An engagement ring is something to cherish for a lifetime. It should reflect not only the unique love story behind it, but also the personality of those who wear it.

Whether it’s a subtle twist on a classic solitaire or a completely unique design, custom handcrafted jewellery knows only the boundaries of your imagination.

At Katie g. jewellery we love to design custom engagement with our clients. Whether it's a classic style you are after, or our signature textured and hammered style, we'd love to hear about your ideas.

To get a better understanding of the possibilities during the custom ring design process, here is a guide of the multiple design options available for the modern bride & groom.

Defying Tradition Beyond the Classic Engagement Ring Styles

Beyond the traditional solitaire ring, which is a band that features a single larger diamond set in the middle,. Brides-to-be have a variety of options:

A halo diamond engagement ring featuring a larger stone surrounded by smaller diamonds

Three-stone rings that can feature diamond and stones like emerald or sapphire

Vintage engagement rings with unique settings, including gold-surrounded diamond (bezel).

Elegant pavé engagement rings, which have tiny diamonds around the entire band.

Textured Rings Are a Blend of Practicality and Personal Style

Rooted in centuries of tradition, textured, and particularly hammered, engagement rings offer a timeless elegance. Blend them with modern fabrication techniques like 3D printing and CAD Design to create a unique, custom-designed band that reflects the recipient's individual style.

The hammered texture of these rings create a unique design that makes the band not only more eye-catching but also long-lasting.

Day to day wear will leave small wear marks on your ring. A hammered ring will not scratch the same way a polished metal band will. Instead, the design only becomes more stunning as it ages as any wear marks are incorporated in your ring. In a way life writes its story on your piece and it just become more and more personal.

We hand-craft our hammered engagement rings with recycled gold in Vienna. Each ring is made with the wearer in mind to ensure a lifetime of love and durability.

Choosing the Perfect Diamond Shape for Your Custom Ring

Diamond shapes come in a variety of options to help each bride get her dream engagement ring. While the most popular diamond cut is the round brilliant, there are other choices you may fall in love with.

We encourage you to explore all the magnificent diamond shapes available, so you can find a cut that truly speaks to you!

Variety of Diamond Shapes

The variety of diamond shapes all exude a unique personality; here a selection of the most populare cuts.

Round: Round diamond cuts are the most populare choice for engagement rings, some say this lustrous cut represent everlasting love. They are also among the best for showcasing a diamond's clarity and creating a wonderful sparkle. Most round diamonds have 58 facets that can be bezel, star, or triangular-shaped.

Pear: A cross between the marquise and round shape, this beautiful cut can be set with the tip facing forward or back. For those looking for something extra special might like the “toi et moi” design in combination with an emerald cut diamond.

Emerald: Preferred for larger gemstones, the emerald cut is a stately diamond shape that symbolizes an open heart, confidence, and strength. Most emerald cut diamonds have 57 facets.

Marquise: The glamorous marquise cut stands for love, joy, and royalty; it was popularised among aristocrats in the 18th century and is undeniably luxurious with its pointed oval shape.

Heart: The heart diamond cut fittingly represents eternal love. This cut has been in circulation since the 1500s and features a fancy cut with 56-58 facets.

Oval: we love the oval cut as it too can be set vertically or horizontally. This can help better flatter the shape of your handing cepeing on whether you have a slightly longer or wider shaped hand.

Reflecting Personality: How Diamond Shape Can Convey Different Aesthetics

The style of a diamond shape will influence the aesthetic of the ring — a round cut can be excellent for a classic, sophisticated style, but an emerald or marquise cut can project a sense of opulence and luxury, depending on the chosen size

Deciding on a Diamond Size

Now, let’s talk about the size of the diamond. Don’t fall into the misconception that a larger stone makes a ring better. It’s about finding the right size for your partner, not the biggest size.

The right fit will be dependent on each person’s needs, and a smaller stone option may just be the perfect compliment for some.

Smaller stones and settings can be easier to care for and more practical for most day to day tasks, while too large a stone can snag or be more tedious to wear on the hand.

When choosing the ideal diamond size for an engagement ring, consider whether you prefer the stone as a statement piece or something more subtle. Consider your partner’s style. Do they already wear jewellery? If so what kind? Does their job require them to use their hands a lot? Do they have a more extroverted, or more subtle style? Understanding your partners preferences should be very helpful in informing your decision about the stone.

