Bridal Jewelry

If you have started looking at engagement rings than I am sure you have found countless guides about the 4 C’s – clarity, cut, carat and color. These are the four factors which determine the price of a diamond in an engagement ring. If you are on a budget but still need to get her the perfect ring than you should consider buying for style. If you buy her the perfectly styled ring now, you can always replace the diamond later for a bigger one when you can afford it. This article will be your guide to the main engagement ring styles that are popular today.

Engagement ring styles refer to the engagement ring settings which is the actual metal that makes up the ring. There are currently six different engagement ring settings which are popular and stylish. Engagement Rings Solitaire Settings

Solitaire settings are the classic settings for engagement diamond rings. These beautiful engagement ring settings are stylish for all shapes of loose diamonds – Round, Oval, Pear, Marquise, Emerald, Heart, Radiant and Asscher. The advantage of these settings is that light gets to the stone and reveals the diamonds’ brilliance and true colors. The disadvantage is that the engagement ring settings offer less protection to the stone. These settings are the most popular form chosen for engagement ring settings.

Engagement Rings – Cathedral Settings

Diamond Engagement ring setting styles come in all shapes and settings. Cathedral settings are one the most romantic diamond settings that exist. The center diamond in Cathedral settings are beautifully displayed and securely nested between bands extending from each side, providing protection to your diamond. For a perfect look in an evening gown or tennis outfit’ choose these engagement diamond ring settings.

Engagement Rings – Two Tapered Baguette Settings

The Two Tapered Baguettes Engagement Ring settings will surround your center diamond with two other shining diamonds to bolster the look of luxury. At any social event, you will likely find everyone gawking at these brilliant diamond ring settings.

Engagement Rings – Antique Engagement Ring Settings

Antique Style Engagement Ring Settings create the romance and air of majesty and kingdom. The center diamond, in an antique Style Engagement Ring, is often a fancy cut diamond – Oval, Pear, Marquise, Emerald or Heart. These types of diamond ring settings were designed for a queen.

Engagement Rings – Bezel Settings

These diamond ring settings, place the diamonds within a collar at near level with the surface of the ring. A bezel set diamond ring adds height and dimension, protects the diamond’s girdle from damage and fits complex diamond shapes. These diamond ring settings, in white, will cause the diamonds to appear larger than they really do. If the diamond ring settings are yellow, the diamonds set within will also appear yellowish. The Bezel Setting may be used with most shapes of diamonds.

Engagement Rings – Channel Settings

Channel Diamond Ring Settings is another way of setting small diamonds on two sides, in order to create impressive engagement ring settings. Channel Settings protect the diamonds girdles and are completely smooth. Channel settings are not recommended for fragile stones. Note: You may have trouble trying resizing a ring with stones set all the way around it.

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Many people assume that buying engagement rings and economic down turns should not be included in the one sentence. Nothing could be further from the truth. No matter the state of the economy, people will always be falling in love and proposing. For some, the prospect of a smaller budget can just be a case of shopping smarter. For others, it maybe more of a scenario of not wanting to showcase a lot of expensive looking bling. Read on for some handy tips on how to buy engagement rings in a recession.

Online Jewelry Stores.

Online jewelry stores are always going to be competitively priced. The main reason? No expensive stores and sales people to add to the bottom line. Use your research skills and shop around. Look for warranties and recommendations. Valuations are also a must. Compare quotes between your local jeweler and an online jeweler and you may well be astonished at the price difference. Your dream engagement ring may become an affordable reality.

Colored Stones.

Another way to dramatically reduce the cost of an engagement ring is to think about replacing some of the diamonds with colored gems. Precious stones such as rubies, emeralds, and sapphires, can make a dramatic visual impact to an engagement ring. Lesser priced colored diamonds, along with semi precious stones will significantly reduce the final costing. Colored stones can also be a clever way to add a twist to a more traditional setting to end up with a more unique engagement ring. This can be an excellent option for the girl who has a favorite color that she wears all the time.

Family Heirlooms.

Has Great Aunt Gertrude left you her rather old fashioned ring? The engagement ring setting may be tired, worn, or just plain awful, but the stones or diamonds can be put to great use. Without the cost of a center stone, or surrounding stones as the case may be, the price of the engagement ring will fall dramatically. Custom jewelers can be advised as to the best possible use of family stones for an engagement ring setting.

