Diamond Solitaire Necklaces for Women
A single diamond resting just below the collarbone. Most of the pendants here hold that diamond in a bezel, a smooth rim of gold or silver, and they come in round, oval, pear, emerald, radiant, princess and heart shapes. Natural stones go up to 1 carat, lab-grown up to 3 carats, and about half the collection is in fancy pink, yellow, blue or green.
How Big It Looks at the Collarbone
Carat weight is hard to picture, so here's a rough guide in millimeters. A 1 carat round diamond is about 6.5 mm across, roughly the width of a pencil eraser. It's visible from across a table without drawing every eye in the room. A 3 carat round is about 9.3 mm, which reads clearly from across a room. Long shapes stretch the same weight further: a 3 carat pear is around 12 mm from tip to base.
Our natural solitaire pendants top out at 1 carat, and any natural stone of half a carat or more comes with an IGI or GIA report. The lab-grown solitaire pendants are mostly 3 carats, each with an IGI report. Pieces priced over $800 also include a GSI jewelry certificate.
A Rim of Metal for a Stone That Swings
A pendant lives a rougher life than you'd expect. It knocks against desks, seat belts and zippers, and it brushes against knitwear and hair all day. That's why most of our solitaire necklaces are bezel set. The metal rim covers the diamond's edge, so there's nothing to chip and no prong to catch a sweater thread. A bezel also adds a thin line of color around the stone, warm in yellow gold and bright in white gold or silver, which makes the diamond look slightly larger.
A few designs use prongs instead, for buyers who want the most light to reach the stone.
Long Shapes, Round Shapes
The outline of the diamond changes how the necklace sits on you.
Vertical shapes draw the eye downward and make the neckline look longer. A pear solitaire hangs like a drop, an oval is softer, and an emerald cut pendant gives a clean, mirror-like rectangle.
Compact shapes sit as a single point of light. A round diamond necklace is the most classic and sparkles the most, a princess adds crisp corners, and a radiant mixes a square outline with lots of sparkle. Hearts read as a symbol rather than a shape, which is why our heart diamond necklaces are often chosen as gifts with a meaning attached.
Solitaires in Pink, Yellow, Blue and Green
Roughly half of these pendants carry a fancy color diamond, mostly at 3 carats, in every shape from round to heart. All of them are lab-grown, and their color is produced by a treatment after the diamond is grown, which we disclose on each product. A single colored stone on a fine chain is one of the easiest ways to wear a strong color, because there's nothing else competing with it. Every shade is gathered in our colored diamond necklaces, or you can go to pink, yellow, blue or green solitaires directly.
Pendant or Necklace: What Arrives
Some pieces are necklaces, with the chain fixed to the setting, and they arrive with that chain. Others are pendants, and on those you choose whether to add a chain at checkout. Pendants are made in 925 sterling silver and in 10K, 14K or 18K yellow, white or rose gold. You can add a chain to a sterling silver, 14K or 18K gold pendant. A 10K pendant is sold on its own, without a chain, so it suits buyers who already have a chain they love.
One Stone in a Stack
A solitaire works as the anchor of a layered look. Wear it on the shortest chain, then add a longer tennis or station necklace below it, keeping a couple of inches between strands so they don't tangle. Our layered necklaces are made with that spacing in mind, and a pair of single-diamond earrings in the same shape finishes the set.
