I don't think I want a diamond engagement ring?

Question

After weeks of pondering only diamonds, I have just stumbled across the possibility of getting a gemstone instead! I love the idea now and I think I'm set on the colored stones. Does anyone else have a non-traditional engagement ring? Also, what stones do you recommend?

Answer 1

My g/f specifically told me she did not want a diamond. I got her a garnet instead. The wedding is next year.

Cheers

Answer 2

My engagement ring is a white gold band with a blue stone. I found mine at Jensen's Jewelers when they had their 50 percent off when you brought in any other kind of ring. My ring cost me 200.00. It is a quite simple ring, but I love it.

  The important thing to remember is the ring is something you will be wearing forever and it should be something you love.  

Answer 3

I got my wife a 3 stone ring and the center stone was a Tanzinite. They are up there with diamonds as far as price due to only one mine being left as the other 2 closed from collapsing and killing hundreds. Saphires are realy beautifull as well you can get several colors of natural ones. A Ruby is the same thing as a Saphire just formed in heat Vs cold this is the reason for the color differance. They also have yellow saphires as well. You may eve want to look into blue, black or yellow diamonds I belive they have pink also. Tanzinite is a beautifull purple and looks awesome in whilte gold or pltm.

Answer 4

you can get a different one. you'd be so different! i saw a lady today and she had one with a pearl in the middle. it was pretty

Answer 5

Tanzanite!!!!!!!!!

It's my favorite. Its blueish/purpleish It would be cool to have the color as your wedding color to match your ring.

Even if you get a large Tanzanite stone with a couple smaller diamonds on either side like the past/present/future ones!I think it would be beautiful!

Get whatever you want its your ring and you'll only get to be engaged once... HOPEFULLY.

GOOD LUCK!

Answer 6

i dont think it matters, what matters u both will unite in wedding as lovers, u can buy diamonds, golds, sahppire, but true love cannot be bought, but fake love can.

Answer 7

Do what YOU want it will be on your finger. I had a black wedding dress! Im not too much on tradition. It keeps being creative out.

Answer 8

I don't have a diamond ring. My fiance (then boyfriend) had gone to Australia for a month after I finished collage, and when he came back we went on a romantic weekend away. It was there in the hotel room that he proposed. But instead of a ring, he gave me a necklace. It was a simple necklace with an opal in it.

Alot of people didn't understand the whole necklace thing, so I was then able to find a 'cheap' ring with an opal in it that matched the one in the necklace. So now, if I want to change necklaces, I can and not feel bad about it.

Answer 9

So your a April too =] What day?

Anyway, on to your question. Diamond is only one of the Four Precious Stones. Sapphire, emerald, and ruby are near equal to diamond's strength and durability and are gorgeous. My fiance' and I considered sapphire before deciding on diamond. He unknowingly chose the very ring I wanted, so I am perfectly happy =]

Sapphire ranges from white to pink, not only the classic varied shades of blue.  

Answer 10

Have you considered a Moissanite ring?  I love mine!  It's a 3-stone one I got at Penney's, then I found a curved wedding band on Amazon that fits it perfectly.  They are almost as hard as diamonds (94 vs. 97), and they are much sparklier.  They were originally discovered in the meteor craters in N. Arizona, and are now lab-created.  People comment on mine all the time, even guys!

Answer 11

I have a pink sapphire (in some lights it's a ruby) with 21 points of diamonds (14 of them) around it. It's yellow gold, an estate ring. Pink sapphires are cool, because then you have a magic changing stone - in some lights (if it's red) it's a ruby, in some (any other time) it's a sapphire. (Yes, I'm a nerd, how could you tell?)

I think that one of the really cool things is that I didn't have to tell him no diamonds - he did this before I could come up with a polite way to say so.

Answer 12

Talk to your jeweler about the hardness of gemstones some of them are very soft and could chip or break with constant wear.

That being said mine is a blue saphire (my birthstone is an emerald) and I have a friend who got an emerald. It's your ring get what you will love! Remember the stone can always be replaced in a ring... if you decide on something now and in a few years you change your mind just use the orriginal stone in a necklace or for its trade in value.

Good Luck

Answer 13

You can find 1000 of people's nontraditional engagement rings on this website: http://kvetch.indiebride.com/index.php?t...

All sorts of gems and whatnot.

My fiance gave me a family heirloom ring which was diamond as an engagement ring.  I had told him before he had proposed that if he did buy me ring, I would prefer an opal or amethyst.  I know opals are soft, but they're real pretty, so I wouldn't mind.

Sapphires are pretty strong.  I gave my fiance an engagement ring too, it's got a tension-set sapphire (here's a picture: http://photos-f.ak.facebook.com/photos-a...

Its funny how people who are born in April don't really like diamonds as much as others.  I'm an October baby, and opal's my birthstone, and I still think it's pretty.  I don't really care for diamonds because they're pretty plain.  

Anyway, it's so much smarter to go for something cheaper than overpriced diamonds :)

Answer 14

I have been looking at gemstone rings as well and I love the idea.  I believe sapphires and rubies are the most durable, but people use other stones as well.  I like aquamarines, they're beautiful and the pale color would "match" better with clothes than dark red or blue.  

Answer 15

Maybe use whatever your favorite color is or a color that is in your wedding.  

If you like red, go for a ruby,

if green, emerald,

if blue, sapphire,

if purple, amethyst

I've never been married but have known people to go for non-traditional.

Answer 16

Great, im sure your fiance will be happy to hear you tell him that, beside you wont be that much in debt after the wedding, seriously weedings are pointless!

Answer 17

Its obvious that your not thinking clearly...

