Cremation Jewelry Color & Visibility Guide

How Ash Visibility Affects Stone Choice

One of the most important things to consider when choose your stone type is ash visibility. How much would you like to be able to see the ashes? This is a great place to start when picking your jewelry piece. Are you okay with the possibility of the natural color of the ashes affecting the overall color of your piece when it’s complete? I will give a break down of the different types and cuts of stones and let you know a general idea of how adding the ashes to the piece will affect the final outcome.

I want the ashes to be very visible.

Consider choosing a portrait or a rose cut stone. These cuts have a flat back and act like a window that allow the ashes to be seen easily. These are available in clear, blue, champagne, and green Moissanite. They are also available in all of the sapphire colors, blue, pink, light pink, yellow, coral, padparadscha, and teal. You can also use emerald, ruby, or alexandrite. These are all lab grown stones, so they are free from inclusions (blemishes). The overall effect will show the natural texture of the ashes, with the overlaying color of the stone you have picked. 

If you choose a regular cut stone (standard cut with a pointy bottom) the best options for ash visibility are any of the sapphire, emerald, ruby, or alexandrite colors. Lighter colors like pink and yellow may absorb quite a bit of the natural ash color, so I tend to use slightly less ash to allow the color to still show through. 

Additionally, any of the clear glass pieces offer the maximum visibility as well. You can also choose a color pigment to tint your stone. 

Lab Blue Sapphire, Portrait Hexagon Cut

Lab Grown Light Pink Sapphire, Emerald Cut

Clear Moissanite, Portrait Oval Cut

Clear Glass, 10mm Heart

I want the ashes to be moderately visible.

Any of the cubic zirconia colors are a good choice if you would like to be able to see the ashes, but would like to retain more color in your piece. Lab grown diamonds also offer a good amount of visibility, but some of the lighter colored stones (pink, blue, yellow ) can absorb a lot of the color from the ashes. 

Lab Alexandrite Pear Cut, Blue Topaz Cubic Zirconia Cushion Cut

Lavender Cubic Zirconia, Oval Cut

Garnet Cubic Zirconia, Oval Cut

Clear Cubic Zirconia Pear Cut, Tanzanite Cubic Zirconia Emerald Cut

I want the ashes to be mostly invisible.

Moissanite is the best choice if you would like the ashes to be less visible in your piece. You will still be able to see them in the facets when you look at your jewelry, but less of the color of the ashes will be visible in your piece. You can also choose some of the darker cubic zirconia colors. 

Clear Moissanite, Pear Cut

Blue Moissanite, Round Cut

Green Moissanite, Oval Cut

Gemstone Colors

It’s important to know that the size and cut of your stone can cause variations in the final color. Any stones under 6mm will start to become less saturated, regardless of stone type and cut. The larger the stone is, the deeper the color will be. Think of it as the difference between shallow and deep water. The deeper the stone is, the more color it holds. 

Resin And Glass Colors

Regardless of the color tint that you choose for any resin or glass piece, the ashes will still be visible. I do the color layer as the background, and put the ashes on top of that. I can also hide them completely in the pigment if you don’t wish to see them at all. 

We offer an unlimited number of options for color pigments for these types of pieces. Some of the basic ones we offer are pearl and shimmer pigments, glitters, crushed opal, crushed granite, and crushed glass. If this feels a little overwhelming, you can always let me know what you’re going for and I can make some suggestions for you as well. 

Pearl Pigments

Opal Pigments

Opal pigments are crushed versions of these colors. I usually use a matching pearl background to make sure there are no clear gaps in between the opal pieces. Each of these colors has multiple underlying colors (the color flashes). You can see a video of them in shade and in sunlight here:
https://www.instagram.com/p/B3DGob9Agyf/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y%3D

Crushed Granite

These are usually mixed in 50/50 with the ashes and create a nice speckled effect.

Glitter Colors

These are some of the basic ones that I keep on hand, but the possibilities are endless! These look great when also mixed with a pearl pigment.