Daniel Grunberger

Understanding the various roles a diamond layout plays can make a world of difference when it comes to utilizing melee diamonds to their fullest potential. Loose melee diamonds have a distinct purpose in the jewelry world due partly to their small size and overall versatility. With that said, there is much to discuss regarding how they are aligned, patterned, and paired.

Melee diamonds may look tiny (because they are), but they certainly pack a heavy punch when designing jewelry your customers will love. Let’s take a look at what a melee diamond layout means and the latest trends and ideas in melee diamond jewelry design.

What Are the Main Uses Of Diamonds?

Before we discuss specific diamond layouts in jewelry, let’s first consider diamonds’ more general applications. One easy way to educate yourself in the gemology industry is to understand what the main uses of diamonds are, aside from the typical wedding ring or earring. Loose melee diamonds have many uses, including applications such as:

• Automotive Industry – Diamond is the hardest naturally formed material on earth, making it great for cutting other stones. Within the automotive industry, diamonds are used in production through the use of saws and drill bits to cut body and engine components, as well as to polish glass windows.

• Medical Industry – Dentists often use diamond-tipped tools for accuracy and efficiency and to relieve any worry of an instrument breaking.

• Audio Technology – Since the diamond is so stiff, it works great for record player needles and DJ devices. It is also believed to enhance the performance of high-quality speakers and overall sound quality.

• Beauty Products – Some beauty products feature diamonds, including sprays, exfoliators, and blurring agents that reduce wrinkling.

• Jewelry – The most common use of diamonds is for jewelry, and for good reason. They are the traditional stone used in engagement rings and can be applied to any piece of jewelry you can imagine.

Layouts Using Loose Melee Diamonds

The versatility of loose melee diamonds comes from the fact that they come in various shapes. Before we look at some layouts, let’s check out some common melee diamond shapes:

• Round-Cut Melee Diamonds – Round-cut melee diamonds are what most people imagine when they hear the name. These are typically used in pavé and halo settings, especially in engagement ring bands.

• Princess Cut Melee Diamonds – Princess cut melee diamonds are square, not rectangular. Similar to round cut diamonds, these melee’s are also used within ring bands.

• Oval and Pear – As the names suggest, these melee diamonds are shaped like ovals and pears. Unlike round and square cuts, these shapes add more visual interest to a ring band or an eternity band.

• Carre Cut – This step cut is square-shaped like a princess cut, except it has four sharp corners for a more antique and vintage look. However, they are fairly rare.

Shapes aside, let’s explore some unique loose melee diamond layout options.

• Cluster – This layout involves using various melee diamonds to create a cluster pattern. Clusters are typically a group of smaller stones, which can vary in size, surrounding a larger stone. A typical cluster will have anywhere from five to twenty-five round brilliant cut diamond accents.

• Graduated – Graduated diamonds, which are arranged in a way that gradually gets larger or smaller, provide a visual spectrum of diamond sizes. They’re great for rings, necklaces, and bracelets.

• Multi-Color/Ombre – Ombre-styled jewelry, or multi-colored jewelry, is a hot trend. These small, gradual differences in color provide a fade effect or even a “dipped” accented area for a super unique look.

• Cobblestone – This layout also uses a variety of loose melee diamond shapes and sizes to create a cobblestone effect. The asymmetric style offers a unique elegance that catches the eye from various angles.

Finding a Reputable Melee Diamond Supplier

Looking for loose diamond specialists and suppliers? At Grunberger Diamonds, we offer melee diamonds in more than 40 different cuts, each boasting some of the most brilliance and best light performance in the industry.

As a prestigious diamond melee supplier, our Precision Cut® diamonds bring out the best in what melee diamonds have to offer. Learn more about our technology, or contact us today for any questions or comments regarding our services.

Within the gem industry, melee diamonds are extremely sought after for their versatility and value, but analyzing the various diamond setting types further clarifies what makes them so special. Melee diamonds add myriad possibilities to custom jewelry. However, it’s important to be aware of the varying styles to help maximize their design potential. Below, we will discuss different diamond settings, what makes them attractive to buyers, and what jewelers should consider when thinking of design applications for melee diamonds.

