Diamonds for nails can really make your nail designs shine and add instant glamour to your looks. You can use Swarovski nail crystals and rhinestones for nails or other brands of gemstones to create stunning compositions. And today I’m going to show you the best stones for nails.
Let’s dive right in!
My top 3 picks
Best diamonds for nails
High-End Diamonds For Nails
Swarovski Nail Crystals
Swarovski nail crystals are very high-end and are the best nail diamonds money can buy.
Swarovski is the world’s most famous manufacturer of glass and all kinds of crystals.
The company is a family-owned business. It was founded in 1895 and is still based in Austria.
Swarovski makes a huge variety of crystal products. Including crystal glass tableware and home decor items, jewelry, crystal beads, charms, crystal pearls, and Cubic Zirconia gemstones.
Swarovski group even includes companies that make telescopes, reflective road paint, and abrasive cutting tools.
Swarovski crystals are manufactured in Austria, including Swarovski nail crystals.
And the best thing about Swarovski products is that they are made of crystal glass with a lead-free formula. Led is very toxic.
This set of Swarovski rhinestones for nails contains 144 flatback stones in a variety of sizes mixed in one little jar.
The sizes range from 1.8 mm to 6.4 mm. They all come in one round shape only.
Various sizes of stones will allow you to create beautiful diamond compositions on the nails.
And their flat back surfaces make it easy to glue them to the nail plate.
The cut of all the diamonds is called Xirius Rose. That means each rhinestone has 14 alternating facets that give it its amazing sparkle.
Unlike lower quality gemstones, Swarovski flatbacks stay shiny and don’t dull out with time.
The color of all Swarovski nail crystals in this set is white AB or Aurora Borealis.
It’s a rainbow/iridescent effect.
Aurora Borealis is the prettiest and most popular effect in Swarovski’s collection.
The company also makes AB crystal beads and other glass products.
Swarovski manufactures other colors with the AB iridescence too. Such as red, green, blue, etc.
But this set of nail diamonds only contains white AB stones.
They are the most versatile and would be a good fit for any design.
So Swarovski mixed flatbacks set is a great high-end and high-quality starter pack of shiny diamonds for nails to create a luxury look.
Colored Swarovski Rhinestones
Colored Swarovski Nail Crystals
This set of Swarovski rhinestones for nails contains 144 mixed round Xilion and Xirius Rose flatbacks in a variety of sizes and beautiful colors.
Xilion cut is similar to the Xirius Rose cut.
They both have 14 alternating facets.
However, Xilion has a small table at the top, while Xirius Rose is more pointy.
The sizes in this Swarovski nail crystals set also range from 1.8 mm to 6.4 mm.
The colors are Chrysolite, Jonquil, Light Amethyst, Light Peach, Light Rose, and Light Sapphire.
These colors are not AB so they don’t have the iridescent Aurora Borealis effect.
Like any other Swarovski stones for nails, these crystals are made in Austria.
So it’s another great high-end starter pack for those who want colorful diamond designs on their nails.
Golden Swarovski Nail Crystals
Crystal Rose Gold Swarovski
This Swarovski set of rhinestones for nails is similar to the White AB Xirius Rose set.
It also contains 144 mixed round flatbacks in a variety of sizes: from 1.8 mm to 6.4 mm.
However, the color of all the stones in this set is Crystal Rose Gold (without the AB effect).
The gold Swarovski nail crystals in this kit are perfect for paving frames around larger White AB and colored stones.
They can be used alone and as the center of any design too.
This collection is a great addition to any other Swarovski set or great as a standalone high-quality starter pack.
K9 Glass Diamonds For Nails Set
Nibiru
If you’re looking for AB rhinestones in a variety of shapes or would like to get a more budget-friendly set than Swarovski then Nubiru stones are the right choice for you.
The Nibiru kit contains 120 AB flatback crystals in 12 different shapes, plus 1728 small round AB rhinestones in 6 sizes.
In addition to that, Nibiru gems come with stainless steel tweezers and a wax picking pencil.
The large crystals arrive in a storage box with individual compartments for every shape.
Small round stones range from 1.6 mm to 3 mm, with 288 pieces for each size.
The shapes of the larger crystals include pear, square, emerald, marquise, etc.
According to the manufacturer, all the rhinestones are made of K9 glass with AB coating.
K9 glass is an optical borosilicate crown glass crystal. It’s manufactured in China as a cheaper alternative to the Swarovski Austrian Crystal Glass.
So these stones really shine bright, a lot like Swarovski nail crystals.
