Diamonds can come with flaws or inclusions. These imperfections can actually come in various colours, although typically they’re black and white.
What Is A Salt & Pepper Diamond?
A salt and pepper diamond is essentially a diamond that has white (ie salt) and black (ie pepper) inclusions within it, hence the fact that they are sometimes referred to as ‘imperfect’ diamonds.
Almost all diamonds (99.9% to be precise) have some flaw, but mostly they are so tiny that they can’t be seen with the naked eye. Conversely, salt & pepper diamonds are so full of imperfections that it affects the look of the entire stone.
Where a normal diamond refracts light and appears to shine and sparkle, a salt and pepper diamond has a flat, mottled and grey look about it.
Historically these gems have been around for millions and sometimes billions of years! Traditionally they’ve been considered undesirable due to the imperfections, but more recently they are enjoying an increase in popularity by brides seeking something a little different.
Why We Wouldn’t Recommend Them For Your Engagement Ring
At Artisans Bespoke Jewellers we wouldn’t recommend using a salt and pepper diamond for your engagement ring. Depending on where the imperfections are within the stone, and how big they are, it could compromise the strength of the diamond.
Even if you’re careful with your engagement ring and try not to bump it or scratch it, the risk to damaging the stone is much greater than with a normal diamond.
Our Recommendation
Instead, if you like the look of the salt & pepper diamond and would like a similar look for your engagement ring – we would recommend a grey spinel. The grey spinel has a gorgeous silver tone and also has the added value of being an 8 – 8.5 on the Mohs scale, which measures the hardness of a gem (10 being the highest/hardest).
Hopefully this information helps you in your engagement ring research! If you’d like to meet with us and learn more about which gems we would recommend for your engagement ring, don’t hesitate to contact us at the shop on (07) 3369 3798.