Diamond Melee Design Applications

Diamond melee can be defined as diamonds that are less than 0.2 carats, with some reaching as small as 0.001 carats. Melee diamonds are used for a variety of purposes, from bridal designs to custom jewelry such as rings, earrings, necklaces, bracelets, and more. 

They are known to add sparkle and shine, especially when grouped together in larger arrangements, making them an intriguing option for jewelers and consumers alike. On top of that, they can be sourced in a wide variety of shapes, clarities, and colors to expertly enhance any custom piece.

Melee diamond applications are numerous, and they are prized among consumers who often want intricate and complex designs in their selected pieces. Additionally, consumers are attracted to the fact that buying individual melee diamonds is often cheaper than buying one large diamond. Pair this with their versatility and ability to look larger than they are (such as in a pavé setting), and it’s no wonder why melee diamonds are just as spectacular as their larger counterparts, and 100% worth the investment.

Diamond Setting Styles

As stated above, the beauty of melee diamonds really comes to life when analyzing the various diamond setting styles. For instance, a halo setting boasts a bigger center stone that is surrounded by smaller melee diamonds. In turn, you get a desirable piece that makes the center diamond appear larger to the eye, with plenty of sparkle and shine. 

Pavé is another diamond setting style that carries out this purpose; in this style, multiple melee diamonds are grouped together in a honeycomb pattern of three or more rows for a dynamic appearance. Think of how shiny a large, perfectly cut diamond looks and how well it reflects light, and then imagine an array of smaller diamonds pieced together. That’s even more shine, more elegance, and more brilliance.

In the world of jewelry, prongs have a lot to do with the performance of a finished product. Some different diamond settings aim to capitalize on prong placement and interact with how these pieces of metal actually hold the stones in place. This can be seen in the French V-Split, where split prongs appear to create a scallop shape in order to minimize the amount of visible metal, making the melee diamonds the focal point. Similarly, other diamond setting styles, like surface prong, bar, flush, bezel, bead bright, and fishtail, all differ in how these metal prongs are set with the diamond melee; this can be to create a more streamlined look, to make them flush with the surface, or even to combine shared prongs for an intricate and sophisticated display.

Trusted Diamond Melee Manufacturer

As is the case with other stones, finding a reputable source for melee diamonds is extremely important for jewelers. This is especially true when you consider that creating precision-cut melee diamonds requires a higher level of craftsmanship than that of their larger counterparts (for example, Hearts & Arrows), much in part due to their small size and intricate cutting process.

For decades, Gruneberger Diamond’s exceptional standards and meticulous attention to detail have made our company one of the most prestigious loose diamond dealers in the world. When you buy diamond melee from Grunberger, you can expect impeccable craftsmanship, exquisite design, radiant brilliance, and superior quality.

For more information regarding our melee diamonds, or for any further questions regarding melee diamond applications, contact us today.

A melee diamonds size chart is a handy tool for determining a stone’s carat weight based on its size in millimeters. Of course, carats are one of the 4Cs (the others being cut, clarity, and color) that jewelers use to establish a gem’s quality, and from there, its value. Melee diamonds–so popular as decorative detailing in pavé and halo settings–can present challenges when purchasing due to their cut, size, details, and scaling price points. 

The following melee diamonds size chart, which offers a mm to carat conversion, can be used as a quick and easy reference when you’re evaluating melee diamonds. It’s important to keep in mind, however, that the cut of the stone matters, too—diamonds of a similar size can have different weights depending on how well or how poorly they are cut.

Melee Diamonds: Millimeter to Carat Conversion

What is the Typical Diamond Melee Size?

Melee diamonds, as can be seen on the melee diamonds size chart above, vary dramatically in size from stone to stone. Basically, any diamond weighing less than 0.2 carats is considered a melee diamond, and well-suited for whatever detailing purposes a jeweler might have in mind. 

Why is a Millimeter to Carat Conversion Size Chart Helpful?

The popularity of melee diamonds has never been higher. For consumers, the dazzle and radiance that melee diamonds bring to a piece of jewelry—such as an engagement ring or anniversary band—are unrivaled. 

From a jeweler’s perspective, these tiny stones provide the opportunity to create the kind of unique and intricate designs so sought-after by the jewelry-buying public, while at the same time providing a margin-increasing boost to the piece. That’s what makes a melee diamonds size chart so helpful: by doing a quick mm to carat conversion, you can easily calculate the additional value that these gemstones bring to an item. 

