Side stones are for those who want to enhance the centre stone of their engagement ring. It’s a great option that highlights the beauty of your jewellery piece and makes it bolder. Let’s find out how to choose diamond side stones that will perfectly match your ring.
How Many Side Stones Should You Choose?
While deciding on your ring design, you need to think about how many diamond side stones you want.
The most common option is having three stones: one central stone and two side diamonds. The other popular choice is a five-stone ring: one central diamond and the other four by sides.
The exact number of stones is up to your taste, but there is something to be considered. The more stones you have, the more complex is the structure of your ring and the more difficult to clean and to maintain it in the future.
Choosing the Size of Side Stones
When choosing the size of side stones, the main thing to be considered is how balanced the final design will look.
As a general rule, the centre diamond is the biggest, hence the most visible. The side stones serve to complement and emphasize it and should not be too big to take the attention away from the main stone.
On the other hand, side stones should not be too small, otherwise, the overall design will have a disproportional look.
Choosing Colour of Side Stones
When it comes to choosing a colour grade for side stones, it’s best to have them in the same grade as that of the centre diamond in order not to have a visible colour mismatch.
In case the colour of your side stones is a couple of grades lower that of the centre diamond, they will look yellowish on contrast.
In general, the colour of side stones and the main diamond should not be more than one grade apart.
Choosing Clarity of Side Stones
The side stones in your engagement ring should look eye clean, meaning there should be no flaws that are visible with the naked eye.
This doesn’t mean you should choose the highest clarity grade. You can opt for diamonds that are graded VS (Very Slightly Included) or SI (Slightly Included). These stones will look clean and still have affordable price tags.
You should not be afraid of the stones that have a couple of visible inclusions because these flaws may be concealed by the setting.
The only thing to keep in mind when choosing clarity is the bigger the side stone, the more visible its flaws.
Choosing Settings for Side Stones
Choosing the right setting is very important because it will determine how well the diamonds will be protected from accidental hits or falling off, and how easily the ring will be cleaned or repaired.
For example, the prong setting is more easily maintained than the channel setting. The latter, on the other hand, offers better protection for your diamonds. The bezel setting is among the safest, but it also hides your stones.
Each setting type has pros and cons, so you need to decide how important each of these factors are for you and choose the setting that best suits your expectations.
Cover image credit: Diamond Nexus
