How do you choose a jewelry gift?

To pick a winner, you may want to think about a few things. The first step should be to consider their style. Pay attention to the colors, metals and styles they already wear. Matching the occasion can also be important. Is it a birthday or a milestone achievement? A celebratory pendant with a birthstone or a diamond ring might be fitting. You also might want the jewelry to be extra sentimental and meaningful. A necklace with their initials or a charm bracelet that reflects shared memories make nice, personalized gifts. With a little thought, you can pick out a piece of jewelry they'll cherish forever.

What to consider when buying jewelry?

With so many choices, it's easy to feel a bit overwhelmed. So, choosing the metal and the gemstone might be a good starting point. Consider their style and go-to pieces to give you a clue. Then, set a realistic budget as jewelry can vary a lot in price depending on your choices. After that, you'll be well on your way to finding a piece of jewelry that they'll love and treasure.

What is the best jewelry gift for your partner?

For a truly special gift, find something that shows you care about both their taste and how much you think about them. Pay attention to the kind of jewelry they already wear. Consider the metals, colors and overall vibe of their existing collection. Jewelry can also be incredibly personal. Think about incorporating their birthstone, initials or a charm that reflects a special shared memory. No matter what you choose, your partner will be touched by the gesture for sure.

Engagement Ring Guide

Ready to find the perfect engagement ring to seal the deal? This guide breaks down everything from diamond shapes to ring settings to help you pick the ring that'll make her eyes sparkle.

Understanding Engagement Rings

Deciding on the style of your gold engagement ring can be confusing when there is a great variety of diamond shapes and ring styles you can choose from. But no worries! Eternate’s Engagement Ring Guide is here to provide you with a simple yet effective guide on how to choose your ring. From the characteristics of each diamond shape and the details of setting styles to alternative engagement rings, you can find the essential information needed for choosing (and customizing!) the perfect engagement ring to pop the question with!

1. Design Styles
2. Setting Styles
3. The Anatomy of the Diamond
4. Shapes
5. The 4C’s of Diamond Grading
6. Metals
7. Alternative Engagement Rings

1. Design Styles

Solitaire

Solitaire is the first image that pops into mind when thinking about engagement rings. It is iconic, featured in almost all famous romantic movies, symbolizing eternal love and the bond between couples with a single diamond. Solitaire rings have this simple yet impressive elegance. Although the most popular diamond shapes are round and princess for this design, it can support any other choice of shape, offering a great deal of customization. You can find 4 and 6 prong settings in solitaire designs where the cradle of the diamond has 4 or 6 metal clamps that hold the diamond.

Side Stone

Who doesn't love a little more sparkle! Or a lot more… The perfect style for adding brilliance to your engagement ring by adding gems next to your center stone. You can prefer a whole row of small diamond stones or several symmetrically aligned ones on the bands. A highly customizable design that complies with any shape of diamond, the side stone style is perfect for scattering colorful gems. This design will accentuate the crown of your diamond in whatever color or format you choose and will be a splendid choice to top off your proposal.

Three Stone

The only rule in this design is that your engagement ring hosts three gorgeous gemstones. Traditionally, there is a bigger center stone with two smaller stones on either side. However, you are free to choose whether you want a size difference or not. You can also emphasize your center stone by choosing different colored or shaped complementary stones. Trust us; with all the customization options Eternate offers, three stone engagement rings have so much to offer!

Halo

Halo engagement rings scream “I love you” in stones! They feature a row of small diamonds surrounding the center stone. Though, nobody said that it couldn't be two rows. Any diamond shape you choose will radiate more, stand out more, and impress more with a halo around them. You can say that this design is less customizable than the others; nevertheless, it's one of the most astonishing.

Vintage

A good vintage design is timeless. Vintage engagement rings have passed the tests of time and boast whimsically romantic characteristics such as filigree, engraving and milgrain. With different metals, diamond shapes and various customization options, a vintage engagement ring may well be the one you are searching for.

Cluster

Cluster designs make the most exquisite rings with the composition of several bigger stones. You can choose your cluster ring similar to a halo ring with larger stones surrounding the central stone or go for the asymmetrical aesthetic that this design effortlessly provides. Either way, your cluster engagement ring is sure to be elegantly whimsical and brilliantly attractive.

Cathedral

The elegant frame of this design resembles the cathedral as two couples of arches stem from the band and settle on either side of the diamond. The cathedral engagement ring creates a stunning effect while elevating the center stone and making it more prominent. You can customize a cathedral engagement ring by adding more stones, choosing different metals or playing with colors. It will preserve its elegance and make a unique choice to celebrate your unique story.

