Custom Unique Engagement Rings: A Quick Guide

Imagine you are on a beautiful beach with the waves lapping at your feet or in a grand hotel ballroom, beneath the warm glow of chandeliers, as you say your vows at your wedding celebration. Friends and family watch in awe as you show off the beautiful engagement ring that sparkles on your perfectly manicured finger.

With a bespoke engagement ring, you can design the ring of your dreams. Here’s a guide to creating custom-made rings in Melbourne:

Determine Your Budget

Before you start designing, you need to decide on a budget. This keeps your expectations in check and ensures the ring won’t strain your finances. Find out how much engagement rings usually cost by visiting local and online jewellery stores, as this will give you an idea of how much you can expect to pay for the cuts, stones, and settings.

 

Choose Between Diamonds and Gemstones

Choosing the right diamond or gemstone for an engagement ring depends on several factors. Selecting the suitable stone for your ring is essential for its overall beauty, value, and sentimentality.

 

Diamonds

Diamonds are popular engagement rings because they look classic. The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) developed a standard scale for grading diamonds in the 1950s. The criteria, called the “Four Cs,” are used to grade all diamonds. These are the carat weight, cut, colour, and clarity. 

 

Cut

Even if two diamonds have the same carat weight, the cut could make them look different. There is an order of importance to the Four Cs when choosing a diamond. The cut grade is the most important because it determines the diamond’s brightness. People often think that the shape and cut of a diamond are the same thing. 

But more important is how precisely the cut is done. It changes how the diamond interacts with light, impacting its brilliance (the amount of white light it reflects), fire (the way it splits light into different colours), and scintillation (the way it sparkles when the diamond is viewed from different angles).

 

Colour

Colour is the next most important trait. Even though most people think that all diamonds are colourless, they are graded based on how many colours they have–this has a direct effect on their value. The GIA’s scale for diamond colour goes from D (colourless) to Z (light yellow or brown). 

As a diamond gets closer to grade D, its price goes up. The best value for your money might be a “near-colourless” diamond graded at G, H, I, or J. However, remember that different diamond shapes and cuts will show colour in different ways.

 

Clarity 

Clarity looks at both the inside inclusions (impurities during the formation process) and the outside imperfections. Fewer inclusions mean that a diamond is rarer and worth more. Most flaws can’t be seen with the naked eye, so a diamond with a slightly lower clarity grade can still look beautiful.

 

Carat

Carat is the weight of a diamond, and the bigger the carat, the rarer it is and the more it costs. Even a change as small as a tenth of a carat can significantly affect the price. Contrary to popular belief, a diamond that weighs more carats does not always look bigger. Some diamond shapes, like pear and emerald, can look bigger despite having a lower carat weight; this is because they take up more space on the hand.

 

Gemstones

Unique sapphire engagement rings and gemstones, like ruby and emerald, are trendy. Choose stones with bright colours spread evenly and have little colour zoning. How a gem is cut affects its brilliance, size, and beauty. For an engagement ring that will be worn daily, you should consider how hard and durable the gemstone is. Opals and pearls don’t last as long as sapphires and rubies.

 

Selecting the Metal Band

 

Gold

Gold engagement rings are always stylish and are frequently the metal of choice. The purest gold you can buy is twenty-four karats, but it is often mixed with other metals because it is too soft to be worn daily. The most common types of engagement rings are 14K (58.3% gold) or 18K (75% gold). The most common colours are yellow, white, and rose gold.

 

Platinum

Platinum has a white shine that doesn’t change or fade–it doesn’t cause allergies and is good for sensitive skin. Platinum is more expensive than gold, but because it is less flexible, it is harder to make complicated designs with it.

 

Final Thoughts

You can show how much you care by selecting bespoke jewellery for your best friend and partner. It captures the essence of your love and reminds you every day of how special your relationship is. Custom jewellery has an extra layer of meaning and sentimentality. Personalising an engagement ring is a chance to create a unique heirloom that will be cherished for years to come.

If you are looking for a high-quality engagement ring, visit Holloway Diamonds. We are evaluated using the HCA and Ideal-Scope systems and verified by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA)–and we’re ready to help!