Playing it Down.

Some may feel that is possibly not the best time to be thought to be flaunting their better fortune. This doesn’t mean that couple should have to reduce their budgets. Better clarities, cuts, and colors of diamonds can all be used to create perfectly sparkling diamond engagement rings that are perhaps not quite so big. Hand crafted engagement rings, and intricate settings such as Tacori or Verragio are other great ways to obtain beautiful investment engagement rings.

Palladium Engagement Rings.

Want a platinum engagement ring but are struggling with the price tag? Why not opt for white gold or palladium? While white gold will need regular rhodium plating to maintain the luxury platinum looking shine, palladium is a hard wearing metal that is naturally shiny. Palladium is from the same rare metal family as platinum, and like platinum is hypoallergenic. Palladium is less costly than platinum, but a little more than gold. However, with palladium you will not be having to pay the jeweler to reapply the rhodium plating as you would with white gold.

Affordable engagement rings can still be the stunning ring of your dreams. Shopping smart, thinking creatively, and online jewelers are all options for those buying an engagement ring on a budget.

Engagement rings are worn on the ring finger of either hand, depending on which country the bride-to-be is to be wed. For instance, in Poland, the woman will wear her engagement ring on her right hand’s ring finger while in the West women will wear their engagement rings on their left hand’s ring finger. Engagement rings are said to show the formal acceptance of the bride-to-be of her fiance’s offer to get married.

A new tradition regarding engagement rings is for the woman to buy the engagement ring for her male fiancé when they get engaged. This new tradition is on the rise in Canada and the USA. An alternative tradition which is followed in Spain is for the woman to give an engagement wristwatch to her male fiancé upon her acceptance of the engagement ring from him.

It is believed that the diamond production company named de Beers is responsible for the growing acceptance of and use of diamond engagement rings in Western culture because de Beers has been advocating use of diamond engagement rings since the 1940s. Use of diamonds in rings (not necessarily engagement rings) has been a practice observed for centuries. The concept itself of using engagement rings per se can be traced to a decree by Pope Innocent III wherein couples that intended to marry should wait longer after being betrothed to one another. To symbolize this waiting period, engagement rings came into being.

However, in many countries it is not necessary to give out diamond engagement rings because engagement rings may use other colored gems rather than simply the commonly-used diamond. The diamond became accepted because it is the hardest of all the precious stones thus symbolizing enduring love. But if the couple accepts the use of other gems, the engagement rings given out may have rubies, emeralds, star sapphires, and sapphires instead of diamonds. And in certain countries, the engagement rings used may be just bands made of gold, silver or even titanium without any precious stones mounted on them. Semi-precious stones are also acceptable nowadays to be used in place of precious stones on engagement rings.

If you opt for engagement rings that are simply metal bands, do use gold or platinum since these are more durable and have higher value compared to other types of engagement rings that use other types of metals. Silver is usually not recommended for engagement rings because this metal is less durable than gold or platinum. If you do opt for a gold or silver engagement ring, the jeweler may advocate use of a platinum setting so that your engagement ring stays more durable over time.

The more contemporary types of engagement rings may use titanium or even just stainless steel because they are less expensive than gold, silver or platinum yet are stronger than the latter. One problem you may encounter with use of titanium engagement rings is that in a medical emergency the titanium engagement ring might be impossible to remove because of its sheer strength and because cutting tools in hospital emergency rooms are not usually equipped to cut through some grades of titanium. A gold ring is so soft, on the other hand, that your standard electrician pliers can cut through a gold ring within a second.

In the past, the groom-to-be was expected to select the engagement ring (or possibly engagement rings – one for his bride, one for him) by himself. Nowadays though, since many couples try to live together before marriage, it is becoming more of the norm for these live-in partners to select engagement rings together.

A woman who accepts an engagement ring is considered betrothed to the man who gave the ring. If she breaks the wedding engagement, it is generally expected of her to return the engagement ring to the man who gave it. If the man breaks the wedding engagement, the woman is not expected to return the ring. In extreme cases when wedding engagements are cancelled, the court has to intervene as to who owns engagement rings and why.