2. Setting Styles

Claw Setting

A claw setting is the most common alternative for center stones, securing your center stone with metal clamps. As its name states, this setting features sharp curved nails like a bird's claw. Different shapes of diamonds require different numbers of claws. Typically a round diamond will be set in 4-claw or 6-claw; square and rectangular diamond shapes such as princess will require four, while other cuts like marquise and pear will require V-shaped claws to protect the pointy diamond.

Prong Setting

The prong setting is very similar to the claw setting. It secures the stone to the ring's band and appears round or pointed, looking like pins on the diamond rather than claws. Prong settings can be 'shared' or 'high' based on preference.

Micro Pave Setting

The technique that aims to show the least amount of metal on the ring and create a gorgeous sparkly band while securing gemstones.

Bezel Setting

The technique where a thin metal rim surrounds the stone and binds it to the ring. It looks like a diamond engraved into the ring's band. Though subtle and beautiful, we should warn you that this setting hides more of your stone compared to the other settings.

Channel Setting

Namely, this technique is about a channel sculpted in the band of your ring where stones lie. Stones sit side by side in this channel, secured and ready to take your breath away.

3. The Anatomy of the Diamond

Let's get to know the anatomy of the diamond before we move on to different shapes of diamonds:

Table: A diamond’s largest facet.

Crown: The part of the diamond that extends from the girdle to the table.

Girdle: The rim that separates the crown from the pavilion. The girdle is where a diamond is held while setting it in jewelry.

Diameter: The measurement from the girdle, the widest horizontal line surrounding the diamond.

Pavilion: The part of the diamond that extends from the girdle to the culet.

Cullet: The tip of a gemstone. An untrained eye should not be able to see the culet.

Depth: The measurement from the culet to the table, the highest vertical line on the diamond.

4. Shapes

A diamond's geometric outline and physical form are referred to as shapes. Shape influences the stone's overall appearance. Each diamond shape comes with its specific requirements and technical characteristics.

Round

Due to its shape, the round diamond has the ideal light return and brilliance. Hence, it is the most common shape choice when buying a diamond. Diamond manufacturers have utilized theoretical and technological advancements to create the cuts we see today. Very good and excellent cut round diamonds are exceptionally radiant. They are more favorable in terms of balancing cut, color and clarity grades, while still providing the sparkle you desire.

Princess

Princess-shaped diamonds are the most popular non-round diamond shape. Traditionally a princess-shaped diamond has pointed corners like a square, but it can also be rectangular. Compared to round-cut, princess-shaped diamonds tend to show color in the corners. Choosing this shape may require a better color grade which increases the cost. However, due to geometrical advantages, the princess shape causes minimal waste and slightly lowers the price to carat when compared to other figures.

Emerald

You may want to prefer a better clarity grade if you are choosing an Emerald shape diamond. This shape emphasizes a diamond's clarity due to its geometrical form and provides a more accessible view of the inclusions and the blemishes. The cuts of the bottom part and the big, open upper part of the diamond give the emerald diamond its distinct appearance. Emerald diamond owes its aesthetic look to dark and light planes, manifesting a hall-of-mirrors look rather than the apparent brilliance of a round diamond.

Asscher

This strikingly gracious shape is essentially identical to an emerald-cut diamond, except that it is square. If you choose to go with a lower clarity grade, beware that inclusions and blemishes are easier to distinguish, just like with the emerald-cut. This shape also tends to reveal color in the corners, similar to the princess shape; hence you might want to invest a bit more in a higher color grade. The modern Asscher cut diamond has larger step facets, a taller crown and a smaller table than a square emerald cut. When compared to the emerald-cut, this combination frequently creates more brilliance.

Marquise

Marquise diamond has a unique shape that features broader facets than any other shape and therefore looks more significant compared to other shapes with the same carat weight. The length of the marquise diamond is flattering to fingers, making them appear thinner. You may find that the marquise diamond resembles an eye, however, you can customize how narrow or wide the shape is.

Oval

Oval diamonds have the extra benefit of giving the impression of a larger carat diamond, thanks to their elongated shape. The narrow shape may execute the desired effect of making your finger appear longer and slimmer. The oval is an excellent alternative for someone who likes the look of a round diamond but wants something a bit more unique, because the two forms have similar fire and brilliance.

Pear

With its single point and rounded edge, this shape of diamond is also known as a teardrop. The pear shape's distinct appearance makes it a popular choice for various diamond jewelry. The thin end of the pear-shaped diamond always points toward the fingers when it's on the hand and gives the subtle slimming effect on the fingers. The pear-shaped diamond, like the marquise and oval cuts, is available in a range of narrow or broader cuts.

