They say diamonds are a women’s best friend but I think it’s safe to say that most men like them as well. The way they capture the light, sparkle and mesmerize, like a shiny beacon of light that needs no batteries nor bulbs. They never tarnish, rarely scratch, and are considered one of the most valuable commodities on earth. A symbol of everlasting love carefully crafted by big diamond marketing minds.
Although not a rare stone, the majority of all diamonds mined are used for industrial applications, however, special gem-quality stones with exceptional clarity, cut, carat, and color can fetch a pretty penny.
Diamond tattoos usually fall into two categories, geometric one dimensional pieces and hyper-realistic multifaceted designs that, when done right, can be down right spectacular. Here we’ll take a look at both examples from some of the world’s best artists.
This educational chest piece.
Water makes grass grow. Food makes poop. Oh, I thought we were stating the obvious. On a more serious note, this breathtaking chest piece contains by far my favorite diamond tattoo I’ve yet to come across. The soft colors and intricate, evenly proportioned facets make for a wonderful work of art.
This heart-shaped forearm piece.
When it comes to diamonds, you’ve probably heard of the all-important 4 C’s — cut, clarity, color, and carat. A heart shaped diamond is, in essence, a pear-cut diamond with a little notch carved into the top. While still one of the least popular cuts in the industry, the novelty heart-shaped diamond has increased in popularity over the years as a result of savvy marketing by the jewelry companies.
This tattoo is one of the few designs we’ve seen that incorporates different color inks to illustrate the reflective colors usually seen in a diamonds facets. (Photo: Olie Siiz)
This shaded diamond.
Chuy shows off his skills here with this perfectly symmetrical hyperrealism piece. That shadow, those facets, just like a diamond should be, flawless. (Photo: Chuy Espinoza)
This sternum piece.
This gold-framed red diamond is another textbook example of unrivaled symmetry.
Natural red diamonds are extremely rare and expensive. The world’s largest known red diamond, the Moussaieff Red Diamond, is only 5.11 carats and has an estimated value of over $20 million. To put the red diamonds rarity into perspective, the largest colorless gem-quality diamond ever found was over 3000 carats and would eventually be cut into 105 individual diamonds. (Photo: Ian Caroppoli)
This nebula-filed diamond.
Sharp black lines contain this gorgeous nebula to form one of the coolest non hyper-realistic diamond tattoos you’re likely to see today. (Photo: sixmoment)
This beautiful pair.
Here we have two sparkling diamonds that are done in black ink with a touch of white ink for the asterisk’s. (Photo: Andra)
These olive branches.
Here we have a simple minimalistic diamond flanked by two intertwined olive branches which combine to form a fabulous piece.
Olive branches have long been a symbol of peace, dating all the way back to biblical times. In current culture, olive branches can be found on everything from sportswear to the US dollar. The origins of the symbology of the olive branch date back all the way to ancient Greek mythology. The Greeks, as well as the Romans, used the olive branch as a symbol of peace and victory. The most popular account of the olive branch comes from the Bible when, after the great flood, Noah sent a dove in search of land, which, in turn came back clutching an olive branch in it’s beak signifying that it had indeed found land. (Photo: Elizabeth Markov)
This gorgeous red diamond.
As you can see, this diamond, along with a few others on the list, appears to be throwing a large ring-shaped shadow. Now I haven’t seen many loose diamonds on flat surfaces but the odd looking shadow seemed a bit out of place to me. So I of course I Googled some photos of loose diamonds and confirming what my brain was trying to tell me, not a single diamond threw a similar shadow. Makes you wonder. Anyways, this ruby red diamond is one of my favorite pieces. The symmetry, coloring, and execution are all top notch. (Photo: Maris Pavlo)
This back neck tat.
This fantastic blue-colored diamond.
A gorgeous example of a blue-colored diamond, the shadow isn’t the best we’ve seen but it’s still an overall spectacular piece.
Fun Fact: the largest blue diamond, and probably the most famous diamond of all, The Hope Diamond is around 1 billion years old. Blue diamonds get their color when pure carbon crystals get contaminated with trace amounts of boron. (Photo: Lucy Hu)
