Rising Trend: Mengagement Rings
Contemporary Men's Engagement Ring
The engagement ring is often only attributed to the lady in the relationship, the wife-to-be. But, in more recent times the equality of relationships has broken the tradition of the male asking the female, and it has become acceptable for men to enjoy celebrating their engagement with the symbol of a ring.
Whether the woman turns the tables and does the proposing herself, or she just wants her man to wear a ring marking their engagement after he has proposed to her, the men's engagement ring is a true statement of love and is growing in popularity. Jewellery retailers are all now beginning to market engagement rings exclusively for men.
Male engagement rings are worn in parts of Scandinavia and in the Basque regions of Spain, but until now they were scarce on the market in Britain, sold only by upmarket and on-demand designers.
Everything you need to know about the ring: Metals
The ring; a symbol of eternity, love and commitment. But there are so many different types of settings, metals, and decoration techniques to consider before buying the special gift – whether it be an engagement, eternity or wedding ring. In this two part series we will give you an overview of the choices you face and tips to help you make the right one. Last week we gave you a rundown of the different aspects of ring settings. This week we explain the most popular metals used for rings!
Rings are created in many different metals;
Yellow Gold Wedding Band
Gold rings are one of the most popular and classic choices. Gold is malleable, durable, hypoallergenic, tarnish-resistant, and rare enough to be precious. For jewellery, gold is often alloyed or melted with other metals such as copper, silver, zinc, and nickel to give the metal added strength. This combination creates the different karat measurements, for example 18-karat gold and 14-karat gold. 24-karat gold is gold in its purest form. The imprint of karat is called its quality mark and can be found on the inside of a ring band.
18K gold is considered to be the industry standard for high quality jewellery. Higher karat alloys are softer and more flexible, and therefore found in very intricate pieces of jewellery; but these higher purity metals may not be suitable for every day wear as they’re prone to damage.
Everything you need to know about the ring: Settings
The ring; a symbol of eternity, love and commitment. But there are so many different types of settings, metals, and decoration techniques to consider before buying the special gift – whether it be an engagement, eternity or wedding ring. In this two part series we will give you an overview of the choices you face and tips to help you make the right one. This article will give you a rundown of the different aspects of ring settings. Make sure to check back next week when we explain the different metals used for rings!
Solitaire Engagement Ring
Diamond solitaire engagement rings are single, elegant diamonds that may come in a variety of shapes (heart, marquise, round, pear, oval, emerald, etc.), settings (channel, bezel, flush, prong, tiffany, etc.), and sizes.
Engagement Ring with Accent Stones
Accent stone or side stone settings include both a larger center stone as well as multiple small stones that embellish the engagement ring band. Many accent stones are set in channels to protect them from damage. Some people prefer a combination of round stones and baguettes, round stones only, or trilliums (triangles).
Three-Stone Setting
Three-Stone Settings are seen to be nostalgic, with each of the diamonds representing the past, present, and future. The stones are set in a straight line without additional accent stones. Many people prefer to build their own engagement ring by choosing each of the three diamonds.
Bridal Set
Bridal Sets are available where you can purchase engagement rings with matching wedding bands. The bands can be solid gold with a matching solitaire engagement ring, or they might have side stone settings in both the wedding band and the engagement ring, with the engagement ring also featuring a prominent solitaire. For many of these bridal set rings, the wedding band cannot be worn without the engagement ring and the two are frequently soldered together prior to the wedding.
Online Buying vs. Brick and Mortar
As the popularity of online shopping is increasing, more and more consumers are trying the convenient services offered by many e-tailers. But is virtual shopping really an easier, overall improvement on face-to-face buying in physical stores?
There are several pros and cons for each shopping method to consider, particularly when you’re looking to purchase a diamond for a special occasion.
Advantages and Disadvantages: Pricing
An online store has very low overhead and since there is no need to pay for retail display space, storage costs are negligible or non-existent. Shipping of the product (e.g. diamonds) is often factory direct, which further reduces warehousing costs and eliminates the expense of multiple shipments to various distributors. All these factors create significant savings that can be passed on to the consumer, and which allow even more moderately sized diamond businesses to successfully compete with their much larger, brick and mortar high street competitors.
A brick and mortar store has unavoidable expenses to contend with. A physical location has to be lighted, heated or cooled which creates electrical and gas expenses. Wages, maintenance, and warehousing costs, plus "shrinkage", e.g. shoplifting, must be accounted for and that too costs the retailer. Stock must be transferred to the shopkeeper before it can be transferred to the consumer. These are all expenses normally avoided by the online stores.
Diamond Cut Part 2: Crown and Pavilion Angles
In part one of this series we discussed how the Table and Depth Percentage effect the cut of a diamond.
In part of two, we'll take a look at the last two important factors of cut, the crown and pavilion angles, to give you a better idea of what you should be looking for when you purchase a diamond.