Heart

The ultimate symbol of love, a heart-shaped diamond's unusual appearance makes it a standout choice from various alternatives. Because the tip of this design tends to reveal slight color, you may want to budget for a better color grade than you would for a round diamond. Heart-shaped diamonds are available in a range of narrow or wider silhouettes; however you prefer.

Cushion

Cushion diamonds come in various forms, from square to rectangular, whichever you prefer. This one-of-a-kind form has been a popular shape that has rounded edges and appreciable facets to boost brightness. Because these larger facets might show inclusions easier than other shapes, it may require a higher clarity grade than you originally planned.

Radiant

Radiant diamonds create an excellent bridge between cushion and princess with their square-like shape with trimmed corners. This unique type of corner is the hallmark of this shape, and they add to its popularity. It is highly desirable among the diamond community when set with baguette or round diamonds.

5. The Four C’s of Diamond Grading

So you may have heard the term the four C’s of diamonds, these refer to the cut, color, clarity and carat of the diamond and have an important role to play in budget considerations.

Diamond cut proportion diagrams for shallow, ideal and deep proportions respectively

Cut

The cut of a diamond refers to the symmetry, arrangement of facets and the proportions of a diamond, which all factor in the way a diamond transmits light. Graded on a scale between poor to excellent, the cut of a diamond is what determines its brightness, fire and sparkle. Meaning that a poorly cut diamond will have less sparkle. The better the cut is, the more sparkly the diamond will be.

Color

A perfect diamond is colorless like a drop of pure water. When we talk about the color of a diamond, we refer not to the presence of color in a diamond, but to the lack of it. The scale of diamond color ranges from D to Z, with D signifying a perfectly colorless stone. D rated stones are extremely rare and are thus the most expensive. As you move down the scale, diamonds become more colored and less expensive.

Clarity

Diamond clarity refers to the absence of inclusions (internal imperfections) and blemishes (external imperfections) on a diamond. The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) rates clarity on a scale from Flawless to Included. Professionals carry out this assessment under 10x magnification. A diamond that has some inclusions or blemishes that are not visible to the naked eye is called ‘eye clean’. So when looking for a high quality diamond, make sure that your diamond is eye clean.

Carat

In simplest terms, carat is the measurement unit for how much a diamond weighs. One carat equals 200 milligrams. To ensure precise measurement, each carat is subdivided into 100 points. One thing to keep in mind is that carats do not equal size, which is a common misconception. As it is harder to find larger carat stones in nature, the higher the carat weight, the more expensive a stone will become. And the pricing will not be linear, meaning that a one carat diamond will be more expensive than two 0.5 carat diamonds together. One more thing to know about carats is the ‘total carat weight,’ which is used when more than one diamond is used in a piece of jewelry. Total carat weight refers to the combined weight of all the diamonds used in the piece, or, for earrings, the pair.

6. Metals

At Eternate, we combine our 60 years’ experience with modern die-making techniques to create a non-porous, tensile metal property with excellent surface quality. To achieve their stunning color and shine, we purify and mix all metals and alloys used in our processes. Whichever metal you choose, rest assured that our exclusive in-house knowledge results in exquisite and durable jewelry with not only great designs but also the longest life.

We are committed to sustainability. Therefore we use 100% recycled gold in all Eternate products. Gold is a soft metal, which needs other metals to be added to it for strength and different complexions of colors. The word ‘karats’ refers to the amount of gold content in the jewelry. Do not confuse it with ‘carats’, which is the measurement unit for diamond weight. At Eternate, we offer three options of gold karats: 18K, 14K, and 10k, each containing 75%, 58.5% and 41.7% of gold, respectively.

Yellow Gold

A classic and timeless color. Yellow gold is never a dull choice; it never goes out of fashion.

Rose Gold

Soft and romantic. Yellow gold and copper blend together to get that beautiful, rosy pink complexion.

White Gold

A noble tone. The blend of yellow gold with zinc, nickel and other metals appears in this white complexion.

Platinum

Luxurious. Rarer than other precious metals, platinum is naturally white and is a very durable metal. It is a perfect match for pieces that require strength, such as stone set rings.

7. Alternative Engagement Rings

Traditionally, when we think of an engagement ring, we think of a diamond solitaire. However, there are actually no rules for how an engagement ring should look like. In our opinion, any ring that symbolizes your intention to build a life together and that really speaks to your unique story should be your engagement ring. That is why at Eternate, we also offer a wide range of exquisite alternative engagement rings. Alternative engagement rings are rings that break away from tradition, in their use of different and colored gemstones, non-conventional settings and unique designs. They offer a great option to set your engagement apart and celebrate your one of a kind story. Our alternative engagement rings boast moss agate, alexandrite, opal, moonstone, black rutilated quartz and blue sandstone options. However, should you want some other gemstone, let us know and we will be happy to source it for you.