Designing an Engagement Ring

I designed my ring with my husband, it’s a really fun process.
1. I say natural 100000%. This is something you’ll get mixed responses on. People will say “lab diamonds are the same as real diamonds” which - they are the same material, however, you’re making something in a lab in a matter of hours rather than something the earth naturally creates over millions of years. Also, if passing it down as an heirloom matters to you, go natural. It is obviously more expensive and you can get something larger with lab, but depends on your preference.
2. I did 14K white and yellow gold (set in white but band is yellow). This holds up better than platinum over time. 14K gold holds up better than platinum. I’ll add, I wear my ring every day so that mattered a lot to me.

1. So I'm in the other camp on the natural vs. lab-grown thing, but for me it was really about ensuring it was a conflict-free and mostly sustainable solution (no mining or anything). We actually ended up going with a moissanite center stone in the end (I've got chubby fingers and wanted 2ct 😂) for cost purposes, but moissanite can really only be purchased lab-grown. BUT moissanite will eventually wear down and often people will replace the stone for a 10 or 20 year anniversary, so the point made by Cool about heirloom quality is a good one!

2. We also did 14k! I'll second the longevity of the metal - I also planned on wearing mine every day! The higher the k of the gold, the softer the metal. And platinum is also softer than 14k gold.

Short blurb on lab-grown:
https://www.doamore.com/resource/lab-diamonds/

Short blurb on ring metals:
https://www.doamore.com/gold-vs-platinum-metal-for-your-ring/

Do Amore had really great articles I read through religiously, even though we ended up going through someone else for my ring!

That's so cool Alyssa!! Do you have an idea of the shape and style ring you want??

1. I went with a natural diamond but love lab-grown diamonds as well!! They've really grown in popularity and availability in the last few years!

2. I went with a platinum band for a few reasons!! I have really sensitive skin and can sometimes react to the nickel included in white gold - Platinum's a great choice if you have sensitive skin! Also while platinum is more malleable and easily scratchable than 14k white gold, it's naturally white so it doesn't ever need to be re-dipped! 🌟

I am all about lab diamonds. They are conflict free and don't require mining. They are optically and chemically identical to mined stones


Platinum is heavier and develops a patina. It seems to be preferred by avid jewelry wearers

The lab grown v. natural is a very mixed crowd. I have a lab grown diamond and I can't tell a difference in how it looks, it holds up really well, it's perfect for me. So I am team lab grown if that's what suits you, plus like others said, it doesn't require any kind of mining like natural does.

I have 14K and love it, it's more durable than platinum.

View Quoted Comment Thank you, Allie! I’ve decided I’m going to go with 14k white gold for the band and claw prongs holding the solitaire stone. Now I’m also weighing doing white gold vs rose gold for the halo prongs because I’m using pink sapphires in the halo and the rose gold prongs with the pink sapphires will create a higher contrast against the white gold band. 😊

View Quoted Comment Thank you Willow for your input! I am not into the patina that some others I know are. And I found out that where I’m shopping at - they will re-dip the white gold in rhodium plating to keep it the natural white for a lifetime for free so I think I’m going to go with that. 😊

View Quoted Comment Hi Samantha! Thank you for your knowledge!
I’ve decided that I am going to go with 14k white gold in the band but now I’m weighing white gold vs rose gold for the prongs in the halo. I’m using pink sapphires in the halo and so the rose gold would incorporate a higher contrast. Any opinion on how durable rose gold would be and if you would think that’s safe for the halo prongs? Or would you still recommend white gold? I definitely don’t want any of the stones falling out.

View Quoted Comment Thank you Cool for your input!! Yes I have decided to go with 14k white gold and natural diamond. The main factor in choosing natural over lab grown is the value that the diamond will hold up over time. 😊

View Quoted Comment Hi Lynnie! Yes I want to do a radiant cut Diamond, color I and above, double excellent cut, SI1 and above, a simple 14k white gold band with no stones on the band, and a halo around the center diamond using pink sapphires. I also want to use the solitaire setting rather than the cathedral. Where I can get my ring at I can actually get it re-dipped in rhodium for life for free!

I got a natural diamond because lab diamond’s values will continue to go down, especially now as debeers is making larger lab diamonds (1-2 carat) for significantly lower prices through lightbox jewelry. I decided I’d rather have a small natural diamond of high quality over a larger lab diamond! I want something I can pass down and don’t feel the need to “keep up with the jonses” by getting a 1-3+ carat ring, one benefit of natural is that there are plenty of ways to trade it in and upgrade if you decide to. Lab diamonds are not more environmentally friendly than mined as much as people want to use that as a selling point, it’s more of a gimmick companies use to sell them.

View Quoted Comment Ahhh thank you!!! So I’m looking at a carat and a quarter in natural from a diamond wholesaler - not as much markup as from a jeweler. I agree - the value standing the test of time is what made me switch over to natural.

We picked out my engagement ring together versus designing it but going in I knew I wanted a conflict free ring if possible, so the diamond was a repurposed vintage stone, although it was probably mined initially and was placed in a 14k white gold hand crafted band. I’m glad to hear that white gold is more sustainable than platinum.


Good luck with your design 😊

View Quoted Comment

Wow!! That's so awesome you can get it re-dipped for free for life!