Engagement rings come in all shapes, sizes and styles so all aspiring couples are sure to be able to find one that they will want to wear for the rest of their lives. Before you begin serious engagement ring shopping, it is a good idea to know some of the terms associated with buying diamonds and setting them in engagement rings. This will help streamline the process and ensure that you get the engagement ring of your dreams.
Use this handy guide to familiarize yourself with some of the common styles of engagement rings.
Diamond Cuts
Cushion Cut: Cushion cut diamonds look like a square or rectangle with rounded corners. They are raised slightly in the middle and have a domed top that makes them look like a cushion.
Emerald Cut: The emerald cut was originally developed for the gem of the same name. It is rectangular in shape and has stair-like facets and a flat top. It takes a fairly large diamond to create a successful emerald cut.
Marquise Cut: The marquise cut is a cross between a diamond and an oval shape. The top and bottom points are pointed, but the left and right ones are rounded to create a long, narrow cut.
Asscher Cut: The asscher cut is a square shaped cut with facets similar to an emerald cut. It’s often used for accent diamonds, and less commonly for the main stone in a ring.
Princess Cut: Princess cuts are among the most popular for engagement rings. They are square shaped, relatively flat, and can be made from stones of a wide variety of sizes and qualities.
Round Cut: Round cut diamonds are circular in shape with many small facets on the top and bottom. The traditional round cut has 58 facets, maximizing the sparkle of the diamond in sunlight.
Heart Cut: Heart cut diamonds are cut into a heart shape. They have numerous small facets on top, similar to a round cut diamond.
Pear Cut: Pear cut diamonds are pointed on one end and rounded on the other, with tapering sides that are wider on the round end than at the pointed one. When worn with the point facing away from your body, they make your hands look long and slender.
Ring Styles
Solitaire: Solitaire rings have a single large stone set on a simple band. These types of rings draw a lot of attention to the diamond itself, but they are often very plain and some people prefer a more unique ring.
Side Accented: Side accented rings have a large stone in the center with several smaller stones set in the band off to the side. Accent stones are quite tiny and sometimes difficult to see.
Three Stone: Three stone rings have three full size stones set in them. The center stone is usually the largest, but the stones on either side are much bigger than the ones used in side accented rings.
Inset Stone: Inset stones are placed inside a thick band rather than raised slightly in a setting. These are the most durable type of ring, but they are difficult to resize if necessary.
Your local jeweler should be able to furnish you with a ring to your specifications. If they don’t have one in stock, they can easily set a stone at your request.