Melee diamonds are small diamonds that are used to add sparkle and shine to jewelry pieces. The small loose diamonds surrounding the larger diamond in a halo setting on engagement rings are melee diamonds, for example.
The value of a diamond can depend partly on its color. The term “color” actually refers to the lack of color in the diamond world.
Colorless diamonds are the most valuable and sought after gemstones, whereas diamonds with hints of yellow or brown are the least valuable.
A melee diamond’s clarity can impact its value, too.
The clarity of a diamond is basically a measure of its flaws. Flawless diamonds, which are those without inclusions or blemishes, are the rarest and valuable.
Diamonds with visible inclusions or blemishes are the least valuable, since these flaws can make the diamond appear cloudy and dull its sparkle.
There are only two melee diamond cuts: single and full. A single cut melee diamond typically has 17 or 18 facets, whereas a full cut diamond has 57 or 58 facets. Full cut diamonds are cut to look like round brilliant diamonds, so they provide far more sparkle and shine than single cut diamonds. This intense sparkle makes a full cut more appealing—and thus, more valuable—than a single cut melee diamond. In fact, most jewelers only use single cut melee diamonds on watches since the brilliance is not as important on these pieces.
The weight of a diamond has a huge impact on its value. Many factors must be considered when calculating the value of a diamond, but in general, heavier diamonds are worth more since they are normally larger. Melee diamonds are small—between 0.001 and 0.2 carats—so they are not very valuable. The average price of a 0.50 carat diamond is $1,500, and the largest melee diamonds are less than half of this weight. The value will continue to drop as the diamond gets smaller and smaller, so the smaller the melee diamond, the less it is worth.
Both color and clarity play an important role when assessing the value of a typical diamond, but these factors are not as important when calculating the value of a melee diamond. This is because the color and clarity do not have a significant impact on the appearance of a melee diamond due to its small size. It’s also hard to accurately assess the color and clarity of a diamond of this size.
For these reasons, the cut and carat can have a greater impact on a melee diamond’s value than its clarity and color.
Melee diamonds are typically not priced per unit. Why? Wholesalers sell melee diamonds to jewelers in parcels. Each parcel contains hundreds of melee diamonds that are similar in cut, color, size, and clarity. The wholesaler takes these factors into consideration when determining how much to charge for the entire parcel.
The jeweler is given one price for the parcel rather than prices for each melee diamond included in the batch. Therefore, it’s not necessary to price each individual diamond.
Melee diamonds are usually only sold to consumers as replacement diamonds. For example, a melee diamond can serve as a replacement for a small diamond that fell out of your engagement ring setting.
Jewelry insurance may cover the cost of the replacement melee diamond in this type of situation. If not, the retailer that makes the repair will charge a fee for the replacement diamond. These fees can vary depending on the retailer, quality of the replacement diamond, and the time it takes to put the replacement diamond in the setting.
Melee diamonds are small in size, but they still play a big role in jewelry design.
Choose the perfect diamond to complement melee diamonds using Brilliance’s Loose Diamond search tool. Filter by carat, cut, color, clarity, or price to find the diamond of your dreams. Then, put the finishing touches on your custom creation by choosing a setting with melee diamonds. No custom piece of jewelry is complete without the sparkle and shine of these small-sized stones!
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