Engagement Ring Guide

Are you thinking of popping the question this Valentine’s Day?
Here is our overview of the different designs available.

Solitaire Rings
The term ‘solitaire’ simply means single stone. A solitaire ring is a timeless, classic and best-selling design. Although this design is simple and stylish, there are a vast number of variants available. You can choose any gemstone, cut to the shape you wish, secured in various setting options.

The most popular and traditional stone cut is ‘Brilliant’ (round). However, oval cut stones are becoming increasingly popular. We have a selection of fancy cuts available, including pear, princess (square), marquise, emerald (rectangle), radiant, baguette (rectangle) and cushion.

The most popular setting is claw-set, this is when prongs bend over a stone to hold it in place. Other setting options include rubover and illusion set. This is when metal encases the stone to secure it in place. Illusion settings gets its name by being cut slightly different to rubover, creating a pattern on the metal around the stone, making the stone look larger.

9ct white gold, four claw, round 0.15ct diamond. £695.

18ct yellow and white gold, four claw, princess 0.25ct diamond. £1595.

18ct white gold, rubover, pear 0.23ct diamond. £1450.

9ct white gold, illusion, round 0.25ct diamond. £995.

Three Stone Rings
As the title suggests, this design features three stones, these may be the same stone or a mixture of different gemstones. Commonly referred to as ‘trilogy rings’ they often represent the past, present and future, as well as friendship, love and fidelity.

The centre stone tends to be the larger feature stone, with the outer two being smaller, but there is no set rule. As you can see below, we have lots of variations and are able to bespoke make any combination you wish.

Platinum, claw, round diamond and tapered baguette diamonds. £2975.

9ct white and yellow gold, claw, oval sapphire and pear diamonds. Pre-owned. £2295.

18ct white gold, rubover, round diamonds. 0.53ct total. £3950.

9ct yellow gold, rubover, oval ruby and round diamonds. £995.

Cluster/Halo Rings
Cluster rings are made up of multiple gemstones and are often referred to as a cocktail ring.

This design typically features a primary centre gemstone surrounded by smaller gemstones. However, once again there are lots of variations of cluster rings, they can have any configuration of layout and size.

Clusters have become increasingly popular as engagement rings. The outer stones add extra sparkle to a ring, which is ideal for someone wanting something different or something bolder than the traditional solitaire ring.

Platinum, claw, oval centre and round double diamond halo. 0.31ct total. £1795.

18ct yellow and white gold, claw and rubover, oval pink sapphire and round diamond halo. Pre-owned. £1595.

Diamond Shoulders
Any of the above design can be complete with diamond set shoulders, for a modern twist for extra added sparkle.

9ct white gold 0.21ct diamond ring £695.

Platinum diamond and pink sapphire £750

Platinum Diamond solitaire with diamond shoulders 1.11ct total. £5500.

Fancy Rings
To end, we have fancy rings. These can be a combination of mulitple designs. For example, a three stone ring with each stone being surrounded by a halo of diamonds.
They could also have little details such as twists or splits in the shank, additional diamonds set in the bezel of the ring or have a completely different layout of stones such as the below bubble ring.

18ct white gold, claw, round diamond multi halo. £2850.

Platinum, rubover, bubble diamond and sapphire. £2150.

Platinum, claw, flower diamond. £1695.

To book an appointment with us click here. We look forward to seeing you in store.
If you purchase your engagement ring from us, you will receive 15% off your wedding bands.

We can do courtesy checks on any gem-set jewellery brought from our stores, simply pop in and we will check over the settings, clean the item for you and advise of any maintenance needed to pro-long your piece of jewellery. We recommend doing this bi-annually, but of course come and visit us sooner if you wish.