Sapphire Jewelry
Your one and only is hinting about popping the question, perhaps even asking about your engagement ring preferences. Your heart is set on a sapphire engagement ring, but with an almost endless variety of ring settings to choose from, it’s easy to feel dazed. Just how do you pick the perfect ring to symbolize your love and commitment? It really doesn’t have to be overwhelming. We’re here to help with a few tips you should follow before saying “I do.”
Say “Yes” To A Sapphire Engagement Ring!
Budget Appropriately
Budget Your Engagement Ring Purchase
Of all the many purchases associated with a wedding, the most significant are the engagement ring and wedding bands. After all, both are integral to “Will you marry me?” and “With this ring, I thee wed.” What’s more, long after the guests say their goodbyes and the flowers fade, what remains of that special occasion are the rings that represent your union. So when you’re discussing with your significant other the doughnut dessert wall or craft beer station, be clear on the need to budget for quality rings that you will enjoy wearing every day that will last a lifetime.
Pick Your Metal
Check Our Our Guide To Precious Metals
A grayish-white metal considered 30 times more rare than gold. Its density is unequaled in terms of durability, making it a perfect choice for jewelry that’s worn every day for a lifetime. Because platinum is naturally white, it never fades, tarnishes or needs to be re-plated, or casts a tint onto gemstones. It’s also 95% pure, making it inherently hypoallergenic. Although platinum can scratch, it doesn’t change shape or abrade like gold. Therefore, over time, platinum settings hold gemstones more securely.
A yellow metal with excellent malleable and ductile properties that make it one of the most popular choices in jewelry design. It’s also less rare than platinum and more affordable. Pure gold, or 24K, is quite soft and vulnerable to scratching. However,it’s usually mixed, or alloyed, with other metals to increase its hardness. Mixing pure gold with other metals also influences its color. One common practice is to plate the harder and less-pure 14K gold with the softer and purer 18K gold to achieve a brighter yellow.
Another is to alloy gold with copper to create the pinkish-colored rose gold, which is very flattering to the skin. Alloying gold with other metals tends to bleach its color, resulting in white gold. White gold is also frequently plated with rhodium to create a whiter, brighter finish; however, it does fade with time and needs to be reapplied by a reputable jeweler. Another consideration with white gold: while it’s harder and more resistant to scratches than platinum, it’s more brittle and susceptible to stress corrosion than both platinum and yellow gold.
A lustrous silver-white metal that’s part of the platinum group metals. It shares many of the same qualities as platinum, although to a lesser degree (particularly density), and is therefore less expensive. If you like the look of both yellow and white metals, fear not, you don’t have to choose! We have settings that allow you to combine them, such as yellow gold with white gold or platinum, which is quickly becoming a trend.
Pick Your Stone Shape
You’ve already decided on a sapphire center stone, so now it’s time to pick the shape.
Round & Oval Blue Sapphire
The round shape with the highly faceted brilliant cut is very popular in engagement rings because it maximizes brightness. Another popular shape is the oval, which has a mixed brilliant cut similar to the round but with an elongated shape that can create the illusion of greater size and make the finger appear longer and slimmer.
Princess & Cushion Cut Sapphires
If you favor a square shape with the brilliant cut, the princess with its pointed corners is a good fit. There’s also the very trendy cushion shape, which combines a square to slightly rectangular shape with rounded corners, much like a pillow. A nice bridge between the princess and the cushion is the radiant, which is a square or rectangular shape with cropped corners.
Emerald & Asscher Cut Green Sapphires
The nearly square to narrowly rectangular emerald cut, meanwhile, is faceted with the step cut, so instead of the sparkle of a brilliant cut, a hall-of-mirrors effect is produced. The Asscher cut is similar to the square emerald cut but often produces more brilliance.
