Being part of the design of your sapphire engagement ring can be a catch-22 situation as a marriage proposal is often a secretive surprise for your loved one. A sapphire engagement ring is a stunning non-traditional alternative which must be considered.
If youāre lucky enough that you both have agreed to design a sapphire engagement ring together, these are the top 9 things you need to know to design a sapphire engagement ring.
1. What is the best colour for a Sapphire engagement ring?
Sapphires come in all colours. The most popular colour sapphire for an engagement ring is the beautiful range of blues that can be produced. Common types of blue sapphires include:
- Ceylon or Sri Lankan blue
- Cornflower blue
- Australian blue
- Royal blue
Sapphires also come in green, yellow, parti (mix of yellow and green), pink, purple, teal, orange, clear, colour change and red. However, most people know the red sapphire as a ruby.
No matter your preference of colour, each sapphire is brilliant and rare and a must-have on your sapphire engagement ring.
2. What is the most popular shape of sapphire?
Many sapphire engagement rings are designed to be quite similar to some of the most famous rings. Princess Dianaās sapphire engagement ring was a beautiful oval, and now passed on via William to Kate Middleton.
So while the oval is the most popular shape, the round cut is the second most popular shape for a sapphire engagement ring. An emerald-cut sapphire is also a beautiful choice.
In recent times, we are seeing a lot of irregular shape cut sapphires hitting the market.
3. Does Clarity matter when choosing a sapphire?
Yes, clarity does matter when it comes to choosing a sapphire for your engagement ring, however it does not matter as much as if you were choosing a diamond. Natural sapphire will contain colour zones, due to its hexagonal crystal structure. When cut, it is quite easy to see some of the colour zone lines, and it can be common for high-quality sapphires to contain inclusions; however, the best of the best sapphires will be cut perfectly to ensure visibility of inclusions is non-existent or minimal, and not noticeable to the naked eye.
Of course, you will want to stay away from āsilkyā or āmilkyā sapphires, these are of low quality and should not be used for your engagement ring.
4. What size sapphire should I get?
The best size sapphire for your ring will be depending on your budget, and the style of ring you are choosing. A 2-carat oval cut sapphire will measure approximately 8mm by 6mm, to give you an indication.
You should keep in mind whether or not you are going to include halo-style accent stones, which will add to the perceived size of the sapphire engagement ring.
The cost of a 2-carat blue sapphire can range from $1,500 to $4,000.
5. What is the best style of engagement ring ā Solitaire vs Halo
The Halo style of sapphire engagement ring is very popular. It allows smaller accent diamonds to showcase the beautiful centre sapphire. The famous engagement ring of Princess Diana is a Halo-style sapphire engagement ring. Oval, round and emerald-cut sapphires work equally well if you are considering a halo ring, especially when surrounded by brilliant-cut round diamonds.
If you prefer a solitaire-style engagement ring, then having a beautiful sapphire as the centrepiece will not disappoint. If you wish to feature accent stones, these can be designed into the ring band, rather than surrounding the sapphire. Once again, oval, round and emerald-cut sapphires work equally well if you are considering a solitaire-style engagement ring.
6. What is the best metal for an engagement ring? Gold or white gold?
White Gold is proving to become more and more fashionable for sapphire engagement rings in recent times, and you can see why. The beautiful traditional blue sapphire, set with stunning sparkling accent diamonds goes flawlessly with the silver tone of white gold.
People will have their own preference for the gold content of their ring. The most important factor about this to consider is that 9-karat gold will be much harder (less malleable) and less likely to get knocked out of shape from day-to-day wear. On the other hand, 18-karat gold will be much softer and more susceptible to bending, however, this is extremely unlikely with reasonable care taken with your precious jewelry.
Gold content of different alloys:
| Metal (yellow/white/rose gold) | Pure Gold Content |
| 9K | 37.5% |
| 10K | 41.7% |
| 14K | 58.3% |
| 18K | 75% |
| 24K | 100% |
The remainder of the metals is made up of zinc, copper, and nickel.
Other options include platinum. Platinum is more expensive than gold; however, it can scratch more easily and require much more maintenance than gold. Platinum may provide an alternative for those who cannot wear gold products due to dermatitis or other skin issues.
7. Accent Stones ā how big and how many?
Accent stones are a beautiful way to enhance the beauty of sapphire. If you choose a halo design, you will need to determine the size and number of accent diamonds to surround the stone. Equally, adding accent diamonds to the ring band will require some care when choosing the size given the stones will need to fit inside the width of the ring band.
There is a large supply of accent diamonds for your sapphire engagement ring. Depending on the size of your centre stone, you may want large or small accent stones. These range in size generally from 0.01 carats to 0.10 carats. Some popular sapphire engagement rings comprise accent diamonds of 0.02 to 0.04 carats.
So for example, a 2-carat sapphire halo-style engagement ring would require approximately 14 x 0.02 to 0.04-carat accent diamonds.
Donāt despair, unlike centre-piece diamonds, accent diamonds are relatively cheap.
8. Wedding band fit
When designing your sapphire engagement ring, it is important to consider the future of the design of your wedding band. You will want to be able to wear the two together seamlessly. Ideally, they would comprise similar band heights and the same alloy ā noting that sometimes white gold and yellow gold can be designed together to look great, however, I would recommend staying away from that approach.
If you are designing a halo-style engagement ring, you will need to ensure your wedding band slides in seamlessly at the correct angles and responds to the geometry of the engagement ring. Talking to a manufacturing jeweller will assist in ensuring the design is snug and looks fantastic.
The last thing you want is to have an engagement ring that does not flow with the design of the wedding band.
9. Ring Size
Last, but not least, ring size. This is definitely the easiest part of the engagement ring design. Simply go to your nearest jeweller to have your ring finger sized up.
Please note that during the manufacturing of your engagement ring, the ring can always be resized to be both tighter and looser. The process of tightening is far more simple and likely to end up with a seamless ring band. Making the ring bigger requires cutting and the addition of more alloy which is far more complex and can sometimes be easily seen by the naked eye. Polishing and skilled craftsmanship will seek to ensure very little evidence of a resize.
Conclusion
So there you have it. Those are the 9 things you need to know when you go to design your sapphire engagement ring.