The only downside is that some of the larger stones may not appear as evenly cut as the always perfect Swarovski stones.
There is no storage box for the small stones, which are easy to lose. So you’ll have to buy a storage box for them separately.
And the wax pencil is not the best quality one. So you may want to invest in another picking tool.
Overall it’s a huge and really amazing starter set for anyone who wants to learn adding bling to their nails.
Nail Diamonds With Jewels Set
Shynek 3318 Pcs Nail Art Rhinestones With Jewels
Shynek sells a large 3318 piece set of flatback crystals for nails.
The set has almost every variety of size and shapes you may need.
All the stones are Aurora Borealis-colored.
But the sizes range from micro-mini 1.2 mm round stones that you can brush onto your nails to large 6-8 mm flatbacks in different shapes.
Larger flatbacks will look great at the center of your nail art designs.
And there are also round gems in several sizes that would complement the big ones nicely.
In addition to that, you get 30 crystal jewels with metal settings. These jewels look amazing on their own on acrylic nails or, again, as the focal point of any nail art composition. You can also use them in resin art.
The stones are made of glass. So they are more durable and shiny than resin crystals.
Opal Nail Crystals
Daoder
Opal rhinestones for nails look really gorgeous. They are very trendy today.
And Daoder has released a large set of opal flatback diamonds.
The set contains 1440 round diamonds in a variety of sizes and 4 pastel opal colors: white, pink, light green, and light blue.
The stones are small (from 1.5 mm to 4.6 mm) and work great for pave designs.
All Diaoder gems are made of K9 glass and have a lovely shine and sparkle.
They come with tweezers and a dotting tool that you can use both for picking up stones and for drawing nail art.
It’s a beautiful and stylish starter set with tools and good quality shiny gems.
Large Rhinestones And Sequins Nail Art Kit
Teenitor 11440 Piece Set
Teenitor set is the largest collection of nail bling on this list.
It contains a whopping 11440 nail rhinestone collection in a variety of shapes, sizes, and colors.
So you’ll have everything you need for creating all kinds of shiny nail art.
The stones come in several storage boxes with little compartments.
There are clear round rhinestones, colored gems, 3000 pieces 5 mm flatback gems for pave designs, and pear-shaped gemstones.
One of the boxes contains metallic rivet stones in silver and gold.
They come in the star, heart, square, triangle, pear, baguette, diamond, and round shapes.
In addition to that, you get a set of various sequin foil flakes in 36 little jars.
You can stick the sequins to the top coat before curing it and they will stay on the cured nails. But be careful, the sequins are very thin and it’s easy to damage them.
Teenitor set is a great starter kit for any aspiring nail artist.
However, the downside of this collection is that the stones are not made of glass. They are resin. So they are duller and less shiny than the Swarovski and K9 glass rhinestones for nails.
Mini Nail Crystals
GA&EN 5000 Pcs Ultra Mini 1.2mm Diamonds
This GA&EN set contains a huge number of super-tiny 1.2 mm diamonds.
The mini stones are all iridescent AB colored and round.
They’re so small that you won’t be able to pick them up and set them into place with tweezers or a wax pencil.
These rhinestones for nails are more like diamond dust.
So you should either brush them on and spread them over your nails or sprinkle them on and brush the excess stones off. Or just simply dip your nails into them and brush the excess ones off as well.
It’s a super-easy way to add bling to your nails if you are a beginner or just want a quick set of nails with diamonds.
After all, sprinkling crystals on is a much more simple task than setting gemstones one by one.
Even though the teeny tiny diamonds are plastic, they sparkle really well.
These little crystals are also great for bling craft projects.
Glow In The Dark Diamonds For Nails
Nibiru Luminous Rhinestones
This set of gorgeous round flatbacks for nails is great for clubbing because all the stones glow in the dark.
They come in various sizes and in 4 beautiful pastel colors with AB coating: pink, light blue, yellow, and light green.
The gems are made with K9 glass. So they are higher quality nail diamonds than resin stones.
Nibiru rhinestones from this set are very shiny and sparkly under the daylight and look fluorescent at night.
However, the fluorescent effect depends on light absorption.
So if you want the glow from your rhinestones to last longer in the dark you should expose them to the sun for a prolonged period of time before that.
You can also use these stones for crafts and Christmas decorations.
Extra-Large Nail Crystals
Daoder Large Diamonds For Nails
This Daoder set of gemstones for nails contains 100 extra-large rhinestones in several shapes and colors.
These stones are perfect for placing at the center of your nail art composition.
The sizes range from a modest 4 mm to a large 10 mm.
