It’s not often that chain-store jewelers school the design set in what’s sexy, but that seems to be the case with Silvermist diamonds. Named for their unique silver-gray color, Silvermist stones—mined primarily from Rio Tinto’s Argyle Diamond Mine in the rugged East Kimberley region of Western Australia, though jewelers also work with non-Silvermist varieties—have been on the market for several years, primarily sold at mass merchants like Sam’s Club.
More recently admired for their range of ashy hues—from a light soft gray to a deep metallic luster—Silvermist stones are less expensive than colorless varieties because they rank as a less desirable hue in the diamond color chart—though efforts from Rio Tinto to promote them as unique, covetable stones are starting to pay off. Witness this line from its promotional website: “Imagine effervescent light as it plays through early morning mist, or the silver gray hues of the sky at dusk, and you have the remarkable color of these sparkling gems.”
Considering that natural-color gray diamond slices and rough rocks are staples in inventories nationwide and gray melee is establishing a footing among better-quality stores as well, it looks like the story of gray diamonds is poised for a happy retail ending.
Large Pebble cuff in silver with black rhodium and 0.35 ct. t.w. gray diamonds, $1,140; Jude Frances
SemiPlume ring in 100 percent recycled silver with 0.32 ct. t.w. Silvermist diamonds, $1,400; Alexandra Hart for Rio Tinto’s Diamonds With a Story Initiative
Oxidized silver feather-shape earrings with 0.5 ct. t.w. gray diamonds, $1,720; Mary Esses
Earrings in 14k gold with gray diamonds and sapphires, $1,890; Dana Kellin at Fragments
Pyramid ring in antiqued silver with 2.92 cts. t.w. gray diamonds, $2,300; Elahn Jewels
Medium length gray diamond duster earrings in 18k white gold with 5.58 cts. t.w. gray and 0.15 ct. t.w. colorless diamonds, $5,750; Borgioni at Fragments
Ring in 18k yellow gold with raw gray diamond and colorless diamonds, $6,605; Vibes at Fragments
One-of-a-kind concrete necklace with 1.63 cts. t.w. Silvermist diamonds, $10,500; Kara Ross for Rio Tinto’s Diamonds With a Story Initiative
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