     Trust me... YOU WANT A DIAMOND

Make sure it is a real one and it should cost at least 3x his monthly income. ( Gross)

Answer 18

I'm also getting a gemstone instead of a diamond. I had had my heart set on a lab-created emerald, but now I'm thinking a sapphire might be better (it's a harder stone). I've seen a couple of emerald-cut sapphire solitaires that are just stunning, so I'd be ok with getting the Mt. St. Helen's emerald in the same setting - I'd just be careful to take it off if I'm doing heavy cleaning or moving or gardening.  

Answer 19

I don't like diamonds; my favorite stone is blue topaz, and I picked blue topaz/white gold ring as my engagement ring. I get compliments on it all the time - the color is striking (although I'm sure no one thinks of it as an "engagement" ring - it's just a regular ring).

I've known several people who chose claddagh rings as their engagement or wedding rings. You can get them with or without the stone.

Answer 20

My old boss (now friend) has a beautiful ring that has a large saphire in the center and a diamond on each side.  She wasnt a fan of diamond rings either.  

Answer 21

I was a proffesional jeweler for 17 years and I Love the idea of a non-traditional ring. I got a garnet when we go engaged because we couldn't afford a good quality diamond.

The most important consideration -besides beauty- is the durability of the stone you choose. A saphire would be an excellant choice because it is about the hardest colored stone. And yes, it does come in every color of the rainbow- except red- and we call that a ruby. Same stone (corundum)- different chemical giving it color. Saphire also has a relatively high refractive index, which means that a well cut stone will sparkle and look lively.

A pearl is a lovely choice for an engagement ring because it symbolizes purity, as in the purity of your love for each other. Realize however that you will have to replace that pearl several times during your long and happy marriage because pearls are very soft and will wear out layer by layer.

The best advise I can give to you is to go to a reputable jewelry store where the staff has had training in gemology. They will be able to help you find the perfect stone to symbolize the start of your life together, and a ring mounting that will hold up to years of wear. I don't recomend jewelry chain stores or buying jewelry at any store where you can also buy underwear or crockpots.

Best Wishes for a long and happy life together

Answer 22

My engagement ring is a beautiful 2 carat cushion-cut sapphire.  It's a medium blue, very clear and sparkly.  It is set in white gold among some small diamonds and my wedding band is set with small diamonds.  I get compliments on my rings all the time...it really is cool to have something other than the typical diamond!

Sapphires are among the best stones for engagement rings because they are very hard and durable.  Only diamonds are harder.

Answer 23

i think its a great idea. you need to get what you like. you have to wear it the rest of your life.i have diamond and silver rings. i dont like gold.i think diamonds and gold are too out dated.  

Answer 24

My wife was really into sapphires (which come in a massive range of colors - a lot more than you'd think).  So she picked a blue sapphire surrounded by small diamonds, in a nice gold ring.

If you're looking for ideas Amazon.com has thousands of rings you can look at.  And they cover all price ranges from cheap right up to $10,000+.  So something for every taste.  They have over 3,000 that are gemstone based.

Personally, I think that too many women get overly excited about picking a traditional ring with the biggest diamond possible.  First off, when it comes to diamonds, it's not really about the size, it's the clarity.  If you have a two carat diamond that looks like a piece of broken glass, you're an idiot!  Quality is key with jewelry.

The link should give you a ton of ideas.  Think of your favorite colors and see what's out there.

I'd take a look at Moissanite too.  It is a unique diamond like stone that actually sparkles more than a diamond.  They are just amazing to look at, although they do look a lot like a very high quality diamond, but the higher refractive index makes them sparkle in a very unique manner.

Good luck being different!  It's a good thing to be!

Answer 25

Well I have a diamond and pink sapphire engagement ring.  It's a centre diamond with pink sapphires on both sides of it (like a three stone ring). The only gem stome I would want as the centre, instead of a diamond is a pink sapphire.  But I'm a girly-girl, so I love pink (thus why my fiance designed my ring with pink sapphires).

I had nothing to do with my ring, it was a total surprise, but given the choice I would probably had designed something identical to it!  If my fiance l,et me design something, but was on a stricter budget I probably would have chosen the centre stone to be a pink sapphire (the centre stone is twice the size as the side stones in my ring now) and done either small diamonds or white sapphires as the side stones instead.

Answer 26

First of all, congrats!!

It's totally up to you as to what you would prefer on your engagement ring.  I have seen birthstones used, as well as really pretty stones that I didn't even recognize.  

Just keep in mind that you're going to be wearing the ring forever, so you might as well LOVE it! :-)

Answer 27

This is the one I wanted.  It is cheap yes but I loved it so much because I just think it is perfect.  He wanted me to get a ring ring so I did but this is the one I wanted.  

Answer 28

My ring has a blue sapphire solitaire and little diamonds on the sides set in white gold.  

I have always loved sapphires. Gorgeous colors!

Answer 29

I have a very large non- traditional ring.  There are seven stones in it varying from ruby to aquamarine to hematite.  The ring covers the last third of my ring finger in a swirl of gems.  Sapphire and Emerald are both gorgeous gems that would make an excellent engagement ring, but it really depends upon your taste and what colors you enjoy.

Answer 30

Just get that fake diamond stuff, Cubic Zirconium, I think thats what its called.

Answer 31

oooo! Love this one!!

Maybe a nice ruby gem, to symbolize love. Or even look up the meaning of some gems and choose one from there. Maybe put a couple small diamonds on each side of the gem and get a wedding band to match. like ex: one diamond and ruby, one after another on the band. Good luck and congrats!