We know how daunting it can be to decide on the perfect style of engagement ring. Shopping in-store can often be confusing as you’ll enter with a vision, and leave confused after seeing so many varieties of styles that appeal to you. While browsing different styles is great for gathering inspiration, it’s important to determine what you like about each ring so you can combine your favourite elements into a custom design. An engagement ring is an extremely personal piece of jewellery and can be created from scratch to meet the many different requirements of the wearer. Before you book your consultation to create your engagement ring online, there are a few factors to consider to ensure you stay on track.
1. Choose the Center Stone
The centre stone will be the focal point of your engagement ring, so it’s important to delve deeper into what stone you desire rather than just choosing between a diamond or a gemstone. You may find some inspiration in our previous post about creating a unique custom engagement ring.
The 4C’s were developed to give an understanding of the major elements which impact a diamond or a gemstone’s value. Understanding these can be extremely helpful to select the perfect stone, as well as to stay within your budget. The Four C’s refer to the carat weight, colour, clarity and cut of the stone. Let’s take a look at why these considerations are important.
Carat Weight
Image source: GIA
The gemstone weight is expressed in carats. Larger gemstones are less frequently found in nature, so, the higher the carat weight, the higher the stone’s price per carat will be.
Gemstone Colour Grade
A stone’s colour is graded on how the stone absorbs and reflects light. It is typically evaluated in three ways, the hue of the stone (the dominant visible colour), the saturation of the stone (how intense the colour appears), and the tone (the lightness or darkness of the colour). However, as colour is subjective to each individual person, choosing a desirable colour comes down to the personal preference of the individual.
Image Source: GIA
Using the above diamond colour chart, you can begin to understand the qualities of coloured diamonds. Colourless diamonds are extremely rare and prove to be more expensive than diamonds of a lower colour grade. G and H diamonds appear colourless to the naked eye, making them a great and more affordable alternative.
Gemstone Clarity Grade
Image source: GIA
A high clarity grade refers to the transparency of the gemstone. This allows complete clarity of the gemstone colour to be seen without interruption by natural inclusions in its structure. A clarity grade is assigned based on the visibility of inclusions, whether under the naked eye or under magnification. The less included a stone is, the more expensive it will be.
Gemstone Cut
Image source: GIA
The cut of a gemstone heavily influences its lustre, colour and brilliance. There are many different ways a diamond or gem can be cut, and the goal of an excellent cut gemstone is to accentuate its colour and showcase the stone at its finest. Your desired cut should take into consideration the personal preference of the wearer, as well as a professional opinion of the effectiveness of that particular cut on your chosen stone.
2. Choose a Setting
The way a stone is set can enhance and transform the look of any engagement ring. The placement determines maximum brilliance and beauty while also facilitating the engagements ring’s practicality, durability and wearability. Browse our list of the most popular engagement ring settings, as well as the benefits of each to help you decide!
3. Select the Metal/s
When selecting which metal colour you would like to feature in your unique custom engagement ring, it’s important to consider which gemstone will be used, the skin tone of the person wearing the jewellery as well as personal preference. It’s important to consult a jewellery designer as they might be able to highlight aspects of each metal you hadn’t before considered. The selection is vast with options including white gold, rose gold, yellow gold and platinum.
4. Know the Size!
It’s essential that you know your future fiancé’s ring size before opting to create your engagement ring online. To find your partner’s perfect ring size, you can find a ring that they already wear and have it measured by a jeweller.
By ordering a ring that fits, you won’t have to worry about resizing the ring after you’ve proposed. If you’re unable to find the correct size and think you will require resizing after the proposal, make sure you discuss this with your jeweller as some settings are unable to be resized.
Create Your Engagement Ring Online
The team at Argyle Jewellers believes that it shouldn’t be a difficult process to design your own engagement ring online. This is why we are offering free online consultations to discuss your stone selection, metal choices and budget. Once we gather what style of ring you’re after, we can showcase your design with the help of a computer-aided drawing so you can see it from each angle.
Once you customise the design you love and we have your approval, our experienced team of craftsmen will handcraft the engagement ring, thoroughly inspect it, and complete a final polish so it’s ready to wear. We can then deliver it to you or you can collect it from our store within our updated trading hours.
Get in Touch to Design Your Own Engagement Ring from Scratch Online
There’s nothing more beautiful and everlasting than a customised engagement ring. Create your engagement ring online with our custom-design services for the perfect ring that is unique to you. Contact us today to ask any questions you may have, or get started and book your online consultation!