Engagement Rings 101: What You Need To Know About Choosing The Right Ring
When you are ready to propose to your beloved but know nothing at all about engagement rings, you may be worried about how to select the right piece of jewelry to present to your future fiancé. Even if you have a good grasp of your loved one's personal style and aesthetics, selecting a ring can still be a challenge if you are unfamiliar with the most common characteristics of rings. The following guide provides you with a primer on the common features of engagement rings to help you pick the perfect one for your proposal.
Ring Cuts
When you begin browsing rings, you need to know the proper names of ring cuts so you can describe to jewelers exactly what you want or narrow down lists of rings to compare and contrast in online catalogs. The most common cuts of rings include:
- Oval
- Round
- Pear
- Heart
- Princess
- Marquise
- Emerald
- Asscher
- Cushion
Oval and round cuts are rings with the primary gem shaped like the name of the cut. If you want a ring that elongates the fingers, an oval cut is ideal. A pear cut also creates the illusion of elongated fingers and has a diamond with the rounded part of the gem facing your body and the pointed end facing away from your body.
A heart-shaped cut bears a resemblance to its name with the gem shaped like a heart. A marquise cut has a diamond that is shaped like an oval with pointy ends. A princess cut has a stone that designed in the shape of a square.
An emerald cut is rectangular but the gem will have cropped corners. An asscher cut also has cropped corners but the main diamond will be shaped like a square. A cushion cut has a gem shaped like a square but with rounded edges.
Setting
An engagement ring's setting also impacts its aesthetics. When you think of a diamond ring, the setting that may come to mind immediately is the prong style. A ring with this setting has one diamond set within four prongs to hold it in place. It is a simple yet classically beautiful setting for an engagement ring.
If you want to have more than one diamond or other types of gems, you can choose the trellis setting. It includes a main diamond in a prong setting with gems on both sides of the diamond set in interlaced prongs.
When you want to make sure your diamond is secure, choose a bezel setting. The sides of the diamond are surrounded by metal to hold the gem securely in place. If you want to show off the features of a stone, choose a tension setting. The setting holds a gem in place with two just pieces of metal on each side of the stone.
For a glittering ring with numerous diamonds set into a band, choose a channel setting. The band of the ring has a groove that holds several stones in place all around the ring. A cluster setting is also ideal for rings with numerous small stones. The smaller stones are arranged around large stones in a circular channel setting.
Color and Other Gems
While the traditional image of an engagement ring includes a white diamond, you can choose diamonds of other colors as well for the main gem. Diamonds can also be black, blue, yellow and pink. Keep in mind that colored diamonds may be a lot more expensive than traditional white diamonds.
You can also purchase engagement rings with other types of gems that accentuate the main diamond. Sapphires, emeralds, amethysts, opals, rubies, garnets, aquamarines and other types of gems can add a touch of sophisticated style to your engagement ring.
If you want to mix and match gems but are unsure about what colors will look good together, consult a gemstone color wheel chart. The wheel chart organizes gems by color families and will help you select complementary gems for the ring.