Accent Diamond Rings Vancouver

An accent diamond is any smaller stone that sits alongside the main one. The tiniest ones are called melee in the trade. They might run down the band, sit in a hidden ring under the head, or flank the centre stone on each side.

On their own they're easy to miss. Together they change the whole personality of a ring. A row of pavé makes a slim band look brighter. Two tapered baguettes make a round look more formal. A few marquise stones scattered along the shank can look almost botanical.

We set accent diamonds by hand at our Granville Street showroom, around GIA and IGI certified lab grown and natural diamonds.

Most of this decision comes down to one thing: how the little diamonds are held in place.

Pavé is the sparkliest. Tiny beads of metal grip rows of small stones packed close together. The catch? It needs a check-up every so often, and GIA notes it can be harder to resize.

Channel settings sink the stones into a groove between two metal walls. You lose a bit of sparkle. You also stop snagging sweaters, which people who work with their hands tend to appreciate.

Bezel accents give each diamond its own little rim of metal. Modern, a bit playful, very secure.

Side stones are the bigger accents, one or two on each side of the centre. Think baguettes, pears, marquise, trapezoids.

Can't decide? Put a pavé ring and a channel ring on the same hand and walk over to the window. You'll see it straight away.

Accent diamonds are secure, but they're small, and small things deserve a bit of attention.

Take the ring off for the gym, gardening and anything involving heavy lifting. A hard knock on the edge of a pavé band is the most common way a tiny stone goes missing.

Lotion and soap build up under the accents and dull them faster than the centre. Warm water, a drop of mild dish soap and a soft toothbrush clears most of it.

Then bring it in once a year. We'll look at every setting under magnification and tighten anything that's shifted, so a loose stone gets caught early.