What would you say if I told you that diamonds were not always the preferred stone for engagement rings? Would you believe that diamonds were not the status quo until sometime in the late 1800s or early 1900s? In 1870, a large diamond was found in South Africa.
In fact, there was such a large supply of diamonds that the DeBeers Corporation decided to launch a huge marketing campaign to convince everyone that a diamond was extremely rare, expensive, and was just the right stone to show your unique love for one another.
After a good deal of time, their marketing campaign worked! Now, we see diamonds as the standard factor for engagement rings.
Popular Among Celebrities
With the world glued to every major celebrity’s engagement, it’s no wonder that we’re becoming more aware of colored yet affordable gemstone engagement rings.
More celebrities have been openly embracing these types of engagement rings because of their stylish appearance that appears more unique and “jazzy” than a plain diamond ring.
Others are embracing colored gemstone engagement rings because of blood diamond controversies, as well as other reasons. It turns out that diamonds’ values are exaggerated.
Many do not want to pay the inflated price for a ring that doesn’t represent its true worth. Some do not have the funding to purchase a ring in today’s economy.
Royal Trendsetter
For whatever reason, we’re seeing a good majority of people becoming interested in and purchasing colored gemstone engagement rings. Immediately after Prince William gave Kate Middleton his mother’s sapphire and diamond engagement ring, a huge influx of requests came in for engagement rings that incorporate colored gems.
Though the diamond industry would prefer that the diamond stay the “default” stone for an engagement ring, it seems they may have to share the space with the colored stones.
Some people choose to have an engagement ring with colored stones, while others prefer to do a mixture of colored gems and diamonds. Many new intricate and beautiful ring designs have come out of this movement.
Finding the Right Vendor
If you’re interested in a colored stone engagement ring, you may find that you have a somewhat difficult time making the purchase. Many jewelers are not very savvy when it comes to gemstones. Instead, they primarily focus on diamonds, which is what approximately 80% of their retail, if not more, contains.
You may find better luck by going to a company that specializes in gemstones, purchasing the stone, and then asking your jeweler to set the stone in your ring setting, in addition to any diamonds you may want to include. As with cuts, settings, and metals with any ring, there are colored gemstones that are more stoic than others and are recommended highly for rings.
Two of the most popular stones for rings are rubies and sapphires. Other choices include pinel, tsavorite, and spessartite garnet, aquamarine, alexandrite, and chrysoberyl. Though extremely popular right now, Tanzanite is too soft of a stone to be worn daily.