Engagement Ring Guide

About Engagement Rings

What goes into the design of an engagement ring? It's not one exclusive element. On the contrary, engagement rings are works of art that are made up of dozens of different elements that add up to something greater than the sum of their parts. But what are these elements? In this engagement ring guide presented by Albert's Diamond Jewelers, we'll explain them to readers.

The first of the elements that goes into engagement rings is material. The stones and precious metals that are chosen for an engagement ring change the nature of the ring on a fundamental level. Primarily, designers work in gold (though platinum is the favored second choice), and its purity is represented by karat weight. Generally either 14 or 18k, gold rings can usually be found in three tones: white, yellow, and rose. These colors can be chosen to reflect personal tastes or for their color combination with gemstones.

Engagement Ring Styles

Style refers to the general aesthetic "theme" around which an engagement ring is designed. At Albert's Diamond Jewelers, we have an in-depth engagement ring style guide offered on our site, but to briefly explain the concept, there are four major categories of style that undergird engagement ring design: vintage, modern, classic, and alternative.

Vintage and modern engagement rings reflect the aesthetics of time periods ranging from the Art Nouveau period of the 1890-1910s to the contemporary looks of the 1990s-2010s. Classic rings, on the other hand, are designed to be timeless, reflecting the purest ideas of engagement rings without traits that are characteristic of a particular artistic movement. Alternative engagement rings, on the other hand, are an expression of individuality, with few standard touches added to these artisanal-inspired works of art.

Engagement Ring Settings

Another important element of engagement rings is the setting for their center stones. As with styles, there are four major types of settings: halo, solitaire, side stone, three stone. There's a rarer setting style, the cluster ring, which is occasionally touched on by designers.

Halo settings feature discs of metal and jewels surrounding the center stone. Solitaires exclusively feature the center stone without partners on the surface of the shank. Three stone rings, as the name implies, have two medium-sized stones flanking the center diamond. And side stone rings have multiple stones set into the shanks. To find out more about these settings, continue to our guide to engagement ring settings!

Contact Albert's Diamond Jewelers for Any Questions about this Engagement Ring Guide

Since 1905, Albert's Diamond Jewelers has been a fixture of the Chicagoland jewelry scene. Our century of experience has given us the practical knowledge of what makes engagement rings amazing, and we're always happy to share that knowledge with our customers. In addition to this engagement ring guide, we have numerous pages on our site to educate you on white and colored diamonds, colored gemstones, pearls, metals, and watchmaking!

If you'd like to find out more about these topics, don't hesitate to contact us at either of our two showrooms: (219)-322-2700 for Schererville, Indiana.