Fashion Trend Alert: Graduating Diamond Jewelry

Are you seeking an elegant yet dramatic fashion statement? Then graduating diamond jewelry is perfect for you! Graduating diamond jewelry features rows of diamonds that gradually change in size – each diamond in the sequence increases and/or decreases in total diamond weight. As the smaller diamonds transition to larger diamonds, a sparkling crescendo radiates from within the jewelry. This is the dramatic look that graduating diamonds and gemstones are known for.

Most graduating diamonds are delicately added to jewelry. You can find them gracefully framing center stones in halo jewelry, or playfully decorating hoops and pendants, or boldly enhancing anniversary bands. Graduating diamonds are typically not paired with milgrain, filigree, or other intricate designs. Those details tend to take away from this diamond look’s innate drama and simplistic elegance. Instead, designers let the graduating diamonds shine as the jewelry’s dominant feature.

Traditional Graduating Diamond Jewelry

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Graduating diamonds were traditionally featured on straight or slightly curved bar pendants and dangling bar earrings. Setting graduating diamonds along simple golden bars allows people to fully appreciate the gradual change in the jewelry’s diamonds. Additionally, when first introduced, graduating diamonds represented the special moments along our journey through life and love that help us grow. With such significant symbolism and a classic diamond look, graduating diamond jewelry became popular gifts for anniversaries, graduations, weddings, and Mother’s Day.

Valina maintains the original “love moments” imagery in many of our traditional graduating diamond jewelry pieces. For example, EDD3033-W features a dangling bar of graduating diamonds that go from small to large, then small again, representing how love grows and adapts over time. The diamond-accented lever-backs then add an extra touch of security and sparkle to these beautiful earrings. As a bonus, these graduating diamond earrings are so classic that they can be worn with almost any look!

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Graduating diamond bar necklaces are a little less adaptable than earrings. Horizontal graduating diamond necklaces cut straight across your neck and chest. As a result, they pair best with straight and round necklines. On the other hand, vertical graduating diamond pendants that dangle below the chain, like PDD3076-W, complement sweetheart and V-cut necklines best. Therefore, if you are looking for a nice diamond necklace you can wear regularly, look at your wardrobe first and determine which necklines you wear most often. No matter which style you go with, horizontal or vertical, any graduating diamond bar necklace will be elegant enough to wear for a lifetime but dramatic enough to make you feel confident and beautiful!

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Graduating diamonds also add a touch of luxury to jewelry, especially when added to diamond bands. By becoming larger, the diamonds look more expensive and they naturally draw in people’s gazes. In simpler terms, graduating diamond bands look like simple statement rings. Unlike many statement rings, this jewelry’s statement comes from the striking look of the graduating diamonds and not from an excessive use of design elements. For example, WDD497-W is just a three-row diamond anniversary band, but it looks luxurious and bold because the middle row of graduating diamonds adds that desired wow-factor by making the band wider on top than on the sides.

Modern Graduating Diamond Jewelry

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Since being introduced to the fashion world, the graduating diamond trend has become more playful and experimental. Fun graduating diamond climber earrings like EDD3025-W are one of our favorite new looks. These two styles are a match made in heaven – climber earrings are already dramatic with their gravity-defying design and when combined with graduating diamonds, the earrings resemble sparkling bubbles floating up your ears! Our climbers are designed with prong-set diamonds, pave diamonds, or bezel-set diamonds like the ones shown. No matter which design you choose, the climber earrings’ diamonds will become larger toward your earlobe, while perfectly hugging your ears’ curves. Climber earrings are also fun because you can dangle them below your ear for a completely different look!

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Similarly, graduating diamonds have transcended beyond bar necklaces. Now, you can find them adorning virtually any shaped pendant you can think of, like infinite, heart, circle, teardrop, and chevron pendants. Instead of featuring clean-cut rows of pave diamonds, jewelry designers are featuring graduating diamonds. With this slight change, the jewelry becomes more streamlined and stylistic, displaying greater dimensions of sparkle. Also, you can fill a shape’s whole surface with graduating diamonds, even if it has pointed tips like our diamond enhancer horseshoe necklace, PDD3090-W. If this piece featured pave diamonds instead, the horseshoe would have needed a more uniform outline which is considered less attractive to modern jewelry-lovers. Graduating diamonds do not always look better in place of pave diamonds, but they can bring out the design of curvier-shaped pendants more.

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You can also bring out jewelry’s design more by using different diamond shapes! Round diamonds are easily the most common cut you will see in graduating diamond jewelry. But, you will also see graduating princess diamonds, oval diamonds, pear diamonds, and marquise diamonds! These fancy-cut gems add an edge of excitement to a piece of jewelry because they create unexpected, intriguing silhouettes. If paired with traditional pave round diamonds, graduating fancy diamonds also create an interesting contrast within a piece of jewelry. For example, our fashion band CDD3227-W features a graduating baguette diamond center with a pave bypass shank. The step-cut cut baguettes look elegant and dramatic surrounded by those perfectly glistening round pave diamonds. Modern-chic graduating diamond bands like this are a fantastic everyday accessory for almost anybody!

Graduating Diamond Engagement Rings

You can instantly make an engagement ring look more modern-chic by adding graduating diamonds to the design too. A graduating diamond halo is one of the most gorgeous and artful ways to add graduation to a bridal set and it works with all center stone shapes! When the diamonds become bigger above and below the center stone, the halo is elongated. A longer head makes your fingers look thinner and the graduating diamond look adds a vintage-floral aesthetic to the ring. These elongated graduating halos pair beautifully with chevron wedding bands, which also commonly feature graduating diamonds!

Another way to elevate an engagement ring is by adding a graduating diamond shank. If the diamonds become larger towards the center stone, you will get a more glamorous look similar to the anniversary band we looked at. But, if looking for a more creative ring design, have your diamonds become smaller towards the center stone. This dramatic contrast between the tiny accent diamonds below the head makes the center diamond more eye-catching and appear larger than it actually is. So, you create the illusion your ring is more expensive while also getting a more visually intriguing shank!

Just like yellow gold and other bold jewelry statements, graduating diamonds often come in and out of fashion. But we truly believe this is a timeless look that transcends short-lived trends. Whether the graduating diamonds represent loving moments or are only intended to add some drama to your wardrobe, these gems will always maintain their elegance. As long as you love the piece of jewelry, it will never go out of style. So, if your jewelry box is full of the same old pave-diamond adorned jewelry, take a ride on the wild side and add a piece of graduating diamond jewelry to the mix!