How to Design Your Own Diamond Engagement Ring
Engagement rings are the first piece of jewelry that truly specifies the status and depth of your relationship. It should reflect the couple as well as the recipient's personality, style and charm. For instance, an antique-looking ring probably wouldn't seem right for an ultra-modern girl. At the same time, a huge 4-carat ring would likely be out of place on a competitive, athletic outdoors kind of girl. The best solution to finding the perfect engagement ring is to design your own.
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Instructions
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How to Design Your Own Diamond Engagement Ring
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Set a budget or monetary limit before you start designing your ring. This will prevent you designing your dream ring only to find it would cost $20,000 more than you can afford.
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Browse bridal magazines and jewelry catalogs. Cut out the pictures that jump out at you, placing them in your folder. Check out rings online as well, and either save them to a file on the computer or print them out to add to your folder.
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Look through the pictures you've compiled to see what kind of rings you saved the most. Group the pictures together by similarities to reveal the styles that attracted you the most.
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Determine the metal you want the ring to be. This can be based on your favorite pictures, allergies to certain metals, color preference or matching the ring to jewelry you already own. The band style should also be chosen, meaning do you want a smooth band or one that incorporates stones, scrolls, engravings or designs all the way around?
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Choose the cut of diamond you want as the centerpiece. Round, marquis, teardrop, emerald, oval, princess, radiant or heart-shaped diamonds are typically found in engagement rings.
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Decide on the size, clarity and color of the diamond. This will largely depend on your budget.
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Pick any stones that will flank your center diamond, unless you are opting for a solitaire, in which case this step would be skipped. The diamonds (or other stones) should complement the center diamond; the other stones can be of the same cut or different cuts, including baguette or trillions. The number and size of stones will be determined by your budget.
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Locate a jeweler that specializes in custom-made jewelry or an up-and-coming jewelry artist. Obtain several quotes before deciding on a jeweler, and check their references.
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Tips & Warnings
Take your time and use online tools to see what the finished ring might look like. This piece of jewelry holds significant meaning and will likely be one of your most prized possessions for the rest of your life.
Don't cut corners with a cheap jeweler. Confirm the stones in the finished rings are the stones that you paid for. In other words, check the four Cs of the diamonds and any serial numbers within the stones (serial numbers are now engraved into the diamond).
References
- Photo Credit leomonjenny: Flickr.com
