Solitaire

Setting choices

The stone in a solitaire can be held by four or six prongs, a bezel, a tension setting or a cathedral head. The band can be plain, tapered, twisted or lightly set with stones on the shoulders, although a heavily set band moves the design towards a halo or pavé style.

Why solitaires stay popular

A solitaire puts all the attention on one stone. The cut, colour and clarity of the centre stone become the story, and the design stays timeless.

Rendering the centre stone

In a solitaire render, the stone is the product. Use a gem material with the correct IOR and dispersion for the stone type, and choose an environment with clear light and dark areas, because diamonds need contrast to show brilliance and fire. A perfectly even white environment makes a diamond look grey and glassy.

Show the stone from the top for its outline, from the side for its height and setting, and in a short video for its sparkle. If you sell the design with different centre stones, render each version from its own CAD file, since the stone's shape comes from the model, so customers see the real difference between a round, an oval and a cushion.

Accurate proportions

Size the centre stone to its real millimetre dimensions. Our diamond size chart converts carat weights to approximate diameters for round brilliants.