Can Same Carat Stones Be Different Sizes?

Most certainly. Typical jewelry buyers think about diamond size in terms of “carats,” but that’s a measurement of weight, not dimension. It’s quite common to have two diamonds that are the exact same carat weight that are sized completely differently. A long diamond, for instance, will appear much larger than a rounded stone, despite having the same carat weight. When it comes to melee diamonds, the cut of the gemstone plays an especially critical role, as a poorly cut diamond can hide extra weight below the girdle, giving a piece much less radiance than its carat weight might indicate. 

Grunberger Diamonds: A Cut Above the Competition

Grunberger Diamonds is the world’s largest supplier of ideal-cut melee diamonds, with sizes ranging upwards from 0.60 mm (that’s 0.001 ct according to our melee diamonds size chart). When you purchase diamonds with us, you can rest assured that our stones have been tested using state-of-the-art technology, and that they are precision cut and expertly polished, guaranteed to deliver an unforgettable sparkle. Also, because our process shaves off more weight from parts of the stone that go unseen, our melee diamonds weigh less than similarly sized stones offered by our competitors! 

Contact us today to see for yourself why Grunberger Diamonds, with our exquisite collection of specialized melee stone sizes, is one of the most trusted and prestigious loose diamond dealers in the world. 

If you’ve ever pondered the question, “how are diamonds cut,” this guide will fill you in on some valuable information regarding the process, and why a diamond’s cut is perhaps the most important of the 4 Cs used to determine its grade. 

It’s well known that diamonds are among the hardest substances on earth. That’s why it takes diamonds to cut other diamonds–the tools that we use to shape these raw stones into jewels are often either diamond-bladed or feature an edge of diamond dust. 

The signature shapes of diamonds that we see in jewelry are not found naturally. Achieving the finished shape of the stones involves a rigorous process that even gem enthusiasts may not know in its entirety. From big diamonds to small ones, here’s a brief look into how diamonds are cut, and what that means for the quality of the stone.

Types of Large Diamond Cuts

There are two primary types of cuts for a large diamond: step cut and brilliant cut. Before a master cutter makes any alterations to a rough stone, they must evaluate its inclusions, or flaws, to determine what cut will be better, and if brilliance can be achieved. A cutter will also use carat weight to determine this outcome. 

The standard pattern we’ve come to correlate with diamonds is an octahedron shape, meaning it has eight faces, twelve edges, and six vertices. This shape is perfect for brilliant cuts because it doesn’t lose a lot of carat weight in the cutting process, and exquisitely refracts light bouncing off the stone. On the contrary, a step cut is typically utilized to create a rectangle or square shape with parallel lines running on the length and width of the diamond. This tends to draw the eye to the center of the stone, which in turn makes the diamond look like it has “steps,” giving it its name.

How Are Small Diamonds Cut?

So how are small diamonds cut, and how does the process differ from larger stones? Perhaps the best place to begin is by answering that question with another question: “what are small diamonds called?” And that answer would be the unsung heroes of the jewelry world, melee diamonds.

Compared to larger stones that often act as the main centerpiece for rings and other jewelry items, melee diamonds are significantly smaller in size. In fact, their size ranges from as large as 0.2 carat to as small as 0.001 carat. It’s almost mind-boggling to consider how these tiny diamonds can be cut to perfection, but technology has made the once laborious process much easier to achieve. 

Still, achieving feats like the Hearts and Arrows diamond, one of the most sought after cuts in the jewelry world, requires extreme precision done by only the most renowned cutters. These cuts make up less than 1% of the ideal cut diamonds in the world, and for good reason. We’ll get more into those shortly.

The two standard methods for cutting small melee diamonds include:

• Full Cut – A full, brilliant-cut diamond features 57 or 58 facets, and is designed to maximize the interaction of light within a stone, ensuring it displays as much brilliance and fire as possible. These stones can be used for engagement rings, necklaces, earrings, and other items where multiple melee diamonds can be placed together to achieve an elegant shine.
• Single Cut – These diamonds have 17 or 18 facets, and still display a pronounced shine, but much less of a fiery effect. They are quite popular in the production of watches, but have lost appeal in other aspects of the jewelry industry.

