#diamond school

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Recycle + Reclaim • Making Grade 

At Anna Sheffield Fine Jewelry, we are committed to the highest degree of sustainable, ethical and responsible practice, and we put that to work daily across our sourcing and production. In accordance with these carefully crafted principles, we standardly employee the use of recycled metals –over newly mined ones– and use reclaimed melee –the tiny diamonds you see here in the Hazeline ring shank and Eternity band. 

We always source conflict-free stones, and we offer antique diamonds for centers as well. Along with a range of responsibly mined gems that includes both emeralds, rubies and Montana sapphires, we source many single origin gemstones and work closely with each of our sources for the Ceremonial rings. 

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Diamond School • Mighty Melee

Just because they are small does not mean these tiny, sparkly, perfect stones are easy to create- even Melee must abide by the 4C’s!!! 

True they are often the remnants of stones Cut from larger crystals, but putting 58 facets on crystal chip that is 1mm in size is an exacting task. Once cut, the stones must be sorted to lots of exact sizes, down to points of millimeters, which are then given Carat weight designation. Lastly the Melee will be Color graded and sorted by Clarity - with the end result being lots of White, Champagne, Black and Grey diamonds. 

[annasheffield]

Diamond School • Diamond Dust

Melee is a term used to describe tiny faceted Diamonds. Remarkably these gems, which are smaller than the head of a pin and weigh less than .18 carats each, can be brilliant cut just as large diamonds are with a full 58 facets. We fondly refer to these itty bitty beauties as DIAMOND DUST. 

Once set into our jewelry with tiny bead prongs, often referred to as pavé setting, the delicate sparkle of the Melee Diamond is fully apparent.

Inset Perfect Pair No.12 with Diamond Dust in His + Hers Bands

Shop Diamond Dusted Jewels

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The Painterly Cosmic Depths of the Black Diamond

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Painted Among Stars

Stardust Bea with Painted Black Diamond by Anna Sheffield

Brushstroke inspiration via James Nares

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DIAMOND SCHOOL • The Smile that launched a demure new Diamond shape

The advent of the Marquise cut harkens back to the opulent times of the 18th century. According to legend, in the great city of Paris circa 1745, the French King Louis XV commissioned his court jewelers to create a diamond that resembled the smile of his favorite mistress. As Jean Antoinette Poisson was the maitresse en tire as well as the Marquise de Pompadour, the modified brilliant cut was named for her aristocratic title.

A usual proportion of the Marquise stone is 2:1 though they often appear in shortened or even quite elongated versions, which as these cuts sometimes bear the name ‘Navette’ for their boat-like shape seems fitting as well as for their reference to the mouth. Carat for carat, the Marquise diamond has one of the largest crown surfaces of any diamond shape making it appear larger than other stones of the same size, another of the sweet Marquise’s virtues.

Anna Sheffield Marquise Bea White Diamond + Rose Gold Ring and the Pale Champagne + Yellow Gold Marquise Rosette Bangle shown above with found inspiration images. 

[annasheffield]

DIAMOND SCHOOL • Cutting Class 101

Diamonds, like most things, start out a bit rough. In reality Diamonds are born as crystals, like the ochtehedron pictured here. To truly shine, they shed their uneven exterior under the careful knife of a Diamond cutter.  

Every diamond cutter strikes a bargain: how much of the diamond do we carve away while retaining its natural ability to shine? The angles and finish of a faceted Diamond are what determine its ability to reflect light- in essence, what creates it's brilliance.

Proportion and the exact geometry of the cut are key as light must enter the diamond and then be reflected out to create the flashy fire effect.