If we weren’t all lemmings who copied what everyone else did exactly?
What about Opal?
What would make a good gemstone for an engagement ring?
15 Responses to “What would make a good gemstone for an engagement ring?”
Leave a Reply
Featured Products
-
CZ pendant features a 0.20 carat brilliant round cubic zirconia with 3mm round simulated sapphires. Approx. 0.80 total carat weight set in 14k white gold. An Italian cable chain is permanently attached with your choice of 16 inch or 18 inch length. Also available in 14k yellow gold.
-
Classic design features a 1.0 carat brilliant round cubic zirconia top with a 2.0 carat pear drop. Approx. 6.0 total carat weight. CZ earrings measure 3/4th of an inch long. Set in 14K white gold. Also available in 14K yellow gold.
-
Heart shape CZ pendant features brilliant round cubic zirconia stones prong set in 14k white gold. Approx. 0.90 total carat weight measures under 1 inch long. An Italian cable chain is included with your choice of 16 inch or 18 inch length. Also available in 14k yellow gold.
i like ruby honestly… /= im a wierdo.
Any gemstone will work, choose your favorite. For something different, I recommend pearl.
i always wanted a pearl ring with a diamond on either side. but i’ve changed my mind now. i would like an emerald but they’re not strong enough for every day wear and my mum already has one she said i can have when she dies lol.
so now i don’t know. but i want it set in rose gold. i’m not really sure about the whole diamond thing personally, i think they lack character. they’re just big and shiny, nothing particularly spectacular.
My fiance & I chose aquamarine and we are very happy with that purchase. Our other consideration was a Topaz which is actually slightly harder than an aquamarine.
What you really want to consider is the hardness and everyday durability of the gemstone you choose. Don’t just equate a higher hardness as better, because hard stones can sometimes be brittle, so be sure to discuss your selection with a jeweler or do some online research about the stone that you are interested in.
Here is a link to a good sized list of gemstones on the hardness scale:
http://www.gemselect.com/gem-info/gem-hardness-info.php
Opals are lower on the scale and are a more fragile stone. They are beautiful, but I personally wouldn’t recommend it for an engagement ring as in my experience with opals the stones can damage a little too easily.
Any gemstone will work. Most people will tell you have to be very careful with opal and keep it away from chemicals, but you have to do that with diamonds as well. I used to have an opal ring that I wore everywhere even though my gemologist father told me not to wear it but I never had any problems with it. Wear whatever makes you happy and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.
I’m an October baby, so opal is my birthstone, and I’m not sure I’d suggest it for a ring you’re going to wear everyday. I have opal jewelry, but it’s a little more delicate than most, you can’t clean it with standard jewelry cleaner or it will eat up the opal (and yes, I accidentally did that once, so I learned the hard way). You’re going to want to wear your engagement ring every day. Talk with a good jeweler about alternate stones, if you don’t like diamonds, and many people don’t. You want something that’s going to stand up to daily wear.
opals are beautiful but they damage easily as does turquoise.
i always suggest to my brides that they consider having their birthstones as their engagement rings – and it seems as though more and more people are considering stones other than diamonds – thank goodness – i’m not a fan of diamonds they are rather cold and sterile looking with no life to them – i much prefer sapphires and amethysts myself but peridot, ruby, garnet, pearls etc are darned nice stones!
Opals are gorgeous stones, but are far too fragile for an engagement ring. They’ll crack, and chip, and the stone would need to be replaced eventually.
I choose a tanzanite. Tanzanite is actually much rarer than diamonds, and it is predicted that it will be all mined out within our generation. Alexandrite would be another cool stone, it changes color in different lighting.
An opal is a beautiful stone, but it’s very soft. One of the reasons a diamond is so popular for an engagement ring is that it’s so hard, the only other thing on this planet that can cut it as another diamond.
The scale they use to grade the hardness of a gem stone is called the Mohs scale. On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the hardest, a diamond is a 10. Opals on the other hand are only 5.5 to 6.5. They will easily chip or crack with everyday wear, so they are not recommended as engagement ring stones.
If you want a colored stone that is not a diamond, go with a sapphire or ruby. Believe it or not, they are actually the same stone chemically. They are called a corundum and they are a 9.0 on the Mohs scale. What makes a ruby a ruby is it’s very specific color. Even though you can find red sapphires, a true ruby has to be a purplish red.
You can find sapphires in almost every color of the rainbow, including yellow, green, orange, purple, red and of course the traditional blue.
If you really like opals, consider them as an accent stone, but have them inlayed into either side of your center stone. Because opals display so many different colors, they would nicely complement any color of center stone. I pasted a link to one for sale on eBay–keep in mind that it’s not real (synthetic opal with lab created sapphire in sterling silver), but it’s really unusual and absolutely GORGEOUS!!! Do a seaching and if you find a style you like, take a picture a jeweler who can custom make a ring for you.
I love sapphires as the main stone and white cz’s on either side. Or emeralds or rubies. Whatever catches your eye/makes you happy!
Here’s a little history I found about engagement rings & stone choices…
“In medieval Europe the ruby was the stone of choice for engagement rings. The red stone was associated with the heart & love. Sapphires were also popular because they were blue, like the heavens from which love came.
In the 18th and 19th centuries, sapphires and emeralds were the stones of choice for engagement rings. It wasn’t until the Victorian era that diamonds became popular. Diamond mines were discovered in South Africa in the late 1800s. Soon diamonds flooded the market and everyone had access to them. Later Victorian engagement rings were filled with diamonds.
For a while, diamonds were so commonplace they fell out of fashion. Diamond sales slumped until DeBeers launched a clever marketing campaign in 1947. The slogan “A Diamond is Forever” changed our beliefs about love, engagement rings and wedding bands forever.”
Sapphires are a nice choice because they are nearly as durable/scratch-proof as diamonds and sapphires come in a rainbow of colours! You can use a white sapphire as a less expensive substitute for a diamond, but you can also choose any shade of sapphire to match your personality and style.
My engagement ring is a centre diamond with two side sapphires in pink. I’m a very girly-girl and love everything pink! So my fiance designed me the perfect diamond and gemstone ring to propose with.
Because they come in so many colours, and are very durable sapphires are a really great gemstone in use in engagement rings if you want to add some personality/originality to the look of you ring.
Not opal. It is too brittle for everyday wear.
Get a gemstone that is fairly resistant to chipping and other damage. Amethyst, sapphire, ruby, garnet, peridot, tanzanite, aquamarine, citrine, zircon. All kinds of choices depending on what colour looks good against her skin.
How about HER birthstone?
When I get engaged, I want a sapphire engagement ring in an antique setting surrounded by diamonds!
Several reasons: I love blue, and it’s my birthstone. They are nearly as hard as diamonds and wont break like a softer gemstone.
Also, I love big jewelery and want a ring with a center stone that is at least 1 if not 2 carats. To get a good diamond ring of that size, you are looking at $20,000+, but if you were smart, you could get a sapphire of that size for under $6,0000.
When I was in high school, one of my teachers had a sapphire engagement ring and I thought it was the most beautiful ring I had seen. It was big and deep blue, and the diamonds on the side really set off the blue color.
I love opals, I think they are beautiful.
What about using Her gemstone, or getting a ring that had both yours and hers in it together,thatway it would mean something, other than just pretty colors?
Or possibly using the gemstone of the month you will be getting married, that way you will always at least remember the month.
My gemstone (August)is called peridot. It is a light green color.
I think if you are not using the gemstone of a certain month then lighter shades look better than darker ones.
Could be just me, but I like light colored stones better than darker rubies and emeralds and such.
Opals are beautiful and go well with anything.