Solitaire Engagement Rings Don’t Have to Be Diamonds

The prettiest engagement rings are solitaire rings with one big stone in the center. But who says that the stone in the center has to be a diamond. You will also see rings that look like they feature one big stone, but in reality a cluster of tiny stones creates the sparkle together.  Look carefully as a big stone is not always a whole gemstone.

Sometimes the center stone in a solitaire ring is set a little higher than the ring in a clawed setting that resembles a cradle for the stone and sometimes it is embedded right into the band.

However, the main stone in the solitaire engagement ring does not have to be a diamond. The very old traditional route is to contrast diamonds (as either the flanking stones or center stone) with other valuable gems such as emeralds, citrines, topazes garnets rubies or sapphires. You can also buy an engagement ring that has a birthstone. It is also nice to just have a central stone that is a favorite color or that matches your eyes or hair. For instance, a sapphire might look great as a center stone in a ring for a woman with blue eyes.

A pave setting is one that features a row of  five to nine glittering stones either raised or embedded into band. Common combinations are sapphires and diamonds, rubies and diamonds and emerald and diamonds.  One benefit to buying this kind of ring is that it can serve either as a wedding band or an engagement band.

Although the ancient belief is that diamonds were fired in the flames of love they are actually fired in the flames of the earth’s crust where they are compressed until they create unique four-sided crystal that is harder than anything on earth. It is most likely that the diamond you find in today’s stores is mined in South Africa, but for years India and Brazil were the principle providers of diamonds.  Diamond stores have also recently been found in the Yukon.

The brilliance of diamonds is accounted for by the stone’s high reflective index, which is 2.42.  This is many times higher than a rhinestone, which is only 1.6.  The ability of a diamond to sparkle is also depended on how the stone is hewn by the diamond cutter.

If you already have a ring that you have inherited fro you grandmother, it is quite easy to go to jeweler and have its look updated or completely create a new ring for your fiancée.  Sometimes stones can be removed from old rings and set into a completely new design.

 

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Unusual Silver Engagement Rings

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It used to be that an engagement ring was just a circle. However they have been made in unusual designs.  Silver rings are more in vogue these days just simply because the price of gold has gone through the roof.

 

If you want to be a bit unusual then one of the coolest designs is the European style known as Russian Wedding Rings. Basically these are three circles of silver that interlock on the finger. You can get these rings in very thick or very thin silver. Many of these designs are also inset with gorgeous stones.  The chunkiest version of this type of ring is most modern and very sixties looking.

 

In essence the three circles symbolize the couple and God and the union interlocking with the holy guidance of higher powers.

 

Yet another interesting ring is the spinner ring. This type of ring is a band that features another inlaid piece of silver so that the ring rotates around your finger like a wheel. The nicest ones have a rope like shape that is very elegant and simple.

 

Of course you can get high-end versions of this ring made by Calvin Klein. About twenty years ago he stole the idea of the Russian ring to create his famous eternity ring, which is made out of three circlets of different types of gold.

You may have noticed that there is a new shape of wedding band around. This type of ring shape crests down into a point. It is called the wishbone shape.

The reason that it has a point is that it is meant to accommodate the really cool pear shaped and marquise shaped single stones that are also so much in vogue.  These large single stones are very much complimented by the inverse V shape of the glamorous wishbone ring.

 

The wishbone shopped badly is usually between 5mm and 3.5 mm and very much in vogue because chunkier rings like this are definitely in style for 2009.

When buying this type of ring you might also want to make sure that the V does fit the bride in a way so that the point of the V does not dig into the finger in any way.  Usually this is not a problem if the ring is well designed but it can be a challenge if the ring is quite thin.  To make sure it is comfortable by the thicker or larger wishbone shaped ring so the point does not touch the finger.

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