What color prongs / claws should I have ?

• What color Prongs Claws should I have? 
• Why do I see different color golds being used?
• What’s best for my diamond? or Coloured Gemstones?

I’ve made thousands of rings and set thousands of Diamonds and Gemstones over the past 35 years and I see a large amount of time going into purchasing your Diamond and Engagement Ring or Wedding Band, but very little is considered when selecting the color of prongs / claws.  A vast majority of engagement rings on the market today are sold with white colored prongs or claws regardless of the metal used to make the rest of your ring and the color of the Diamond of Gemstone. Good jewelers will advise you on the appropriate color and metal to select if you are having something custom made. Whereas when you are purchasing a pre-fabricated or ‘Stock’ ring the decision has already been chosen for you.  Quite often incorrectly.

White Gold or Platinum prongs / claws are, and have been predominantly used by jewelers for hundreds of years.  What’s best then? Well some metals are different in hardness and wear quite differently to everyday bumps and knocks.  Let’s look at your dream ring, what color metal would you like? “I only wear Yellow Gold” I hear you say! Well read a little more below to why different metals are utilized.

Ok, now let’s look at the diamond or Gemstone you have selected. Is your stone white/colorless or nearly colorless (D – I) or tending into the yellow tones (J – P or lower into the Q-Z range).  I would suggest having your prongs / claws in White Gold or Platinum with higher color grades of D – I  even J – P clors you can use white but try and use Yellow Gold prongs / claws with lower grade colors between Q – Z , This will assist in making the yellow tint of your diamond to more of a Fancy Yellow, without paying the ‘Fancy premium price’