Looking for an alternative to typical gems, shoppers are turning to black stones and natural cuts.
When Sarah Taylor, a 27-year-old law graduate from London, received an engagement ring, she was more than a little shocked, and not only because her boyfriend proposed on a railway platform in northern Scotland on a rainy Monday morning in March. “It was black — a band of tiny black diamonds, set in black gold,” Ms. Taylor said. “When I finally managed to compose myself and look at the ring, it was exquisite.” Her 30-year-old fiancé, Paul Williams, a teacher, wanted to buy something different, so he opted for a black diamond. “Why go for bog-standard solitaire?” he said. “I wanted something out of the ordinary.” – From WSJ