The relationship between the crown angle and the pavilion angle has the greatest effect on the appearance of any diamond. A slightly steep pavilion angle can be complemented by a shallower crown angle, and vice versa.
Diamond Cut Part 1: Table and Depth Percentage
Different aspects of a diamond
The cut of a diamond determines how well the stone reflects light. This reflection is responsible for the gem’s brilliance or overall sparkle. There are many aspects to a stone which contribute to angles and the cut form, as the diagram to the left indicates.
Diameter: The width of the diamond through the girdle.
Table: The largest facet at the top.
Crown: The Top part from the girdle to the table.
Girdle: The narrow band around the widest part.
Pavilion: The bottom part from the girdle to the cutlet.
Culet: The facet at the bottom tip. The preferred cutlet is not visible to the naked eye.
Depth: The height from the cutlet to the table.
Professional and skilled cutters cut the stone to mathematically precise proportions to allow as much light as possible to reflect from each of its mirror-like facets out of the top of the diamond.
Top sentimental and economical gifts for Valentine’s Day
With Christmas only just over and the lingering recession putting pressure on our pockets, it can be trying to find that meaningful gift for your Valentine. But love makes no compromises, and can still be marked sentimentally on a budget.
Aside from chocolates and flowers, the top gift given on Valentine’s Day is diamond jewellery, and the recent economic situation should not affect that.
We look at the most popular gifts which can be adapted to fit your budget and consider how even more poignant presents for those thinking of popping the question can be recession-friendly. For the budget-conscious Valentine gift giver the trick lies in versatility and enhancements when it comes to diamond jewellery.
Best Festive Celebrity Engagements and Weddings: Part 2
In part one of this two part article, we brought you the first four best engagements and weddings of this past holiday season. On the list was Kevin Jonas & Danielle Deleassa, Russell Brand & Katy Perry, Vince Vaughn & Kyla Weber, and A.J McLean & Rochelle Karidis.
We now continue with part two of the list to bring you the last three best festive celebrity engagements and weddings of the 2009 holiday season!
Source: Examiner.com
Michael Buble & Luisana Loreley Lopilato de la Torre
For Canadian singer Michael Buble his biggest track, I just haven’t met you yet, clearly no longer applies. Buble began dating his Argentinian actress girlfriend, Luisana Loreley Lopilato de la Torre, afte they met at a concert in Buenos Aires in late 2008.
Within the first few days of 2010 the happy news of their engagement was announced. The couple managed to keep the engagement news under wraps as Buble supposedly popped the question months before in November.
Buble proposed in front of Lopilato's family in Argentina. The singer presented his fiancé with a fancy diamond engagement ring from Vancouver jeweler Minichiello, which he custom designed.
Choosing a Diamond: Size v.s Quality
The term ‘rock’ is commonly used to describe a diamond of a significant size, and so along with this our intrigue over big stones has grown. Its a popular word when describing celebrity engagement rings, as their status goes hand in hand with the size of the diamond they present for their loved one. Its all very well drooling over the latest big diamond in the celebrity world, but in the real world, does size really matter?
Size and Quality
Most have a realistic budget that they work towards when they are looking to purchase a diamond, and so ‘rocks’ for the majority of people are not always practical. It is also important to remember, however, that the value of a diamond is based on the well-known ‘4 C’s’, which includes the specifics of the quality of the diamond and indeed the size as well. Furthermore, diamonds of a large carat size may not be practical for everybody during day-to-day wear, or they may just not suit your taste, and so in this option the quality is the main focus in your search.
Best Festive Celebrity Engagements and Weddings: Part 1
The festive season this year has seen many celebrities get engaged or married – ‘twas the season to be jolly. Christmas and New Year’s Eve are two of the most popular times chosen to jump in at the deep end and go for the proposal, so it is not surprising that we experienced frequent news of engagements or surprise wedding ceremonies from our favourite stars.
Here is a glance at some of the glamorous good tidings from celebrity A-listers which marked the joyful season.
Kevin Jonas & Danielle Deleassa
In a snowy and romantic New York in the lead up to Christmas, Kevin Jonas had the perfect wedding to his fiancé Danielle Deleassa, full of diamond-laden sparkle. Teenage hearts broke everywhere when the eldest member (aged 22) of teen music sensation the Jonas Brothers decided to tie the knot on the 19th of December 2009.
The couple exchanged Jacob and Co. wedding bands at Oheka Castle in Huntington, New York with an attendance of 400 strong. The pair got engaged back in July.
Deleasa's diamond eternity band was expertly crafted to feature 3.83 carats of round-cut brilliant diamonds set in 18-Karat white gold. For his own wedding band, Jonas chose stainless steel with single rows of brilliant-cut diamonds (making 2.24 carats altogether) set along each edge and side.
For walking down the aisle, Deleasa also wore 30 carat marquise and pear-shaped diamond chandelier earrings complete with a 19 carat, emerald-shaped diamond bracelet. There was even more sparkle for the celebrations.
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