The Top Diamond Jewelry Trends of 2021 as Projected by Experts

The Natural Diamond Council (NDC) recently announced the latest diamond jewelry trends projected by its “Style Collective,” a team of seven jewelry industry leading experts in retail, media and fashion.

The mission of NDC is to “advance the integrity of the modern diamond jewelry industry & inspire, educate and protect the consumer,” according to its website. The council said diamond jewelry sales “continue to break records throughout 2021 from month-to-month and we expect a sparkling holiday season.”

They divided the latest diamond jewelry trends into four categories:

“GO GLAM: Diamonds & Black”

Although the colors black and white may seem simple and boring alone, when combined they can be very striking and timeless. If you think about it, there’s never a time when you can go wrong with a black and white duo, whether its with your clothing, jewelry or other accessories. Black diamonds are also unpredictable and edgy.

“The combination of black and white can be so glamorous, but don’t take it to seriously.” said Law Roach, who is a stylist, “Hollywood’s image architect” (according to Vogue magazine) and part of the Style Collective team.

“Slither & Sparkle”

Snake jewelry has been around for decades. In an interview with The Zoe Report earlier this month,  1stDibs Director of Fine Art and Editorial Director Anthony Freund said snakes became a popular symbol after Prince Albert gave Queen Victoria a snake engagement ring.”

“Women want to be sexy again, after living in casual-land for so long during the last year, and gold snake jewelry is the embodiment of that.” – said Style Collective’s Jennifer McCurry, a jeweler and gemologist.

“Let’s Play”

Colored diamond jewelry or even pieces in quirky and whimsical styles will make any ensemble more fun.

“People want to find joy in their jewels now more than ever and these exuberant styles deliver.” – said the Style Collective’s Marion Fasel, the founder and editorial director of The Adventurine, a jewelry historian and author.

“Two Stone Rings”

The most popular two stone rings as of late or two stone engagement rings, as seen on the hands of supermodel Emily Ratajkowski, whose ring featured one princess cut and one pear shaped diamond. But the trend actually has a long history dating back to Napoleon Bonaparte, who supposedly was the first to present two stone engagement rings when he proposed to Josephine de Beauharnais with a sapphire and diamond ring in 1796. Then in 1953, First Lady Jackie Kennedy debuted a two-stone engagement ring that featured an emerald-cut emerald and an emerald-cut diamond.

“Two-stone rings have become a glorious alternative to the single center stone.” – Fasel added.

A recent article by Jeweller Magazine explained that lab-grown diamonds have also become more accepted and “mainstream” over the years by consumers. Jewelry expert Miriam Neubauer told the publication that consumers are now more aware of lab-created diamonds and what it has to offer over natural diamonds.

“Two years ago, consumers did not know the difference between diamond simulants, such as cubic zirconia, and lab-grown diamonds; however, today they are a lot more educated and researched and understand that they are optically, physically and chemically identical – with the only difference being their origin,” she told Jeweller.

Catherine Martin, head of communications at a US-headquartered jewelry company, added that there has been “a massive increase in consumer interest and demand for lab-grown diamonds; virtually overnight people have come to accept this new category of product.”

Lab-created diamond production reached between 6–7 million carats last year, according to The Global Diamond Industry 2020–21: Brilliant Under Pressure, a report by the business strategy and research consultancy Bain & Co.