ENGAGEMENT RINGS 101 - ALTERNATIVE GEMSTONES TO DIAMONDS FOR YOUR ENGAGEMENT RING
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The diamond is without question the most popular gemstone to grace engagement rings today. Popularized by the De Beers company in the 1950's with their "A Diamond is Forever" campaign, the diamond's incredible hardness, symbolizing the steadfastness of the marriage commitment and its incomparable sparkle, suggesting the beauty of love, has been a favorite center stone for proposals ever since. Although most jewelry stores and engagement ring websites today typically offer diamond rings for engagement purposes, rings with colored gemstones can definitely be used instead and in fact, have been for hundreds of years. Don't let the label "diamond engagement ring" confuse you. The diamond has not always been synonymous with engagements and choosing a ring with a colored center stone for your proposal is once again a growing trend. Prior to the 1950's, and continuing to this day in Europe, the fashion has always been to use colored gemstones as engagement rings. The reasons for choosing an alternative center gemstone to a diamond are many and varied. In the end you to may decide that a diamond is just not "you" for a very personal reason. Perhaps you prefer a color that is more symbolic of you, your partner, your relationship or even a place you've been to together. Maybe you want a larger stone or a more imaginative and fanciful cut than you can find in a diamond. Whatever your reason for looking into diamond alternatives for an engagement ring, there are plenty of colored gemstone options from which to choose and they can be every bit as distinctive and unique as you. If you decide that a colored gemstone engagement ring is for you, one aspect you must keep in mind when making your selection is whether or not a particular gemstone is truly suited for the daily wear that an engagement ring is subjected to. Unfortunately, a number of very popular colored gemstones just do not have the durability to stand up to continuous wear. Some will chip and abrade from every day bumps and bangs, standard household chemicals may dull or eat away at the surface of the gemstone, even hand cream, perfume and hair spray can take their toll on some colored stones. But never fear, if color is your thing, there are many stones that will handle your lifestyle and accentuate your look and they are available in almost all the colors of the rainbow. Here are a few that you should take a look at. |
Rubies and Sapphires |
| Rubies and sapphires are some of the best-known precious stones in the world but did you know that both belong to the same family of gems, Corundum, and they are the second hardest gemstones in the world after diamond? Both of these stones are hands down the best choice for a colored stone engagement ring as they are incredibly strong and with reasonable care they will hold up to many years of daily wear. |
Ruby |
| Red is the color of our most intense emotions and for centuries it has been associated with a host of them including love, courage, patriotism and joy. Long associated with objects of power and desire such as fast cars and red roses, it has even been used to symbolize the blood that runs within us, early cultures believing that rubies held the power of life itself within them. Ruby is one of the most historically significant colored gem stones and in the Bible and are mentioned four times in association with attributes like beauty and wisdom. In the ancient language of Sanskrit, ruby is called ratnaraj, or " king of precious stones" and the desire for ruby in modern times is just as great as it has always been. As a symbol of passion, ruby makes an ideal romantic gift. When looking for rubies remember that first and foremost, choose a ruby for its color and do not be too concerned about what inclusions or small imperfections may be found in the gem. Ruby is a naturally included stone but it is these small "character" traits that truly give it life and have little impact on the cost of a fine ruby. For the ultimate in color and clarity, consider some of the material coming from the Winza mine in Africa, It is absolutely breath taking. |
Blue Sapphire |
| British royals have long fueled the fire for sapphires and when the Lady Diana Spencer was given an engagement ring with a large oval sapphire surrounded by diamonds, the world took note with sapphire ring sales exploding for the next 18 months. Princess Ann was also given a sapphire engagement ring as were actress Elizabeth Taylor with a 16 carat sapphire, Luci Baines Johnson Nugent (daughter of President Lyndon Johnson) and Evangeline Gouletas-Carey (wife of New York Governor Hugh Carey).
