therefore, fancy shapes are best chosen for the look and symbolism it represents.
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Tip #2: Make Use of Optical Illusion
A good number of ways exist to make a diamond look bigger by making use of optical illusions in the engagement ring settings. This is achieved by using tools such as mirrored plate or highly reflective metal collar along the circumference of the diamond in the base of the mounting to create such “optical illusions”.
In spite of being cheaper, the drawback of this method is that the mirror settings could become dull over time and it is only after dismounting the center diamond that one can repair the damaged done to the mirror.
Tip #3: Pavé/Halo Settings to Jazz up the Ring
In Pavé or halo setting designs, a better part of the surface area is covered by smaller diamonds. Since the small reflective diamonds are “packed” together, they give a fused look and make it difficult to find out the presence of smaller pieces unless examined closely. The use of clever design makes the overall appearance of the ring bigger. However, the drawback of this setting is that cost could go up due to material costs and additional workmanship involved.
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Tip #4: Accentuate With Smaller Side Stones
One can create a beautiful one and have an advantage by having side diamonds and draw attention towards the ring’s center. The ring also looks more extravagant and adds sparkle to the main diamond.
To go about creating this setting, one can choose a setting having fewer prongs to hold the diamond. However, a 6-prong setting provides a more metal coverage compared with a 4-prong setting. One can also use a slimmer shank to bring in a stronger contrast between the metal band and the diamond. The way to achieve this is by buying a ring setting that has a shank which is thin. However, it would do well to seek professional advice if such a setting would create any stability issues.
Tip #5: “Cheat” With a Shallow-Cut Diamond
A Shallow cut diamond has a physically bigger face up size compared to an ideally cut diamond. As the diamond is cut with a shallow depth, the emphasis of weight goes towards the pavilion and crown areas of the stone. It is a trade-off between size and sparkle. However, the downside is that the shallow-cut diamond loses its brilliance due to decreased light effect, in spite of looking physically bigger. But for people with a limited budget, this could be a viable option to go for.
Tip #6: Go For a Bezel Setting
The bezel setting involves a design where a metal rim surrounds the main diamond to augment its outline. The best part of this engagement ring mounts only design is that there are additional protection and prevention of chipping during the normal wear of the ring.
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