Heart & Marquis Yellow Sapphires
For a highly romantic look, consider the heart shape, put in the spotlight recently with Lady Gaga’s engagement. The football-shaped marquise is also gaining popularity, with benefits likened to the oval shape. The pear shape is a combination of the marquise and the round, with a tapered point on one end. There’s also the very interesting trillion shape, which is usually a triangular shape with curved sides and sharp corners. Like most of the other shapes, these feature the mixed brilliant cut for plenty of sparkle.
Pick Your Setting
Now that you’ve decided on the metal type and stone shape for your engagement ring, you must consider the setting style. This is the part of the ring where you can truly capture your personality and lifestyle.
Antique Engagement Ring Settings
Are you an art lover or history buff? Perhaps one of our antique-look settings would be just the thing. We offer styles with the curved lines and nature motifs of the Art Nouveau period, the lacy look of the Edwardian era and the bold geometric shapes of the Art Deco period, to name a few.
Halo & Pave Engagement Ring Settings
Perhaps you’re a romantic, and settings with swirls of pavé-set gems are especially dreamy. The popular halo setting comes into play here, which surrounds a center stone with a border of smaller, uniformly sized stones for additional sparkle and texture. It also emphasizes the brilliance of the center stone and makes it appear larger—a bonus for ladies who want that big look without the hefty price tag.
Solitaire & Side Stone Settings
Solitaire Engagement Ring Settings
For less razzle-dazzle, we offer clean, contemporary settings void of detail that place the emphasis solely on the center stone. In contrast, we also have settings that augment the center stone with side stones, such as the popular three-stone setting representing your past, present and future.
Three Stone Settings & Wedding Sets
Three Stone & Wedding Set Engagement Ring Settings
One thing to keep in mind when selecting your setting is how you use your hands every day. Are you a doctor, play contact sports or knit for a hobby? Then perhaps you would favor the bezel setting, which holds the center stone in place not with prongs, but with a thin rim of metal surrounding the girdle, or widest part of the stone. This essentially keeps the center stone flush with the setting and well-protected. You’ll also want to consider your wedding band. Would you like it to “shadow” the engagement ring (fit with it like a puzzle piece), or perhaps match the engagement ring or your spouse’s band?
Consider Customizing
Design Your Own Custom Engagement Ring
If you’ve looked at a variety of engagement rings and still haven’t found the perfect match, you might want to consider customizing your ring. We offer a ‘Design Your Own’ Jewelry function on our website that allows you to pick every detail of your ring, from the sapphire to the metal to the setting. Once you’ve selected each, we provide two complementary computer-rendered images of the design to help you better imagine your engagement ring, as well as one 3D wax model for an additional fee.
Have It Engraved
We Offer Free Engraving With All Ring Purchases!
One of the easiest ways to truly personalize your engagement ring is to have it engraved. Choose your initials, your wedding date, a song lyric or perhaps the title of a poem. For something even more unique and personal, choose to inscribe something only you and your significant other will understand, silly nicknames included. We offer the service free-of-charge for up to 15 characters.
Certify And Appraise
We Supply An ID Report For All Stones And Jewelry We Sell
Finally, one of the most important tips to remember is to get a certification for your sapphire, which is a statement of its identity and quality characteristics, as well as an appraisal of your engagement ring, which states an opinion about its financial value. We have a trained staff and advanced gemological equipment dedicated to examining, identifying and evaluating our gems, as well as our own Gemstone Identification Report. Independent certification from the Gemological Institute of America can also be obtained for an additional fee. We also offer comprehensive appraisal services for loose sapphires and sapphire jewelry, which are recognized by all major reputable jewelers and insurance companies.
Enjoy Your Choice
Happy Shopping For Your Engagement Ring
Keep in mind, any engagement ring is the perfect choice as long as it’s personal to you and a symbol of the love and commitment you share with your partner in life. No other piece of jewelry will ever carry the same meaningful sentiment. If sapphire engagement rings are what you’re looking for, you’ve come to the right place, The Natural Sapphire Company Has what you’re looking for. Shop Today!