Build Your Own Engagement Ring

Build Your Own Engagement Ring For A Unique, Timeless Piece That Is Yours Alone

If you’ve chosen to build your own engagement ring, rather than buying one “off the shelf”, you’re not alone. Many men are daunted by the task of buying an engagement ring “blind” and leave the purchase until after they have popped the question. If, like me, this will be the most important jewelry purchase of your life it has to be perfect. That is the beauty of building your own engagement ring.

These days, it’s as easy to create your own engagement ring as it is to buy one off the shelf. Indeed you could argue that it is even simpler. You know what you want, and you could spend hours and hours trawling the web looking for that one “special” ring, without finding it. You really can make your dreams come true. As well has creating a unique piece of jewelry that symbolises your partnership, it goes without saying that a major advantage of designing your own ring is your ability to choose the very highest quality stones and settings you can afford. You will definitely save money over buying a stock ring.

The first thing to consider when building your own engagement ring is the type of stone or stones you are looking for. Is your heart set on a classic solitaire diamond engagement ring? Are you drawn to a diamond trio or cluster? Maybe you’re thinking about a coloured stone (emerald, ruby and sapphire are popular choices) surrounded by sparkling diamonds? If you’re torn between the beauty of a classic diamond and the deep colour of a coloured stone, remember that diamonds come in all colours of the rainbow. Known as fancy diamonds, these stones are among the rarest and most beautiful in the world. Perhaps you are thinking of a more unusual centerpiece for your engagement ring. Maybe a pearl, an opal, a piece of beautiful coral or one of the hundreds of other precious stones available. When you build your own engagement ring the combinations are endless.

Another tip is to remember the 4 Cs – Cut, Color, Clarity and Carat. Most off the shelf engagement rings feature round classic cut diamonds. However, if you are looking for a different shaped stone – a heart, pear, marquise, emerald, oval, cabochon or princess cut – you can easily incorporate this into your self-designed ring. White diamonds range in color from D (the very best) through to J (near colorless). Diamonds graded K and above will show hints of yellow. Clarity refers to the number of inclusions, or flaws, within the stone. F or flawless stones are very expensive, however stones graded VVS & VS (very very small & very small inclusions) will only have slight inclusions that are not visible to the naked eye and do not detract from the beauty of the stone. Carat refers to the weight of the stone. Remember that both the cut of the stone and the type of setting can affect how large or small the stone appears in your ring.

You next need to consider what material the setting will be made from. Yellow gold, white gold or platinum are all popular choices but you may be considering an unusual precious metal such as rose (red) gold or titanium? Perhaps you’re on a tight budget and are looking at silver or gold-plated silver (don’t worry, you can always have your stones reset and upgrade to gold or platinum when finances allow). Remember that if you choose gold it will be marked by carat or purity level. 24 carat gold is 99% pure, whereas 18 carat gold will only typically be 75% pure.

Consider carefully the type of setting. This will depend on the size and number of stones you have chosen and incorporates the type of band, the style of shank and the mounting for the stone. Bands can be flat, half round or comfort fit and favored shank styles include knife-edge, tapering, filigree, stone-set and split. Popular mountings include claw, cluster, rub-over (bezel), channel-set, bar and pave and when you build your own engagement ring you have the flexibility to incorporate more than one mount type to best set off your chosen stones.

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