The colors are really trendy pastel ones: pink, light blue, green, purple, and yellow. Each color corresponds to one of the shapes.
There are no clear gems in this pack.
All the stones have the AB coating for a beautiful iridescent effect.
However, these diamonds don’t have a flat back. They have culets.
You can set them on a thick drop of base coat mixed with acrylic powder.
This bead of adhesive material will hold the culet.
You can cover this drop of “glue” by placing additional smaller stones all around the large stone.
Diamonds For Long Nails
Massive Beads Long Teardrops
Massive Beads Long Teardrops pack is another set of gemstones for creating the focal point of your nail art composition.
These elongated stones look best on long and extra-long acrylic nails.
They shine very bright and can really draw attention to your manicure.
All 100 pieces are elongated 3×10 mm teardrop glass flatbacks in one clear AB color only.
Massive Beads stones are also great for bling crafts, like decorating your cell phone or clothes.
What diamonds should I choose for my nails?
The most convenient diamonds for nails are flatbacks.
They have a flat area that can adhere to the nail plate with the help of a bit of no-wipe top coat.
However, you can also use regular diamonds with culets.
They are a bit trickier to set.
But you can stick them to your nails with a drop of sticky material.
You can make this “glue” by mixing a sticky gel base coat with some acrylic powder.
Diamonds for nails are usually made of these materials:
Austrian Crystal
This is the material that Swarovski uses for its nail crystals.
It’s a very high-quality led-free crystal glass.
This kind of glass is gorgeous and extra-sparkling.
K9 Glass
This material is the best alternative to the Austrian glass.
K9 glass is made in China. It’s a kind of borosilicate crown glass used in optics.
It’s not as high-quality or sparkly like Austrian crystal glass but still looks pretty shiny.
Resin
These are the budget-friendly plastic-looking stones that are duller than their glass counterparts.
They are usually sold in huge variety sets.
What do I use to glue the diamonds to my nails?
Gel top coat
If you have a UV/LED lamp then you can use a gel top coat as glue for flatback diamonds.
This is the best way to hold gemstones in place.
It’s especially good for adhering diamonds to gel nail polish or gel, polygel, or acrylic nails.
It won’t work well over ordinary polish though.
Gel top coats can only be cured under the lamp.
So the top coat won’t dry while you’re still working on your composition.
And you’ll have plenty of time to move the diamonds around and adjust all the pieces in your design.
However, the top coat must be a no-wipe one and it should be pretty thick.
No-wipe top coat doesn’t have a sticky residue after you cure it. While wipe-off top coats stay sticky after curing and need to be wiped with rubbing alcohol.
And you won’t want your design to stay tacky after you finish it or get it ruined with wiping.
PrettyDiva No Wipe Top Coat
Pretty Diva specializes in manufacturing holographic and chrome nail powders and other products for nail art.
The PrettyDiva no-wipe top coat is thick and works well for nail designs. It’s capable of holding nail diamonds in place.
Beetles matte top coat
And this no wipe matte top coat is great for creating a gorgeous and stylish matte backdrop for your diamond nail designs.
Base coat mixed with acrylic powder
If you want to set gemstones that have culets then mix a bit of clear gel base coat with some acrylic powder on a nail design palette’s surface.
I like to use a resin “agate” slice nail art palette for this.
It’s compact and looks really stylish and gorgeous, like a slice of genuine stone. It’s also easy to clean.
Resin Nail Art Palette
Mix these products bit by bit until you get a thick and sticky glue-like texture.
Place a bead of this mixture on your nail and place your diamond culet down on this drop of “glue”.
Push the stone down a bit to set it firmly into place.
After that, cure the mixture for 10-15 seconds under the lamp.
Ordinary top coat
If you are using ordinary polish instead of gel polish you can use an ordinary top coat for setting flatbacks.
Just add a few drops of the regular top coat onto the painted nail, place a few diamonds on it, and wait for it to dry.
However, it’s the least durable method.
If you snag anything on the diamonds they may fall off very quickly.
CND Super Shiny Top Coat
CND top coat is pretty durable and will be able to hold rhinestones on the nails.
Special glue
Glue is a much better method for sticking diamonds onto regular polish and for making them stay than an ordinary (non-gel) top coat.
Glue won’t have the same long-lasting staying power as gel top coat but it will do the job if you don’t have gel-based products or a lamp.
IBD makes a good professional nail glue that’s great for attaching diamonds.
The manufacturer promises that this glue sets in 5 seconds.
