3 Steps to Designing the Perfect Custom Engagement Ring
Your perfect engagement ring... might not exist yet! In your mind’s eye, maybe you can picture it: the diamond, its clarity, color and shape, its setting – how you want it to look on your soon-to-be-fiancé’s hand. That’s why, at Lux Bond & Green, on top of our variety of pre-set engagement rings, we also offer custom designing services. Our trained gemologists, master goldsmiths, skilled buyers, and sales associates make up the team that can help you customize an engagement ring that satisfies all your expectations. We’re here to help walk you through the steps of making your vision come true, hearing that “yes,” and creating a joyful, once-in-a-lifetime moment.
1) Browsing Diamonds
Let’s start with the stone. Whether you’re looking for the “cream of the crop” in terms of the most exquisite, perfect diamonds, or for something with truly unique, natural qualities, Lux Bond & Green has it all. Our dedication to diamond quality reaches back over one hundred years, touches three centuries, and spans five generations. By considering the exacting standards of the four C’s of diamonds—cut, color, clarity, and carat weight—we are able to find the diamond that is most perfect for you.
Our handy diamond database is a great place to begin your search. You can view a variety of available stones and browse by the four C’s, shape, and price. You can even choose to look at only lux diamonds, which are the most excellent, truly ideal diamonds available – so perfect that they are actually one in a million! Once you select the stones that interest you, you can come view them in person at a convenient store location. The opportunity to see the stone before it is set in your custom engagement ring is a truly remarkable, one-of-a-kind experience.
2) Identifying the Four C’s
As you consider the stone(s) for your custom engagement ring, you’ll be looking at the natural properties of each diamond in terms of its cut, color, clarity, and carat. Carat allows you to hone in on the weight and size of the diamond. An increase in size relates directly to an increase in cost for this “c”, but does not necessarily equate to a change in any other properties related to quality.
Though we adore perfection of lux diamonds, we know that beauty has many facets, and mother nature adds her own touch to anything that comes from the earth - especially gemstones. Therefore, diamonds range widely in clarity and color. Clarity defines the presence or absence of natural marks found inside or on the surface of gemstones, called “inclusions.” Inclusions are so common in diamonds that a “flawless” diamond, or one with no inclusions whatsoever, is a highly restricted term. The scale that rates the visibility of inclusions in a diamond has 10 steps! Inclusions can be tiny; only visible with a 10x power microscope, or obvious to the naked eye, and they affect a diamond’s value but not necessarily its beauty.
Color is another lovely, natural element of diamonds. They can range in tone from almost clear, to yellow. Additionally, uniquely colored diamonds also exist and are offered at Lux Bond & Green, in hues such as bright “canary” yellow, pink, blue, black, chocolate, and cognac.
When we talk about the cut of a diamond, we’re referring to the art of precision cutting conducted by gemstone masters, which allows the “fire” or “brilliance” of a diamond to be released. In short, “cut” is the art of making diamonds sparkle! Lux Bond & Green’s commitment to the most ideally cut diamonds means that we can offer the stones that most gorgeously reflect and refract light. The cut of a diamond is indeed the only element that human hands completely control, and is therefore what makes a diamond the perfect gemstone to signify everlasting love and commitment between two people.
3) Selecting the Style
Beyond the four C’s, a large part of creating a custom engagement ring is deciding on its presentation, which includes the shape of the stone, its setting in the band, and the metal used for the ring. Lux Bond & Green offers a plethora of diamond shapes, including round brilliant, pear, princess, cushion, oval, emerald, heart, and more!
On top of this variety of shapes, engagement ring settings are also incredibly varied – from traditional settings like the prong, which allows for maximum diamond visibility, and the bar, which separates stones with metal but leaves the sides open – to modern styles like the tension, which gives the appearance that the stone is floating, and the flush, which integrates the diamond into the metal of the band. You may even want to create an engagement ring that is set with more than one diamond, and Lux Bond & Green has many options for that, such as the Bostonian, featuring three large stones, or pavé ring sets, which include two bands and little diamonds. The setting options are nearly endless, as designers are ever innovating. Lux Bond & Green is able to set custom engagement rings in the metal of your choice, including platinum, yellow, white, or rose gold. So, chances are, if you can dream it, Lux Bond & Green can work with you to create it!
Lastly, if you’d prefer not to begin at square one, if seeing examples first seems like a better launching point, you can easily view our wide variety of pre-set engagement rings online. Lux Bond & Green carries wedding and engagement rings by luxury designers such as Precision Set, Michael Bodanza, Hearts on Fire, Naledi, and more.
Begin designing your perfect custom engagement ring online, or visit one of our store locations in person, where a sales associate would be happy to assist you, and help make your vision a reality.