What Are Diamond Accents?

When shopping for diamonds, you may find yourself asking, “what are diamond accents?” Accent diamonds refer to the small diamond or diamonds that are placed beside a larger stone in a jewelry piece. Accent diamonds can greatly influence the style of the ring while adding extra diamond volume and sparkle.

Accent diamonds typically come in three shapes: baguette, trillion cut, and small round diamond.

Baguette Diamond

The baguette shape is often considered as the ideal accent diamond shape because of its symmetry and large table size. The shape of a baguette accent diamond serves as a stunning contrast to round or cushion cut diamonds, common center stone shapes. Baguette accent diamonds are also a great choice for any budget because they are often available in smaller carat weights. However, keep in mind that baguette accents tend to have less sparkle than trillion cut or small round accent diamonds.

Baguette accent diamonds come in two popular shapes: tapered and straight. The tapered shape is slightly wider on one end, allowing the diamond to follow the natural curve of the ring. This shape is popularly used in side-stone and three-stone ring settings, and complement nearly all diamond shapes such as round brilliant, emerald, radiant, and princess.

Straight baguette accent diamonds are almost perfectly rectangular and often appear larger than other diamonds due to their large table size. Straight baguette accent diamonds are often arranged in a row, providing the appearance of a full diamond band. While these small diamonds complement a wide variety of center stone shapes, they are most popularly used with round brilliant, marquise, and asscher cuts.

Trillion Cut Diamond

Trillion cut accent diamonds have a unique triangular shape that easily follows the natural curve of a ring. If you are interested in increasing the visual volume of a ring’s diamonds, trillion cut accent diamonds are a great choice because their great table width lends for a larger appearance. Trillion cut accent diamonds work best in a three-stone setting with round brilliant or cushion cut center stones. Trillion cut accent diamonds also work well with princess or radiant cut center diamonds.

Small Round Diamond

The classic small round diamond is the most universally complementary accent diamond shape. There are three categories of small round accent diamonds: “Stars” which are 0.02 ct or less, “full cuts” which fall between 0.02 and 0.07 ct, and “melee,” which range from 0.08 to 0.18 ct.

Small round accent diamonds work beautifully in three-stone, side stone, pave, or channel ring settings and are often used to fill out thicker settings. They are also equally beautiful in thinner pave settings which allow their magnificent sparkle to truly shine.

Considering color, clarity, carat, and setting style.

In addition to selecting the right shape and style, take the time to aesthetically match the color, clarity, and carat of your center and accent diamonds

When it comes to color, your center stone should appear the most colorless. While all your diamonds should appear colorless, choosing accent diamonds that are 1-3 color grades lower than the center diamond will ensure that the gaze is drawn immediately to the stunning center stone. Because one grade differences in color are often hard to detect by the naked eye, these slight grade variations will allow you to save money without compromising on visual brilliance.

The same concept also applies to diamond clarity. While it is always recommended to choose accent diamonds that are eye clean (i.e. the diamond’s inclusions cannot be seen with the naked eye), accent diamonds can be 1-2 clarity grades lower than the main stone. Furthermore, clarity holds little importance when accent diamonds are below 0.02 carats—often allowing for a clarity 2-4 grades below that of the center stone.

When working with small diamonds, you will often hear the term “diamond pointers.” For example, a 0.30 carat diamond is referred to as a “30 pointer” because each carat has “100 points.”

Accent diamonds generally range from 0.01 to 0.18 ct, and are often chosen based on personal preference and ring setting.

The design of three-stone and side-stone ring settings generally favor accent diamonds that are approximately half the size of the main stone, allowing for a balanced look. When designing a three-stone ring, keep in mind that the diameters of the accent diamonds should approximately equal the table size of the center stone. In addition, these accent stones should be as identical in size and shape as possible.

In contrast, pave and channel settings generally invite the use of smaller accent diamonds due to the great number of side stones. A general rule of thumb is to select accent diamonds that are no greater than 1/6th the size of the center stone.

In addition to accent diamonds, many people choose to accent their jewelry with gemstone accents such as sapphire accents. If the wearer loves color, consider incorporating a gemstone accent as a subtle and beautiful way to draw color into a traditional diamond engagement ring.

In addition to the specifics, remember the most important factor: the wearer. Be sure to select the best style, size, and shape that complements the wearer’s hand.

Small round accent diamonds work beautifully in three-stone, side stone, pave, or channel ring settings and are often used to fill out thicker settings. They are also equally beautiful in thinner pave settings which allow their magnificent sparkle to truly shine.