Types of Engagement Rings
The most important component of an engagement ring is creating a style that matches your bride’s personality. Simple and elegant is always a great choice unless your partner aligns better with a modern and trendy look.
There are many types of engagement rings on the market today. From the metals used at the base to the settings and diamonds that complete your personal design, the endless combinations can be overwhelming.
Monti Jewelers can help you select the perfect engagement ring and we’ll walk you through the various design aspects of a ring.
Settings
​
A diamond solitaire setting is one of the most classic engagement ring designs available. It features a single diamond that rests upon a metal ring, showcasing the beauty of the diamond itself. The simplicity of the solitaire setting is elegant and refined, so matching this style to your bride’s personality is an important step in the ring selection process.
Solitaire
A diamond solitaire setting is one of the most classic engagement ring designs available. It features a single diamond that rests upon a metal ring, showcasing the beauty of the diamond itself. The simplicity of the solitaire setting is elegant and refined, so matching this style to your bride’s personality is an important step in the ring selection process.
Halo Style
Halo ring setting features the main diamond or other gemstone surrounded by a collection of pave diamonds. This setting is popular for customers who want to provide a large diamond look with a more budget-friendly price tag. Light reflects from the smaller pave diamonds and focuses attention on the center stone, making it look almost a .5 carat larger than its actual size.
Two-Stone
Two-stone rings are named such for the simple fact that they contain two main diamonds or gemstones instead of one. These rings differ from halo rings because of the two prominent diamonds of roughly the same size. Styles for these types of rings can range from trendy to antique.
Three-Stone
A three-stone ring setting features two side diamonds or gemstones on the side of a larger center diamond or gemstone. This classic look gives a great depth to the ring and the two smaller side stones make the centerpiece diamond seem larger in appearance.
Bazel Set
Unlike a prong setting ring that holds a diamond in place on a ring, the bezel set engagement ring features a stone that fully or partially encircles the diamond. This setting holds your stone securely and can hide flaws in a diamond, but also minimizes the sparkle and size because of its encasement. This setting is typically more expensive because of the expertise needed to create it.
Modern
If you hear a setting being referred to as “modern,” it typically can include a wide variety of settings. Modern engagement rings feature more details and design elements in the ring itself.
Diamond Cuts
The cut of the diamond is a style when shaping a diamond during the polishing phase. The cut forms the shape of your stone and distinct possibilities. Here are the most popular cuts:
-
Round
-
Princess
-
Radiant
-
Cushion
-
Oval
-
Emerald
-
Pear
-
Marquise
-
Heart
The cut of the diamond is just one component that goes into the beauty of this rare stone. Learn about the four Cs of a diamond.
Metals
From gold to platinum, the metal you choose for your engagement ring is the base for where the process starts. All metals used in jewelry are a mixture of multiple types of metals. Gold in its purest form is much too soft to wear on its own and must be hardened with another metal source.
White Gold
In recent years, metals that appear “white” or silver have become the most popular choice for jewelry. White gold is an alloy of the traditional gold appearance of the metal and is a combination of pure gold, palladium, and silver. A precious metal called rhodium is typically coated over white gold to make the ring more durable.
Yellow Gold
Engagement rings made out of yellow gold are often combined with metals such as zinc and copper to preserve the yellowish tint to the jewelry. Again, these combinations of materials allow for a much more durable metal. The higher the carat concentration, the more pure gold is included. 14K gold is a common balance of pure gold and other alloys, while 24k is pure gold.
Rose Gold
The same principle of mixing metals for durability also applies to rose gold. In this case, gold is blended with silver and copper metals to produce the pinkish look.
Silver
The same principle of mixing metals for durability also applies to rose gold. In this case, gold is blended with silver and copper metals to produce the pinkish look.
Platinum
Platinum engagement rings are also a popular choice as a metal because it is much denser and durable than gold, yet still carries the same brilliance as white gold. Because platinum is rarer and mined much less than gold, it also means that it is more expensive than gold.
Palladium
Palladium is an interesting metal to consider when designing your engagement ring. When polished, palladium can look similar to white gold or platinum, but at a much cheaper price. It also is hypoallergenic, which may be important if your partner is allergic to the nickel components found in white gold.
