Earrings have become a part of daily life. They can be selected to go with anything- classic, modern, trendy or hep. The good news is that diamonds can be made into earrings to do exactly that.
The popular designs for diamond earrings studs, hoops, drops and danglers. The stud earring is the one classic that is versatile and wonderful. It shows off the diamond to perfection. Here are a few ways to select a diamond stud earring.
As always, the 4 Cs are important; cut, clarity, color and carat. Where you could take it a bit easy is with color and clarity.
The stone isn’t so visible as when it’s a necklace or a ring. So even if the clarity isn’t superb, and the stone has a few minor inclusions as long as the diamond looks clean and does not have visible cuts and cracks, the earring will look fine. This goes for color discrepancies as well. Of course, flaws that are easily visible or a stone that’s patchy and discolored does not work in any situation. As a guide, stay within the H-J range for color and choose S11 or S12 or up, for clarity.
For the other Cs, you have to exercise the strictest control- cut and the carat. Cut are the facets in the stone that make the diamond gleam and endows it with brilliance and sparks of fire. Most people tend to go in for the round, or brilliant shape for earrings. You can also go in for the square or rectangular princess cut. The marquis is a bit clumsy for an earring because it’s pointed on both ends and can get snagged in your hair. But that can be handled if it’s a tear shape or a drop earring. In fact, the unusual shapes go well for this style- even the pear shape. As far as the rating goes, look for Good, Very Good or Excellent as your cut grades.
Carat also counts here and if you’re looking for a loose stone to set on your own, make sure the stone comes with GIA certification. Choose a number lower than a round number for less expensive stones. Do think about how a large stone might appear in your ear lobe. It’s a stud and it has only so much surface to work with. Perhaps a set of small stones might work better and give you more leeway in terms of design. If you’d like a colored stone, that’s fine too. But a colorless diamond goes with more colors than a specific stone, so decide based on how often you’ll want to wear your earring and with what kind of outfit.
Yellow gold or platinum are good choices for the metal of diamond stud. If you’re looking for a bezel cut stud, then rose gold will help your earring shine even more. To add more protection to your stone, set your diamond with prongs. Use a halo setting, or a decorative filigreed basket to keep your stone safe, but beautiful as well. Balance it well.
A diamond stud suits any face and can be an asset to your collection.