The Guide To Engagement Rings-Design
Nothing is more personal than the ring itself. It’s a lot of pressure finding the perfect style of ring, which is why our no-nonsense guide is just what you need to get you on track to the perfect piece!
Fashions come and go, but whether you’re after simple, classic, clean lines, a modernist showstopper or a vintage inspired original creation, let us help you understand the essentials of ring shopping.
Metal:
First thing to consider is the colour of the metal. What does the person naturally wear more, yellow or white metal? What suits the skin tone, the centre gemstone, and, importantly, the personality?
Traditionally, most people opt for white gold or platinum and there’s two good reasons for this:
Firstly, we want to think about the stone in the ring. When light enters a white diamond, it reflects it internally then re-emits it to our eyes, giving the sparkle, fire and reflection of light diamond is so prized for. If the light entering the stone is reflecting from a yellow surface, it can make the stone look more yellow to our eye.
Secondly, platinum and white gold are harder wearing than yellow gold. This is an important consideration, especially if the ring will be worn constantly and exposed to an active lifestyle.
It is also worth noting that, natural white gold always has a very slight yellow tone, creating a warm white colour. To achieve the icy cool white colour you often seen, white gold is plated with Rhodium. Overtime with a lot of wear, this layer of rhodium will be worn off but can be re-plated.
Another thing that affect the use of metal colour is the centre gemstone. Coloured diamonds and gemstones such as Yellow Diamonds, Emerald and Ruby are complimented by yellow gold because the warm yellow colour of the metal can add more depth to the colour of the gemstones, which in turn can make it look much more vibrant.
Style:
There are 3 most popular style:
- Single solitaire
- A centre stone with side stones (or shoulder stones)
- Cluster design
When it comes to the design's style, most people opt for the eternally chic Brilliant cut diamond. Usually round or it’s shaped variations like the Pear shape, Oval and Princess cut. These can be worn as ‘standalone’ stones in a ring, designed to accentuate the beauty of a single diamond and creating a beautiful and simple ring in their own right but can also be complimented by ‘shoulder’ or ‘accent’ stones:
for example, using taper baguette diamonds or smaller round diamonds to sit alongside the main diamond, or smaller stones set in the shoulders just to bring a little more sparkle to the ring. Diamonds set in the shoulder of the ring are also a consideration if the wedding band will have diamonds in too, and we can advise how to design the perfect ‘set’ for the finger.