ROUGH DIAMONDS, YOU SAY? WHAT ABOUT OUR SPARKLING BEAUTIES?
There was a time in the not too distant past when tradition encouraged that engagement rings be set with clear and sparkly diamonds. The idea went something like this. Buy the biggest, most sparkly diamond that you could afford, and feel proud proposing to your partner with it. While there is nothing wrong with this tradition (we love diamond rings!), a growing number of women felt that they would prefer something different. This is true not only in their engagement rings, but many other types of jewelry as well. Thankfully, room has been made for all sorts of unconventional gemstones in rings, including – you guessed it – rough diamonds!
WHAT ARE ROUGH DIAMONDS?
Rough diamonds are diamonds in their unaltered state. They come directly from the earth and occur naturally in a few different shapes and varieties.
- Higher quality “rough” is used to cut faceted stones.
- Lower quality rough is usually used for industrial purposes. Diamonds are, after all, the hardest naturally occurring substance on earth, and their use in industry is vast.
As interest in alternative gemstones has spread, both jewelry makers and wearers are realizing that many lower quality rough diamonds are interesting in their own right.
- They are natural and unaltered.
- They come in interesting shapes and colors.
- Each one is unique.
WHO SELLS ROUGH DIAMOND RINGS?
Rough diamond rings are usually a headache for mass manufactured jewelry producers. This is because each piece of jewelry that is set with rough diamonds must be custom made to the dimensions of a specific stone(s). This simply isn’t practical for mass manufacturing techniques. Smaller studios that do custom work and one-of-a-kind pieces are able to handle the unique shape and size of individual rough diamonds, therefore you are much more likely to find smaller jewelry studios working with rough diamonds, so look to them if you are in the market for a rough diamond ring.
If you are interested in having us make a rough diamond ring for you, feel free to contact us to discuss what you are looking for. All of the rough that we receive complies with the Kimberley Process.