It’s a plus if you want to attach a few diamonds quickly. But it’s not very good for complex rhinestone designs.
If you want to create an intricate arrangement you’d better do a gel manicure.
IBD Glue
What tools do I need to use for applying diamonds for nails?
Thin nail art brush
You will need a thin nail art brush for applying the gel top coat that will act as the glue for the diamonds.
Wax pencil
You will also need a tool to pick up the diamonds and place them onto the nails.
You can use tweezers for that.
But a wax pencil is even more convenient for this purpose.
It’s sticky so it lets you pick the diamond and transport it to your nails.
At the same time, it’s not too sticky.
So it will release the stone after you place the diamond on the nail and push it slightly into place.
Wax Pencil
How do I apply the diamonds to my nails?
Here’s how to do it with a gel top coat:
Finish your manicure, paint your nails with gel nail polish.
Plan your future design with diamonds.
Place a drop of no-wipe gel top coat in the center of your future composition using a thin nail art brush.
The drop of the sticky material should be of the same shape as the flatback you are placing there.
If the diamond is round the drop should be round too.
If the diamond is, for example, marquise-shaped, you should distribute the drop with the brush a bit to create an oval shape.
The size of your drop of top coat should not exceed the size of the rhinestone that you are placing on it.
Otherwise, there will be too much top coat flowing out of your design. And it may look messy.
Pick each diamond with a wax pencil and place it onto the drop of top coat. Press the stone lightly into place
Use different sizes and colors of stones to make your design beautiful and appealing to the eye.
You can also add little micro pixie beads to balance out your composition and to fill in the gaps.
By the way, always choose metal pixie beads instead of plastic ones. Then if you ever spill them you can easily gather them with a magnet stick for cat eye polishes or with any other magnet.
Nibiru Micro Pixie Beads
Put a drop of top coat onto the nail design palette’s surface and place a few beads in it.
Dabble the beads in that drop of top coat so that they get fully coated with it.
Pick each bead with the thin nail art brush and place them carefully on the nail one by one.
In case you smear a diamond with the top coat, wipe the stain with a clean nail art brush dipped in nail polish remover.
Always keep your composition neat and symmetrical.
You can move the diamonds around and adjust their placement before you have cured the top coat.
When the composition looks good you can apply a matte no-wipe top coat in a thin layer around your composition and over the rest of the nail plate.
That way you’ll soften the edge between the top coat that acts as the glue and the surface of your nail.
After that, place your hand under the lamp and cure the top coat thoroughly.
Since you’ve used a no-wipe top coat, there’s no need to wipe your design.
And the matte top coat will become velvety under the lamp.
How to remove diamonds from nails?
If you’ve used a gel top coat to glue the diamonds to your nails then you can just soak them off with acetone when you are removing gel nail polish.
Just apply a nail wipe with the remover to the crystals and hold it for about 30 seconds.
Then pick them off with an orange stick.
You can also get the diamonds off by buffing them lightly with a 240 grit nail file.
If that doesn’t help just gently ease them off with cuticle nippers.
How to store diamonds for nails?
Nail crystals take very little space and it’s easy to lose them.
You can store your entire collection of diamonds for nails in a few little storage boxes with lots of compartments.
An acrylic storage box would be the best for this because it’s transparent and you’ll be able to see all your nail supplies without opening each compartment.
Acrylic Storage Box
You can also find out what the best no wipe and matte gel tops are and see the most striking designs with diamonds on black gel nails.
Recommended reading:
Best Professional Gel Nail Polish Brands Used In Salons
Best Gel Base And Top Coat: The Updated List Of The Best Gel Nail Base And Top Coat Sets
Best No Wipe Gel Top Coat: An Honest Review Of 12 Best No Wipe Top Coat Gel Brands
Non-Toxic Gel Nail Polish Brands 101: Choose The Safest Gel Nail Polish
Most Popular Shellac Colors – The Ultimate List Of 15 Best Shellac Colors For Fantastic Manicures
CND Shellac Ingredients And What They Mean
Best Nail Dehydrator And Primer: The Ultimate Guide
6 Best Glass Top Manicure Table Units That May Be Perfect For Your Salon
13 Best Holographic Nail Powder And Gel Nail Polish Brands
10 Best Cuticle Remover Products And How To Use Them
12 Best Polygel Nail Kit Reviews And How To Apply Polygel At Home
Nail Shapes Chart And Types Of Nail Shapes — The Ultimate Guide
How To Shape Almond Nails — The No Nonsense Guide
11 Best Nail Files For Natural Nails That’ll Make Nail Shaping Easier
