Engagement Rings That Match Her Style
An engagement ring is unlike other baubles, bangles, and beads. This is no mere trinket, but perhaps the most important piece of jewelry a woman will own. Choosing the perfect ring can be tricky, but the latest trends dovetail nicely with three major feminine fashion styles. From classic to trendy, we mine the top picks to pair with her personality.
Chic and Cophisticated: Classically Elegant Rings
She prefers quiet quality over look-at-me flash, clean lines, and neutral colors (black, white, camel, or gray) in her wardrobe. She's definitely more "timeless" than "trendy." Favorite designers might include Donna Karan, Calvin Klein, Michael Kors, and Tory Burch. She invests in quality handbags and shoes and adds touches of seasonal style with easy and affordable accessories like printed scarves, patterned tights, and cashmere-blend cardigans.
The jewelry she wears usually follows suit—a pair of diamond stud earrings or polished gold hoops, a set of bangle bracelets, a string of pearls, and one very good watch. Her favorite style of engagement ring will likely be a classic solitaire set in a platinum or white gold setting, with minimal embellishment. Round or emerald-cut white diamonds held in a mid-height prong setting aren't exactly a "trend," as this design continues to be the most popular engagement ring choice year after year.
For a little more sparkle, look for rings that feature pave-set diamonds encrusted on the band, or perhaps a three-stone ring that offsets the larger center stone with two smaller baguettes on either side. And if she's rather active, consider a cathedral, contour, or bezel set stone. These settings typically have a lower profile that's less likely to snag on clothing, plus they're more secure than prong settings and have less chance of coming loose.
Hip and Cool: Trendy and Colorful Rings
You'll know the trendy type by how often her style changes. A couture-inspired chameleon, she sports a slightly different look each season, and thinks fads are fun, not frivolous. And while she digs designers like Stella McCartney, Alexander McQueen, and Rag & Bone, she's just as likely to grab low and mid-priced gear from emerging labels or some of the cooler mass merchandise retailers. She's at least a little extroverted and doesn't mind attracting attention. Rocker-chic leather skirts, oversized sweater dresses, black tights, and studded handbags fill her closet.
Her choice of jewelry is typically bold, unusual, colorful, or cute. She gravitates to one-of-a-kind artisan styles as well as kitschy costume pieces. You'll see her draped in layered necklaces, wide cuff bracelets, tassel earrings, and funky, rough-hewn, statement rings. She'll likely love an engagement ring that veers from the norm with twisted or artisan-carved bands, bi-color metal, high settings enhanced with smaller stones or engraving, or pave and beading detail.
Look for a stone that's anything but the usual round white solitaire. Royal blue sapphires are the hottest choice going (thanks to Kate Middleton and Prince William's recent engagement), but if your gal's favorite color is yellow, green, purple, red, or orange, there are gorgeous sapphires radiating those hues as well. And if your budget allows, emeralds, rubies, or colored diamonds are also stunning stones to consider.
Romantic and Retro: Vintage-Style Rings
She's uber-feminine and revels in lace, chiffon, silk, and soft cotton. Sure, she'll throw on a pair of jeans, but then she'll top them with a sequin-trim sweater set she scored in a thrift store. Her fave major designers could be Carmen Marc Valvo, Jason Wu and Vera Wang, but she loves visiting those aforementioned thrift stores and consignment shops just as much, and may very well sew some of her own clothing. Her jewelry taste runs to the retro, obviously, with many pre-owned pieces and some estate treasures. She'll likely round out those finds with costume jewelry like big cocktail rings, button earrings and yellow gold charm bracelets.
You're in luck, because vintage engagement ring styles (Art Nouveau and Art Deco are just two design examples) are more popular than ever, and offered at many price points. Let's start with the stone—Asscher and cushion cuts radiate real fire via their large facets, oval and pear shapes echo earlier eras, while marquise stones hold historical beauty.
Halo settings are both antique, and thoroughly modern judging by their massive resurgence in popularity. (It doesn't hurt that this particular setting creates the illusion of a larger center stone.) Milgrain beading is another timeless technique that adds lush enhancement, as does a floral motif or intricate engraving on the band. Bow-shaped molds create crowns of unsurpassed delicacy. And yellow gold is currently more stylish than white metal and lends an engagement ring a supremely vintage vibe