A Guide to Buying a Custom Diamond Engagement Ring

Getting engaged is one of the most special moments of a person’s life. It is a major event that ends in what is probably the second biggest stage of life: marriage. People treasure their engagements, throwing parties, making their first big decisions with their spouse-to-be, and preparing to merge their lives into one. But there is one thing that really makes an engagement: the ring.

Since no two people are alike, the same should be true of one’s engagement ring. Below we have detailed everything you need to know about custom engagement rings, and why you should consider choosing a custom, rather than a cookie-cutter ring, for the love of your life.

Diamond Ring Center-Stone

Diamonds have always been, and always will be, a popular choice for engagement rings. In fact, it is the primary choice. As such, the demand for diamonds is very high. That can have consequences when it comes to the price and availability of diamonds.

That is the reason lab-grown diamonds were created. With lab made diamonds, people can now get perfect, beautiful diamonds, without having to pay a large sum of money. A lab created diamond ring is just as good, and beautiful, as a diamond engagement ring made from a natural diamond.

Choices in Engagement Ring Features

When choosing jewelry, we usually select pieces that catch our eye and capture our heart. We don’t really think about the various features of the jewelry that make them eye-and-heart catching. But what makes your ring one-of-a-kind is the features that you choose. Even if you choose a common setting or metal, there is still no one who arranged their ring quite like you did your custom-made diamond engagement ring.

The features of your ring include:

• Gemstone
• Carat weight
• Cut
• Color
• Clarity
• Stone size
• Setting
• Metal

How to Create You Dream Custom Engagement Ring

At With Clarity, we are able to offer you the best custom design services with a no fees and no minimums for our rendering and consultations. It’s easy to craft the ring of her dreams while working with our helpful gemologists.

Send With Clarity a sketch of the custom engagement ring you desire. You can also share a written description, images or inspiration or speak with us via phone, email and live chat about that you’re looking for. Based on your description, a price quote will be provided.

With Clarity will create a 3-D rendering of your ring, to ensure that it is everything you envisioned. During this step, any revisions or alterations can be made (and your price quote will be adjusted in accordance).

The pros at With Clarity will create your ring, using only the best of the best stones and metals, and according to your unique specifications. It’s also possible to create custom jewelry, earrings, necklaces, bracelets, and anniversary rings.

How to Design a Custom Diamond Ring

In more specific detail, the customization tool begins with choosing a ring style. Below are some of the more popular styles:

Halo. This style is one of the most brilliant of all the diamond engagement ring styles. Also, you can choose from either a plain halo or an ornate flower one.

Solitaire. Diamond solitaire engagement rings are classic. They will never go out of style, and they are elegantly beautiful.

Three-stone. Beautiful to behold, and they represent the past, present and future of a relationship (which is why they are among the most popular choices.

Vintage. These rings showcase intricate design elements, such as milgrain and filigree. These are elements you cannot get in any other style of engagement ring.

Next, you will be asked to choose your metal. These are the most popular metals for diamond engagement rings:

Platinum. Of all the metals, this one is the most durable. As such, it is considerably expensive. However, it is hypoallergenic as well as strong. Good choice for anyone with metal sensitivities.

Yellow gold. This metal has been around for ages and is considered to be the more traditional choice.

White gold. A more contemporary choice than yellow gold, and more affordable than platinum.

Rose gold. This is a softer metal; best for those who want to stand out from the crowd. It exudes a romantic vibe thanks to its warm, pinkish tint.

What Should the Carat Size and Diamond Cut Be?

Firstly, let us tell you that one carat equals .2 grams, or 200 mg. That obviously isn’t very heavy, and thus, you could have lots of carats in a ring without it weighing a ton. That is good news.

However, it is important to note that one carat doesn’t not look the same from ring to ring. For example, a round-cut, one-carat diamond will likely be larger in size than a one-carat princess-cut stone. They weigh the exact same, but their cuts and facets mean the visual size changes.

Essentially, the carat weight for your design-your-own ring is up to you (or the person for whom you are purchasing the ring). You will want to consider finger size, setting, and as just mentioned, stone cut. The typical carat weight is between 2-4k for engagement ring diamonds. But at the end of the customization, size only matters as much to the ring as it does to you and your partner.

As far as diamond cut, most people opt for either round or princess cut diamonds. A solitaire round diamond, or a triple-stone princess cut setting are the most popular settings for diamond engagement rings. However, here are some other options:

• Rectangle
• Round
• Square
• Oval
• Heart

Custom Diamond Ring Cost

Any time you are buying diamond jewelry, you can expect to see very expensive pieces. However, especially if you are shopping for lab made diamonds, you will also find some that are not bank-breaking. Designing your own ring can ensure that you pay the best price for the ring you want. With Clarity can work within your budget to ensure that you have the ring of your dreams with the highest attention to detail. Because we don’t have any minimum spend, we are happy to work within all budgets.

Sizing the Engagement Ring

Be sure that you are close to the approximate ring size, as sizing the ring up or down more than 2 sizes will change the look and shape of the ring. In that instance, you may have to purchase a new ring altogether. If you must guess at the size, then guess a larger ring size. It is easier to resize a ring that is too large.

Final Tips for Buying a Custom Diamond Engagement Ring

Here are a few final things to keep in mind when shopping for your diamond engagement ring:

· Your partner’s likes/dislikes, lifestyle, and hand/finger size. This is for them, after all. It only makes sense to keep this at the top of your consideration list.

· Ensure that you only choose certified stones, whether they be natural, or lab made diamonds. Quality counts, especially with something as important as an engagement ring.

· Only shop reputable brands that cater to their customers and offer easy, painless returns or exchanges.

