ring styles: art deco

More memorable than the Gatsby remake is increased popularity of the art deco style. Art deco is "an eclectic style that combines traditional craft motifs with Machine Age imagery and materials. The style is often characterized by rich colors, bold geometric shapes, and lavish ornamentation."

Enjoy these lovely examples:

http://www.etsy.com/listing/111820386/diamond-engagement-ring-engagement-ring

http://www.engagementringsdirect.com/art-deco-platinum-engagement-ring-pid-1056-44.html

a girl's other best friends

Diamonds are practical. Well, in one way at least: their properties provide the durability needed to sustain lifelong daily wear. Engagement rings inevitable suffer a lot of wear and tear, but diamonds aren't the only pretty gem strong enough to survive.

A gem is graded on "hardness," or its ability to be scratched. It is just one factor in how a stone can sustain daily wear. Cleavage and inclusions also play a part. For example, while an emerald is hard it's commonly very included making it more likely to break.

Here are a few jewels tough enough to serve as an e-ring. You'll notice clear/white stones (diamonds or otherwise) adorning many of these, upping the 'engagement ring' factor. These are loosely ordered from highest wearability on down.

RUBY

http://www.thenaturalsapphirecompany.com/sapphires/sapphire-jewelry/c-28-sapphire-rings/p-47331-ruby-ring-j3751/

http://www.etsy.com/listing/107607692/vintage-ruby-ring-estate-art-deco-design



http://www.artfire.com/ext/shop/product_view/OroSpot/6861401/victorian_style_reproduction_diamond_oval_ruby_engagement_ring_14k_gol/design/jewelry/rings/gemstone

SAPPHIRE

http://www.etsy.com/listing/174190906/engagement-ring-15-carat-blue-sapphire



http://www.etsy.com/listing/175743783/engagement-ring-38-carat-blue-sapphire


http://www.etsy.com/listing/130491043/blue-sapphire-ring-palladium-sapphire


http://www.etsy.com/listing/154607199/3-white-sapphire-engagement-rings-silver

ONYX

http://eragem.com/art-deco-reproduction-ring-w-1-37-carat-diamond-in-platinum.html


http://www.etsy.com/listing/175699553/size-8-rose-cut-round-onyx-ring-ready-to



http://www.etsy.com/listing/172290413/natural-black-onyx-engraved-cocktail

ALEXANDRITE

http://www.etsy.com/listing/157780151/sale-11mm-x-9mm-alexandrite-brilliant

SPINEL

http://www.etsy.com/listing/95840277/engagement-ring-square-cushion-rose


http://www.etsy.com/listing/87530582/black-spinel-precious-gemstone-and

TOPAZ

http://www.etsy.com/listing/159299132/over-4ct-white-topaz-engagement-ring


http://www.etsy.com/listing/123722986/natural-aaa-white-topaz-solid-14k-white

AQUAMARINE

http://www.topazery.com/antique-jewelry-item-rg3444.htm




http://www.topazery.com/antique-jewelry-item-rg1624.htm


http://www.faycullen.com/rings/800/c527r2ad.html

MORGANITE

http://www.etsy.com/au/listing/116953828/double-halo-morganite-engagement-ring



http://www.etsy.com/listing/128388784/bridal-set-14-karat-rose-gold-oval


http://www.etsy.com/listing/167609868/eloise-14kt-rose-gold-round-morganite


http://www.etsy.com/listing/176754274/14k-morganite-ring-large-emerald-cut


http://www.etsy.com/listing/163907186/heart-ring-series-vintage-style-8mm

AMETHYST

http://www.etsy.com/shop/TorkkeliJewellery


http://www.etsy.com/listing/156799257/amethyst-engagement-ring-february


http://www.etsy.com/listing/109378588/14-karat-gold-green-amethyst-solitaire

CITRINE

http://www.danawaldenbridal.com/collections/unique-engagement-rings/products/sunflower-simple-engagement-ring

