Iced Out Pendants With Natural Diamonds

Each is a one-of-a-kind showroom piece. Two-tone means the design uses two gold colors, usually white gold under the diamonds so they look icier, with yellow gold on the edges or details for contrast. When one sells, it is gone.

Coverage. On a well-made iced pendant you see diamonds, not metal. That takes pavé setting: many small stones set edge to edge, each held by tiny beads of gold. Three things decide how good it looks:

• Stone color match: one yellowish stone in a field of white ones shows. E color across the piece keeps it uniform.
• Setting depth: stones set level with each other reflect light together.
• Metal color: white gold behind white diamonds keeps the field bright.

An iced pendant is heavy for its size. Put it on a 4 mm or wider chain so the chain looks strong enough to carry it. Cuban, Franco and rope chains are the usual pairs. A solid chain is the right base: a heavy pendant bail rubbing one spot on a hollow link wears through faster. Length depends on the pendant. Most men hang an iced piece at 22 to 24 inches so it lands mid chest. See iced out chains if you want the chain iced too, though most people pair an iced pendant with a plain gold chain so the pendant stays the focus.

Heavy pendants come with wide bails sized for Cuban chains. Before you buy, compare the bail's inside opening with your chain's width and its clasp. If the clasp is wider than the bail, the pendant will not slide on. A Franco or rope chain fits through smaller bails than a Cuban of the same width, which is one reason Franco chains are popular for pendants.

Fake iced pendants are usually cubic zirconia in plated brass. They can look sharp in photos, but the plating wears and the stones scratch. Real iced pendants use diamonds, the hardest natural material, in stamped karat gold. Ask any seller for four things in writing: stone type, lab-grown or natural, color and clarity grade, and gold karat. Every house piece here lists them. Our iced out buying guide and what iced out means explain the terms. For the bigger picture, see the hip-hop jewelry guide.

These four pendants are natural diamonds. A natural iced pendant costs more than a lab-grown pendant of the same size and grade, because mined diamonds cost more per carat. If you want a bigger piece for the same budget, a lab-grown custom build is the usual answer. Both are real diamonds, and US rules require the origin to be disclosed.

Three of the four iced pendants are two-tone. They pair easily with either a yellow or a white gold chain, which is the practical upside: you do not need to match the chain exactly. On a yellow chain, the yellow accents tie the piece to the chain. On a white chain, the diamond field reads even brighter.

Most iced pendants start as an idea: initials, a logo, a portrait, a symbol. Through the custom process you get a design and an exact price before anything is made. To clean an iced pendant, soak it in warm soapy water and brush the back with a soft toothbrush, where lotion and dust sit behind the stones. Check for loose stones every few months. See the pieces at the showroom at 7900 NW 27th Ave, Unit 506, Miami FL 33147. More at pendants, iced out jewelry and hip-hop jewelry.