Shades of Grey

Pantone, the arbiter of swatches, has declared Ultimate Gray one of two key colors for 2021. To avoid getting too gloomy, it partnered this solid shade with a zingy lemon-yellow it named Illuminating. While yellow — except for the fancy variety — is a hue we tend to avoid in diamonds, grey
has potential.

Unconventional grey diamonds stick it to the blue-white establishment, and as such, they have gained many fans in the alternative bridal market. The imperfections that would once have made them undesirable are now what draw us to them. Dark mottles of inclusions are finding an appreciative new audience under the rebranded banner of salt-and-pepper diamonds.

These stones can lend a certain sophistication to jewelry designs, especially when paired with grey gold or unplated white gold for a modernist look. Black rhodium plating, picking up on the dark marks that are often present in grey diamonds, creates an almost gothic style. And for fans of finger-roughened settings and visible hammer blows, yellow or rose gold is a less steely coupling that can bring warmth and a more casual aesthetic to the gems.
Pantone’s choice of grey and yellow is meant to reflect the tough year we’ve had and offer a glimpse of a bright future ahead. The sparkle of grey diamonds gives us that balancing injection of positivity — and plenty of collectors may find new meanings in their trademark dark flecks.