ROSE QUARTZ

http://www.etsy.com/listing/88075408/14k-rose-gold-ring-rose-quartz-custom

WHITE QUARTZ

http://www.etsy.com/listing/175323555/bezel-set-natural-white-quartz-ring-14k

PEARL

http://www.etsy.com/listing/167638762/modern-pearl-ring-round-white-natural


http://www.etsy.com/listing/156600440/14k-solid-white-gold-pearl-ring-mls019



http://www.etsy.com/listing/125423741/evlin-w-engagement-ring-wedding-ring



http://www.etsy.com/shop/JulietAndOliver?ref=exp_listing

quick and dirty diamond buying guide

DIAMONDS. GLORIOUS DIAMONDS! Many, many women want a diamond and only a diamond for an engagement ring. Some sources indicate 75-80% of American brides wear a diamond ring as their geological marriage symbol. Factors in this desire include tradition, durability, beauty, and high value. You can read in my last post that it isn't for everyone, but if you are shopping for that perfect diamond you need to be informed.

There are plenty of diamond buying guides out there. The Gemological Institute of America, or GIA, is a nonprofit committed to enhancing gemological knowledge and represents the gold standard of diamond grading. You can check our their diamond buying guide here. They explain "the four Cs" (cut, color, clarity, carat) and give solid diamond buying tips you can trust. Some would consider "cost" a 5th "C".

A quick summary:


CUT

Many believe this the most important factor in the overall beauty and value of the stone. It refers to how well cut the stone's shape is to maximize the sparkle and overall appearance of the stone. Asymmetry or improper depth can affect the rating and how well the gem reflects light. This illustration demonstrates it pretty well:



The GIA rates cut along this scale: Excellent, Very Good, Good, Fair, and Poor. Another popular grader, AGS, uses the same terminology but adds an "Ideal" category above "Excellent."

People may refer to the shape of the stone (round, square, etc.) as the "cut," but that's not related to the quality rating. Diamonds of all different shapes have ideal versions of their shape that best utilize the diamonds' natural qualities, and are graded on how closely the diamond's proportions are cut to that ideal.


COLOR

Rated D-Z, colorless to yellow. D is the more valuable side, buit people have different sensitivity to color. D-F are considered colorless while G-J are near colorless. For a diamond that's supposed to be white/clear you want to be in either of those ranges. Here's a couple examples of color guides:







CLARITY 

Refers to imperfections in the stone:




CARAT

The weight. In general, the higher the carats the bigger the size and price.




COST?

While the most expensive diamond ever sold went for $83.2 million - hello, gorgeous: 



you can save your $83 mil for a mansion in the Maldives with robot butlers and snag a gem for a few thousand bucks instead.

A half-carat round diamond with a very good cut, VVS1-VVS2 clarity, color G-H can be found on popular sites for around $1,500 to $2,000.

Make that an ideal cut, FL-IF clarity, color D-E, and one full carat and the price goes up to around $15,000.

A few sources say the average cost of an engagement ring is around $5,000. This is not encouragement to strive to be average, but just for comparison's sake let's pull $4,000 of that for the diamond alone (sans setting) and see what you can get on one popular diamond buying site, Brilliance. Let's look just at round diamonds with GIA ratings for easy comparison.

I set the price range to $3,800-$4,100, then set some lower limits: No lower than a J color rating, Very Good cut, or VS2 clarity. (The cut ratings they display are Super Ideal, Ideal, Excellent, Very Good, and Good.)

Let's see what we can get...

Carat	Cut	Color	Clarity
1.01	Very Good	J	VS2
0.92	Very Good	G	VS1
0.84	Super Ideal	H	VS1
0.84	Excellent	G	VVS2
0.80	Super Ideal	H	VVS1
0.79	Very Good	F	VVS2
0.78	Super Ideal	H	IF
0.74	Super Ideal	G	VVS1
0.71	Super Ideal	G	IF
0.71	Super Ideal	E	VVS1
0.71	Ideal	D	VVS1
0.65	Super Ideal	D	VVS1
0.52	Super Ideal	D	IF

for advanced diamond buyers: fluorescence for each is none or faint 

You can see of course as one goes up, another goes down. This is especially evident among stones of the same size; see the bolded 0.71 carat size section.

Check around, now that you're armed with diabolical diamond knowledge, and see what combination of factors works for you. Many sites have easy search formats for loose diamond shopping and you can experiment what you can get for your buck. A few examples are Blue Nile, James Allen, Lumera Diamonds, and Brilliance. Good luck!