Salt and Pepper Diamonds

For those who love something with a little more character, Salt and Pepper Diamonds, with all their flaws and unique appearance, might just be the answer.

Design Your Salt and Pepper Diamond Ring

Salt and Pepper Diamonds

For those who love something with a little more character, Salt and Pepper Diamonds, with all their flaws and unique appearance, might just be the answer.

Design Your Lab-Grown Diamond Ring

Why Salt and Pepper Diamonds?

Versatility

By their very nature Salt and Pepper diamonds have lots of visible inclusions and it’s these imperfections that give each stone it’s unique identity. When it comes to cut, Salt and Pepper diamonds don’t need to play by the rules. Where a traditional diamond will be cut to strict calculations to optimise their fire and brilliance, Salt and Pepper diamonds can be cut into to whatever shape suits the design and optimises the pattern of inclusions

Price

Unique but not quite as rare as flawless and colourless diamonds, Salt and Pepper diamonds are a beautiful, yet less expensive diamond choice for your bespoke ring. Salt and Pepper diamonds embrace the inclusions nature gave each stone, creating completely unique jewellery that is full of character.

What are Salt and Pepper Diamonds?

Inclusions

Salt and Pepper diamonds are instantly recognisable with their distinct sparkle and translucent galaxy pattern. Where traditionally diamonds are prized for their flawlessness and lack of inclusions, Salt and Pepper diamonds have visible and numerous markings. It is these black and white imperfections that give them Salt and Pepper diamonds their name.

Variations

Unlike traditional diamonds, salt and pepper diamonds are not assessed by the Four Cs but this doesn’t mean that there aren’t variations for you to consider when finding your perfect diamond. The dispersion or density of inclusions can give salt and pepper diamonds a ‘light and speckled’ or a ‘dark and moody’ appearance. Colour is another feature to consider, Salt and Pepper diamonds come in a range from light and milky to dark and grey as well as warmer hues and browns.

Cut & Shapes

Salt and Pepper diamonds are available in a huge variation of exciting and interesting shaped cuts. Popular cuts are, Kite, Rose, Briolet and Trapeze as well as even more irregular and natural looking shapes and of course they come in round and oval cuts too! The sky’s the limit – almost!

Salt and Pepper diamonds often have flat or very shallow bellies (the underside of the stone). This is because Salt and Pepper diamonds are quite translucent and their beauty comes from their inclusions and surface pattern. This also has the added benefit that less of the carat weight is sitting in the belly of the stone where it can’t be seen and enjoyed.

Sizes

The best way to evaluate and compare sizes of Salt and Pepper diamonds is by looking at the millimetre measurements opposed to their carat weight. Salt and Pepper diamonds are cut in irregular sizes to maximise their surface beauty and to create interesting shapes, meaning that you could easily have 1-2mm variation between two diamonds of the same carat weight.

Salt and Pepper Diamonds FAQ

Are Salt and Pepper diamonds eco friendly?

Diamond mining, as with sourcing any natural minerals from the earth, is not without environmental impact. It can take over 1000 tons of earth to be displaced to find just 1ct of rare, near flawless, white diamond. As Salt and Pepper diamonds are not as rare, their relative abundance means that they have a smaller ecological footprint.

Why don’t they come with a certificate?

The function of a diamond certificate is to provide consumers with information about a diamond relating to standardised criteria (the Four Cs). As there’s so much variation in Salt and Pepper diamonds a certificate wouldn’t be of particular use. The best Salt and Pepper diamond for your ring will always be the one that you really love the look of! It’s jewellery after all.

Are Salt and Pepper diamonds the same as rough diamonds?

Salt and Pepper describe the characteristics of a diamond’s inclusions, whereas a rough diamond describes the raw state of a diamond before it is cut and polished. Both Salt and Pepper diamonds and Rough diamonds can work beautifully in contemporary jewellery. Where Salt and Pepper diamonds are cut and polished into a huge variety of shapes, showing off their unique galaxy of inclusions, rough diamonds look a little like a sugar lump and have a more organic appeal.

Are Salt and Pepper diamonds less durable?

There are two factors to consider when assessing a stone’s durability, these are hardness and strength. Hardness refers to how well a stone can resist scratches (where scratches will make a stone appear dull and lifeless). Diamonds (including Salt and Pepper diamonds) are the hardest known mineral which makes them a good choice for everyday wear. Strength refers to how easily a stone can be chipped or broken. In all gemstones inclusions can represent areas of weakness, so this is something to consider when selecting a Salt and Pepper diamond. While Salt and Pepper diamonds are characterised by their presence of inclusions and are therefore arguably more vulnerable to breaking, we carefully filter out any diamond we identify as being high risk and we haven’t experienced any disasters to date. One of the most important lessons in caring for your jewellery is to get to know your gemstones, so that you can look after them, and keep it looking its best for longer.