How to Design One's Own Engagement Ring

Getting engaged is one of the most important milestones in life. The ring is the traditional symbol of the engagement and one way to make this symbol unique is to design it yourself. Even if you're not a jewelry expert, you can design a beautiful ring that you'll be proud of for years to come. Follow these tips to design your own engagement ring.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. Browse bridal magazines for engagement ring styles that appeal to you. These magazines feature ads for most major engagement ring designers, so you will be able to narrow down settings, metals and diamond shapes that appeal to you.

2. Find a jeweler who specializes in engagement ring design. To locate a jeweler, ask friends where they purchased their engagement rings, and call those jewelers to find out whether they also make jewelry. Many retailers feature custom jewelry designers on staff.

3. Bring clippings of engagement rings you liked from the bridal magazine advertisements to your appointment with the jeweler. Since it's sometimes difficult to convey style preferences, and since you may not know the technical terms for parts of the ring or design, it helps to show a photograph and point out what you like and what you don't.

4. Sketch your ideal ring. You don't have to be an artist to make a rough drawing of features you'd like to incorporate in your own engagement ring. A good jewelry designer will be able to understand the general design you're looking for and expand on it.

Tips & Warnings

• Consider the size of your finger when developing your ring design. Although you may love that 5-carat stunner, it could look garish and somewhat fake on your size four ring finger.
• Be prepared to pay a higher price for a custom-designed engagement ring. The personalized service, time to design and refine the ring and additional time to make the ring typically result in a much more expensive engagement ring than one purchased off the shelf.