It’s no surprise that the once-overlooked stones are gaining traction; sometimes ivory, occasionally caramel, and other times slightly peachy, the diamonds are both striking and still, largely, an unconventional choice—making them the ideal option for a future fianceé looking to buck tradition for a distinctly singular diamond. “We’re in a world of AI, lab diamonds—everything is very quick, easy, efficient. Everything’s perfectly optimized,” says Melody Baek, founder of Los Angeles-based jewelry brand Solairé. “Now, people want something that feels unique, something that has character, personality, and isn’t actually ‘perfect.’”
On paper alone, Kirby’s stone—along with most champagne diamonds—likely wouldn’t have caught the eye of a more conventional shopper. Decades since diamonds became the default engagement gemstone, the name of the game has become not only biggest but whitest: whereas colorless and near-colorless stones typically sit in the D through J range of a standard GIA diamond color scale, champagne diamonds tend to reside in the historically less sought-after section of M through Z. Unlike fancy yellow or brown diamonds—which do occasionally fall into the category—champagne is purely a marketing term, or a “poetic umbrella,” says Shi. Thus, the title is often attributed based on aesthetics; “[It] really refers to any diamond that has warmer, pinkish, brownish, yellowish undertones,” says Kegan Fisher, co-founder and CEO of Frank Darling.
Nearly every jeweler I speak to points to De Beers’ Desert Diamonds campaign when discussing the increase in demand for the stones, launched in late 2025 to rejuvenate interest in earthy-toned, natural diamonds amid the proliferation of colorless, lab-grown stones. (And rejuvenate it has: natural diamond sales in the K to Z color range were up 19% as of Q1 2026, per a release from the company in May.) Alongside this is the renewed enthusiasm for antique diamonds—“Thank you, Taylor Swift!” says Fisher. Not all champagne diamonds are antiques, but most of the available centuries-old inventory happens to be warmer, explains jewelry designer Arielle Ratner. Plus, going down in color “leaves more room in the budget to maybe go up in size or clarity,” she adds, though price tends to be a perk rather than a deciding factor. “I’ve had multiple clients who have big budgets and can do whatever, but they opt for something that feels a little bit more one-of-a-kind,” says Galler.
A champagne diamond ring design by Arielle Ratner.
Photo: Courtesy of Arielle Ratner
Photo: Courtesy of Arielle Ratner
Indeed, whether it’s a result of social media-induced sameness fatigue or bright white diamond burnout, an emphasis on engagement ring personalization is emerging—and a champagne stone is one place to start. For hers, Megan Downs kept things classic with a solitaire setting, but opted for a champagne lab-grown marquise diamond that “screams me,” she says, after trying on countless “underwhelming” colorless diamonds.
