Trend alert: salt and pepper diamonds

For the past century, women worldwide have dreamed of the perfect, dazzling, diamond engagement ring.  Clear and beautifully cut diamonds were sought after.  Heavily included diamonds were considered undesirable: they went to the rubbish pile.

Then came the millennials, with their penchant to love and accept ourselves, flaws and all.  And with it, a big dollop of individuality and a healthy respect for the world that we live in.  Couples started looking for something different.  Something that wasn’t tainted with reports of blood and violence.  Some moved over to coloured gemstones like sapphires.  But then a cool maverick emerged from the shadows: the salt and pepper diamond.

With the same lasting strength of their better known clear counterparts, salt and pepper diamonds are an increasingly popular choice for alternative engagement rings.  Their quirky looks helped couples match their unique love story with a similarly unique diamond.  More and more brides break traditional norms and choose to embrace what matters to them.

How to tell if a diamond is real?

So, what is a salt and pepper diamond?

Most diamonds us common folks can afford have flaws, imperfections or inclusions under magnification.  These inclusions vary in colour, shape and sizes.  They can be carbon spots, cracks, feathers, clouds or even chips.  Salt and pepper diamonds usually contain a mix of black (pepper) and white (salt) inclusions.  The pepper inclusions make a diamond look darker; the salt inclusions make a diamond look cloudier and hazier.

These inclusions grow and form alongside the diamond.  Over billions of years, the crystal is exposed to carbon, minerals and even other diamonds.  Together, these elements create lasting marks, or inclusions.  The inclusions in salt and pepper diamonds are more plentiful and noticeable than traditional diamonds.

Salt and pepper diamonds are like “wild” diamonds.  They range from silky grays to stormy almost-blacks.  Some are perfectly clear but spotted with a galaxy of black stars, or inclusions in cool shapes.  What makes salt and pepper diamonds so attractive is that no two are alike.

Why Choose a Salt and Pepper Engagement Ring?

An engagement ring is a symbol of your love, so why should it look like everyone else’s?  Salt and pepper diamonds bring a more individual touch to the traditional engagement ring.  What makes someone choose these diamonds are that they’re rife with symbolism.  Like your partner, no diamond is perfect.  Your salt and pepper diamond ring reminds you to look past the flaws and focus on your love.

How to choose an engagement ring?

Another big selling point is that salt and pepper diamonds are less costly than a traditional white diamond.  So your budget may go a bit further with a salt and pepper diamond.  You can choose to stay within a budget and use that hard earned cash as down payment for your first home together, or the adventure trip of a lifetime.

But what probably counts the most…  Like that stray dog that nobody wants at the shelter, or that weird curved zucchini at the farmer’s market.  Just as good, but for some strange reason, unloved.  Until you came along and found that the zucchini was perfect for your dinner plans.  Different, but in a spectacular way that found its way straight to your heart.

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