Those who work with their hands should be particularly considerate of the size and style of their stone, as this can impact their daily comfort.

The Various Setting Types of Engagement Rings

Once you decide on the size of the diamond, the type of setting you choose will greatly impact how your Diamond looks on the ring.

In fact, accenting the ring or elevating it on the band can accentuate its brilliance, protect it and create the illusion of a greater carat weight.

Showcasing the Diamond: Prong, Bezel, Pavé and Channel Settings

The selection of a diamond setting plays a crucial role in showcasing its brilliance and complementing the overall design of an engagement ring. Here, we explore four classic settings, each offering distinct advantages:

The Prong Setting: This timeless approach elevates the central diamond from the band, maximizing its visual presence. This is by far the most popular setting style and is ideally suited for enhancing the perceived size of the stone and allowing for greater light play, further accentuating its sparkle.

The Bezel Setting: Offering a distinctive and secure style, the bezel setting encases the diamond within a metal border. This approach, evokes a sense of vintage elegance and provides exceptional protection for the stone, making it ideal for active lifestyles.

Furthermore diamonds may be set in the band of the ring in addition to the main stone.

The Stargazing Setting: Our signature style features differently sized diamonds set in an irregular pattern across the band, reminiscent of a star constellation. The beauty of this style is that you can collect more diamonds over time.

The Channel Setting: Characterised by its sleek and minimal approach, the channel setting features smaller diamonds securely held within two parallel grooves of metal. This luxurious setting style too can be used on the band of the ring, to further accentuate.

By understanding the unique characteristics of each setting, you can confidently choose the one that best reflects your personal style and complements the beauty of your chosen diamond.

Selecting the Ideal Metal for Your Custom Engagement Ring

Yellow gold is the most common choice for any engagement rings. But there are other options as well that can be equally beautiful. When choosing the right alloy, you should consider price, preference, and durability.

Whatever the case, here are a few things to consider when choosing the right metal for your ring.

Gold colours: gold is mixed with other metals to form different gold alloys. The most popular colours are yellow, rose and white gold.

White gold is available both in a classic white gold colour, as well as palladium white gold, which offers a darker, grey look, more akin to platinum.

Platinum is a beautiful precious metal that is the most scratch resistant of all the alloys. A great option if you are considering a polished surface for your ring.

Recycled Gold: at Katie g. Jewellery we only use recycled gold. This is locally sourced gold from old jewellery, coins and technical euquipment, which is purified, cleaned and then recycled to be used in our jewellery. This is by far the most sustainable form of gold.

Sterling silver too can be used for engagement rings, however if you are looking to make a solitaire using silver, we recommend using a bezel setting. Due to the softer nature of silver vs. for instance 14kt. gold, a prong setting is less suited.

Learn more about the materials we use HERE.

Elevate The Style of Your Engagement Ring by Adding Surface Finishes

Adding texture to the surface of your engagement ring beautifully offsets any diamonds or gemstones used in your ring. Furthermore all these textures will age beautifully with time.

Here are some examples:

Hammered rings are textured with a variety of hammering styles each offering their own appeal. Here are just a few examples in the image above. Learn more about the different type of handmade hammering options there are for wedding bands. [Link to blog post ‘Handmade Hammering and Structured Wedding…’]

Organic rings are created using a special melting technique called reticulation, in which heat and gold dust are applied to the metal to create unique surface finish

Classic polish creates a smooth, reflective surface with a wonderful shine. Of course matte finishes are available too which can serve as a beautiful contrast to a shiny diamond.

Filing creates vertical or horizontal file strokes which make for a unique look that is best seen in person.

Matte, Polished, Hammered: Choosing the Finish That Resonates

Every finish has its own charm, and what matters most is finding one that truly speaks to you. Just like you’ll find your wedding dress and know it’s “the one,” you want to feel the same way about your engagement ring.

Telling Your Love Story With Your Engagement Ring

Every aspect of the ring can be a reflection of you and the love you share with your partner. This guide is designed to help you navigate all the choices that come with buying or designing your dream diamond engagement ring. Embrace the journey with a unique design that is 100% you.

Schedule a complimentary engagement ring consultation with us! We would love to be a part of your love story.

The Different Styles of Engagement Rings: A Guide for the Bride Looking Beyond The Traditional