size: 17 x 8.5mm weight: 1.96 grams material: 18k white gold gemstones: natural black diamond 2.69ct natural white diamonds: 0.14ctw, VS, G-H chain not included Notes from the Curator This 18-karat white-gold pendant suspends a substantial 2.69-carat natural black diamond encircled by a fine halo of 0.14 carats of white diamonds in a classic setting that gained traction when designers in the late twentieth century began juxtaposing black diamonds against tiny colorless stones in pavé arrangements. Black diamonds derive their color not from elemental impurities like nitrogen or boron but from dense inclusions of graphite and random clustering throughout the crystal, rendering them opaque and endowing them with an almost metallic luster rather than the refractive sparkle of a colorless stone. Their polycrystalline structure—many small diamond crystals fused together in random formation—distinguishes them from conventional single-crystal diamonds, and natural black diamonds are found in very few locations, chiefly Brazil and Central Africa. The bow-shaped bail and openwork gallery here preserve the halo's heritage as a technique for visual amplification, a framework that honors the center stone's weight and the rarity of genuinely natural material in this category.