Getting ready to get down on one knee and propose? Don’t do it with any ring you can buy in a thrift store. Show your future spouse how much you really care for them by taking the time to personally customize the wedding ring you give them. Not sure how? Here are just a few of the elements to consider when putting together your own customized ring for that special day.
Metals and Alternative Materials
Although still glamorous and classy options, gold and silver are definitely no longer the only options out there to select from when creating the perfect ring. Today, in fact, you are limited to metals as the framing material for her ring at all. There are, of course, several metals to choose from both traditional choices and modern alternatives.
Gold: white, pink, green, and yellow
Luxe Metals: platinum, palladium, titanium, and black zirconium
Frugal Metals: stainless steel, vermeil, tungsten, and sterling silver
Other Metals: copper, bronze, and Tibetan or Mexican silver
Non-Metal Options: silicone, wood, bone, shell, antler, and glass fiber
Band Styles
There are so many beautifully crafted wedding rings in jewelry stores, at the mall or department stores, and across the internet’s incomprehensible amount of merchants, crafters, wholesalers, and so on. You want to create a spectacular representation of the love that you share with this ring, though right? A great starting point is a band, which is often called a shank. There are several types of band designs to consider, any of which is an excellent foundation for creating a look that’s unique and spectacular. Which of these examples would best match your lover?
- Straight or Basic Shank- a simple band without adornments,
- Split Shank- a band that divides halfway giving the ring a V shape on each side of the stone or setting.
- Crossover- two or more thin bands wrapped around one another for an intertwined look
- Tapered- the width of the band narrows as it reaches the setting
- Reverse Taper- the band widens as it approaches the setting
- Cathedral- a band that frames the stone or setting to resemble the structure of cathedral arches
Once you’ve decided the best look for your lady’s band design, it’s time to get a bit more in-depth with the style and overall look of the band. Embellishments, creative design, and skilled craftsmanship are some of the most important features in the bands of custom wedding rings. Some are detailed and elaborately decorative, while others are modest and minimalistic. Here are a few band styles to give you an idea of what the perfect ring might look like for the woman you love.
- Classic Solitaire- an elegantly simple basic band with a single diamond setting
- Pave’- multiple tiny stones set into the band
- Baroque- artistically intricate designs on the band and/or around the stone(s)
- Etched- bands with skillfully crafted chemical wear that creates patterns, designs, images, etc into the band
- Channel- a few smaller stones set into defined cutouts in the band
- Vintage- bands that are designed to look like heirlooms and older ring styles
- Contemporary/Modern-bands that have a nontraditional look or style
Stone Selection
Now that you’ve got a fair idea as to what you want the band to look like, its time to put a rock on it. The cut and color of the stone should, of course, complement that of the band. Diamonds are the traditional and most popular choice, however, like aforementioned with the band material, that is not anywhere near the only possibility for the stone or stones. Colorful accents and even primary stones have gained a lot of popularity in recent years and are an exceptionally unique and thoughtful personal touch. Pearls, sapphires, rubies, emeralds, amethysts and many more jewels and gems can be implemented in place of the traditional diamond main stone or as accents. One style of ring, known as an acrostic style utilizes a variety of stones and gems that each is given a letter of the alphabet to represent with the exception of: F, K, Q Y and Z. This allows you to literally spell out a special word using different stones.
If, however, you do intend to keep it more traditional and go with a diamond as the main or only stone, there is a quality assessment system known as the four C’s to keep in mind while looking at any diamond jewelry. This is especially true when shopping for an engagement ring and wedding bands.
The Four C’s: Cut- how well the facets are proportioned, judged by the sparkle and brilliance reflecting off them
Color-the amount of color a diamond it tinted by, the closer to colorless the greater quality
Clarity- the level of flawless perfection a diamond displays, blemishes, and imperfections known as inclusions tend to be visible to the naked eye thankfully and include marks like cloudy texture, scratches, cavities, and dark or light spotting or discoloration.
Carat- this is the most common diamond and gemstone value evaluation in the entire world somewhat representative of the weight of the stone.
Setting the Stone and Putting it all Together
Although there are some setting styles, like the marquis cut that are created as a special setting for a specific stone shape, there are many others that can be integrated into any style or design of the ring. There are three factors that affect the look of the ring’s setting. First is the stone’s shape, the actual shape of the head’s setting, and last but not least, the style and design you see on either side of the stone.
Stone Shapes: oval, marquis, emerald, Ascher, princess, round
Setting Types four or six prongs, claw, flush or gypsy, basket, bride accent, bezel, tension, buttercup, and rose head, Tiffany, bar, illusion, halo channel
Style and Design: cluster, triple stones, halo, double diamond, suspended, geometric, color accents, infinity
Asking her to be your wife ’til death do you part is one of the most important and memorable moments that the two of you will have the joyful honor to share. Having the perfect ring may not guarantee that she’ll accept your proposal. But when you’re on one knee, asking the woman of your dreams what she has planned for the rest of her life or if she would care to spend her life with you, place the ring of her dreams on her hand. For better or for worse, she’ll have no doubt that you care about her when she’s showing all her friends the uniquely customized ring that her husband to be put so much time and effort into finding just for her.