What Are Hearts and Arrows Diamonds?

A Hearts and Arrows diamond is a precision-cut round diamond that, like the name suggests, showcases eight arrows in the face-up view, and eight small hearts in the pavilion view. Often referred to as having a super-ideal cut of a traditional 57 faceted round brilliant cut diamond, these stones boast optimal symmetry, which maximizes the light handling potential of the facet arrangement. 

Since a diamond can be thought of as a collection of mirrors, the Hearts and Arrows design is optimized for light performance when bouncing between facets. In turn, their brilliance and fire is unparalleled to other cuts, and they remain one of the most desirable gems in the industry.

Grunberger Diamonds

As one of the world’s premier producers of melee diamonds, Grunberger Diamonds has brought four generations of passion, precision, and experience to the industry. We understand that perfection is key when it comes to fine jewelry–that’s why our company checks every single stone before shipping them out to ensure that they meet our strict Hearts and Arrows pattern guidelines. We cut our diamonds in Vietnam and maintain strict consistency among the stones we provide, making it easier for jewelers to craft stunning pieces. 
Learn more about what makes our diamonds so unique, or contact us today for any questions regarding our products or services.

When it comes to using melee diamonds, value is, of course, in the eye of the beholder. However, there are also very tangible ways that these small stones can increase the value and appearance of diamond jewelry and make custom pieces more profitable for jewelers. And to understand why this is, you have to understand the true worth of melee diamonds and the advantages they provide for jewelry business owners and their customers.

Melee Diamonds Meaning

A melee diamond is a small diamond that weighs in at 0.20 carats or less. But what these small stones lack in size they more than make up for in beauty. High-quality melee diamonds are cut with just as much precision as larger diamonds. They can be sourced in a wide variety of shapes, clarities, and colors to expertly enhance any custom piece. For example, with 40 distinct clarity and color combinations, Grunberger Diamonds offers jewelers unbeatable variations at affordable price points to fit their budgets. Not only that, but these melee diamonds boast expert precision and superior quality.

Value of Small Diamonds for Jewelry Businesses

The use of melee diamonds can make or break the overall appearance of the jewelry. That’s because melee diamonds’ worth goes far beyond simply adding a bit of additional sparkle.

Some of the highest value drivers of melee diamonds include:

• Versatility – Because of the available variations in melee diamond cuts, customers are able to use them to enhance any piece of jewelry. This provides the customer with more options and the jeweler with more opportunities for adding additional diamonds to pieces and getting more value out of the order.
• Complementary appearance. Melee diamonds serve to complement and showcase larger stones, which can turn a simple design into a true showstopper. Adding these smaller stones is one of the best ways to increase the real and perceived value of jewelry and is an easy upsell when someone is investing in a one-of-a-kind piece.
• Affordability – The smaller size of melee diamonds may make them a more affordable option for customers who are interested in a custom jewelry diamond for an engagement ring or other piece but do not necessarily have the budget for a larger stone. For jewelers, this means more people coming in the door and the ability to sell to a broader range of customers.
• Overhead accommodations – Running a jewelry business is not cheap, especially considering the thin markups on most custom pieces. Melee diamonds allow jewelers to create more stunning, more cost-effective jewelry without additional cost on the back-end. This means less overhead costs and more profit.

All jewelers want to be able to provide the maximum amount of value to their customers. Melee diamonds allow you to do just that, all without the need for exorbitant upfront costs or significantly more complicated or time-intensive designs. And considering how beautiful these small but impactful stones can be, there is really no reason not to use melee diamonds to enhance the pieces you create and provide your customers with all of the sparkle they expect when they invest in a custom diamond piece.

Keep in mind that prices and quality for melee diamonds can vary widely. This makes it important to work with a supplier that understands the importance of quality cuts and can provide melee diamonds that don’t just improve the look of custom pieces but that will also stand out in their own right. 

As a leading diamond manufacturer and supplier, Grunberger Diamonds is here to provide you with the ultimate in melee diamond quality and precision so that you can boost customer satisfaction and increase the value of your creations. Visit our service page to get started and open an account, or contact us directly to learn more about our melee diamonds and how they bring additional value to your business. You can also quickly request a quote online.