When you are ready to take the next step and get engaged, the first thing you might start thinking about is the ring. What does she even want in a ring? How will you make it special enough? This is a ring that she will be wearing for the rest of her life, and you'll want to put a lot of thought into finding the perfect ring for her.

Now more than ever, people are really looking for something unique for that special woman in their lives - something that no one else has. But, one thing that is often overlooked in the quest to find that special ring is the possibility of custom designing a ring.

Custom engagement rings are becoming incredibly popular. It allows you to have the power to bring an idea to life and create something that is so unique and special. Custom designing an engagement ring is a great way to create a ring from scratch that no one else will have. It'll forever be a one-of-a-kind ring that she can pass down for generations.

Curious to find out more? We've compiled a list of 7 ideas for custom engagement rings that'll help spark your creativity:

1. Adding Colored Gemstones

To kick things off, you can always add colored gemstones to a ring in order to give it some personality and flare. It's a perfect way to take an otherwise standard diamond engagement ring and make it colorful and unique!

Gemstones come in almost every color, but some of the most popular that are used for engagement rings include sapphires (blue), rubies (red), and emeralds (green). The gemstone can be used to replace a diamond as the center stone or it can be place next to the center diamond along the sides. The gemstone can even hold more meaning based on the color chosen or maybe a symbolic birthstone.

It can be difficult to find rings with colored gemstones, and the selection can often be limited. Talk to your jeweler's design team to see how they can incorporate a pop of color into the engagement ring.

2. Getting a Vintage Inspired Look

Many people love vintage engagement rings. They are unique, one-of-a-kind and usually hand crafted. But, sometimes there can be some drawbacks to getting a ring that is actually vintage. The diamonds in vintage rings are a lot different than the ones that are used in more modern rings. Some of the charm and draw of vintage engagement rings is that they can be a little inconsistent because they were individually crafted. This may not appeal to some people, however, who would prefer their ring be new and more uniform.

A good solution for a woman who likes the vintage look but who may not want a vintage ring is to get a ring that is "vintage inspired." These include rings that have beautiful filigree details and unique patterns and shapes. You could create your own vintage engagement ring look by working with a designer and adding newer stones.

3. Adding a Unique-Shaped Diamonds

If you have your heart set on adding a unique-shaped diamond to the engagement ring, it may be difficult to accommodate that diamond in average ring settings. A jeweler could certainly make sure that the diamond you want will be placed properly into a setting, but it may not look exactly the way you were hoping.

Using a unique diamond could also prove difficult if you want to add a diamond halo around it. This is when you really should consider creating your own custom engagement ring. That way, you could make sure the ring fits perfectly with the diamond shape that you've chosen. The below examples show custom ring designs that feature unique shapes like heart and a flower pattern with marquise diamonds. If any of these diamond shapes appeal to you, and you want to make sure the ring looks exactly the way you were hoping, then custom designs may be the way to go.

4. Accommodating Larger Diamonds

When you want to add a large diamond, over a few carats, you may want to consider creating a custom engagement ring for the diamond. In some cases, it wouldn't make sense to add such a large diamond to a more traditional setting because the diamond might not be well supported. Or, the proportions could look off.

If you want to go all out with the diamond, create a custom ring that completes the big diamond look. Working with a ring designer, you could add large stones on the side of the diamond or put the diamond on a larger band. The examples below illustrate how a large diamond could look if you were to get it custom designed. Think big!

5. Incorporating Rare Diamonds

Fancy colored diamonds are all the rage these days. Everyone wants to find a ring that is unique, and one way to accomplish this is to add a fancy colored stone to an engagement ring. Fancy diamonds, like yellow or pink diamonds, are formed when there is an anomaly in the diamond forming process. Normally, a diamond that you would feature in an engagement ring would be colorless. Fancy yellow diamonds, however, are formed when there is an excess concentration of nitrogen in the diamond which adds a vivid yellow color to an otherwise colorless stone.

These types of stones are incredibly rare, making them a great choice for a woman who likes color. Because they are more rare, the selection of colored diamond rings that you will have to choose from will be much smaller than the selection of classic diamond engagement rings. Working with a ring designer, you can create a unique design for the engagement ring that features these beautiful colored stones in a way that really accentuates the diamond.

6. Using a One-of-a-Kind Setting

If you really want something that is creative and one-of-a-kind, you can work with a design team to think of a custom ring setting that is different than anything else you've seen before. You could walk in with an idea in mind or you could let the designer help you come up with something. This is an incredible opportunity to get her an engagement ring that would be truly unique and special.

Below are just a few examples of one-of-a-kind ring settings that you could create with a designer. But, the opportunities here are really limitless. You could mix and match different metals to give the setting a fashionable look or twist and turn metal to make the ring different than any other ring that currently exists.

7. Adding Small Symbolic Details

A great way to make the engagement ring unique is to add a small symbolic detail in the ring that will be meaningful for her. There are many different ways that you can accomplish this. You could add a love knot on the bottom of the ring that only you and her will know about. The love knot is made from two parallel cords that tie together in two interlocked overhead knots and is meant to symbolize eternal love between the couple. This is just one small way to add some unique personality to the ring.

Another idea is to add a small gemstone or diamond on the inside of the ring. Maybe it could be her birthstone or a color that is meaningful to both of you. Whatever the reason behind your choice in stone, you can have the jeweler insert these in hidden spots in the setting of the ring.

Thinking about a custom engagement ring? Long's Jewelers has a design team that can create customized, one-of-a-kind rings using the latest design technology. To speak to someone about this, you can call us at 877-845-6647 or make an appointment to come see rings in person.