Diamond Cuts And Shapes

Diamond Cuts And Shapes

Diamond Cuts - What Diamond Shape Looks Best in a Pave Setting?
By Elizabeth Henderson Platinum Quality Author - Ezinearticles

The term pave (pronounced "pa vay") is derived from the word pavement, which means the laying of stones close together. And this is very appropriate because in a pave setting the entire surface of the band is covered with tiny diamonds laid closely together. The gemstones are held in place with invisible or unobtrusive settings. They may be miniscule but the overall effect of the total cluster is dramatic.

Invisible settings, like pave, are popular because they enable jewelry designers to create diamond pieces which dazzle. This works especially well when set into white metal, such as silver, white gold or platinum, because this further enhances the effect of the whole piece of jewelry being crafted from diamonds.

The invisible setting technique was originally developed in France, and is used to great effect by master jewelers all over the world. Although the diamonds in the pave setting are tiny, and so comparatively inexpensive, the skill required to set each of the immense number of gemstones individually, is immense. This means that the work is very labor intensive. And this makes the pave setting amongst one of the most expensive settings.

In a finished pave set ring, the diamonds should sit next to each other with no obvious metal in between in order to achieve the effect of a carpet of diamonds across the whole ring. This can only be achieved if the gemstones are very small and easily set together.

For this reason, the best shapes for a pave setting are those with geometric edges, namely princess, emerald, square and baguette cuts. Because these shapes can sit closely together, they can be pave set into yellow or even rose gold. The minute size of pave set stones means that they need to have maximum sparkle, so round and oval cut diamonds are also pave set, although these rounder shapes are generally set into white metal only to minimise the metal effect.

Pave settings create an illusion of a bigger look. For this reason pave setting is usually combined with other gemstone settings, such as a diamond solitaire, to improve the effect and beauty of a small diamond. Pave satisfies the demand for ostentatious jewelry by producing a tremendous "bling effect" and yet still looks tastefully elegant.

Because of this, pave set engagement rings have become very popular since the turn of the century. And many couples choosing pave set diamond engagement rings find that the tiny diamonds add a significant fire and flash to enhance a central solitaire diamond and yet still look good with any shape of central solitaire.

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Diamond Cuts And Shapes