The color blue is a peacemaker, cool and soothing. It is often said to represent the spirit, perhaps because the vast blue sky and ocean provide a sense of oneness with infinity. Traditionally, the gem symbolizes nobility, truth, sincerity, and faithfulness for it has decorated the robes of royalty and clergy members for centuries. Its extraordinary color is the standard against which other blue gems, from topaz to tanzanite, are measured. Blue sapphire is one of the most popular colored gemstones and when the word "sapphire" is used alone it refers to the blue variety. All other colors of sapphire are called "fancy sapphires". |
Fancy Sapphire |
| Recent discoveries in Madagascar have brought widespread recognition to the fancy sapphires. A rich pallet of colors including yellow, green, pink, purple and orange are available in a variety of shapes and sizes, one of which is sure to suit your taste. Exotic sapphires like the fantastic Padparadscha that blends delicate shades of pink and peach or the well known star sapphires with their signature 6 rayed star floating in a sea of blue, red, black or gray. There is even a very rare color change sapphire that moves between violetish purple to reddish purple depending on the light your in. As colorful as they can be, sapphires even come in white, making them a wonderful option for a more affordable diamond look-alike. |
| A diamond's aesthetic appeal is actually measurable. Grasping the interchange between these 4 Cs helps to explain the enduring value and unparalleled dazzle of diamonds. |
Amethyst |
| Amethyst, once considered an equal to ruby, sapphire and emerald has been set in royal crown jewels for millennia. Historically, large clean amethysts have been very expensive but recent mine discoveries have reduced their cost considerably. Amethyst often exhibits the phenomena of color shift, appearing a lovely, deep bluish purple in daylight and sensuous reddish purple under incandescent light. Amethyst is a strong stone, suitable for daily wear but it's the gemstones regal, eye-catching hue that makes it a perfect choice for an engagement ring. |
Citrine |
| Citrine is a lovely transparent gemstone, delicately colored in earth tones ranging from straw and lemon yellow to brownish orange and a deep Madeira red. Available in large sizes and a wide variety of shapes, Citrines combination of endearing color, durability and affordability have made it highly prized by children of the sun for many years. |
Spinel |
| The magnificent red spinel is frequently confused with ruby and in fact, "ruby red" spinels grace royal crown jewels from England to Russia, the most famous being the Black Prince Ruby (in reality a 170 carat red spinel) adorning the British Imperial State Crown and the Timur Ruby (a 352 carat spinel) now owned by Queen Elizabeth. While a spinel can be a wonderful ruby stand in, this regal gemstone can, and should, stand on its own merits. Coming in a wide range of colors including orange, pink, red, purple, violet and blue through bluish green, spinel is an audacious gemstone that will play off your strengths and remain by your side no matter what adventure you undertake. |
Alexandrite |
| >Alexandrite is a rare color change variety of chrysoberyl discovered in the Ural Mountains of Russia and named for Czar Alexander on the occasion of his coming of age. Exhibiting the colors of Czarist Russia, the gemstone is a vivid green in daylight and a deep red under incandescent light. Alexandrite also has the good fortune of being very durable making it an ideal gem for daily wear. While certified natural Russian material is very rare and extremely expensive, recent discoveries in South America and Africa have brought more affordable stones to the market. Alexandrite is typically found in either small (< 1 carat) faceted gemstones when transparent or 2 - 5 carat cabochons when translucent. |
Engagement Ring No-No's |
| A number of beautiful colored gemstones, while perfect for occasional use in a well protected setting, should not be used in a daily wear engagement ring. Many of these gemstones are very soft and easily scratched or chipped, some can even be cleanly split in two when bumped against a hard object. A number of colored gemstones are sensitive to chemicals including household cleaning agents as well as perfumes and hand creams. A small number of gemstones are even sensitive to the effects of the sun and will quickly fade with prolonged exposure to UV light. Here are a few of the more common stones that should never be used on a daily basis to symbolize your engagement. |
Emeralds |
| Emeralds, while very beautiful, rare and expensive gemstones, have a lower hardness rating than rubies and sapphires and with a high occurrence of inclusions and fractures, tend to be brittle making them unsuitable for daily wear. Furthermore, many emeralds are treated with resin fillers or oil to improve color and clarity. These treatments are not stable and should be avoided. |
Tanzanite |
| Tanzanite, another recently discovered gem popularized by Tiffany's is a kaleidoscope of royal blue, violet, indigo, lilac and periwinkle shades, easily one of the most extravagant colors known to man and one that personifies elegance. Unfortunately, tanzanite is not a strong gemstone and is very sensitive to heat oftentimes cracking when exposed to sudden, large changes in temperature. Tanzanite is also a single source gemstone and the deposits in the foothills of Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania, are expected to be fully depleted in 10 to 20 years, making Tanzanite a very rare and extremely expensive gemstone, not worth risking with daily wear. |
Tourmaline |
| Tourmaline is one of the world's most versatile gemstones and it can be found in virtually all naturally occurring colors from colorless to black with every tone imaginable and with many gemstones containing more than one color at a time. The most sought after colors of tourmaline are the electric or pool water blue Paraiba and the deep saturated neon red and strawberry tourmalines. So with all of those colors available what's not to like? Sadly, tourmaline is a softer stone and subject to scratches that can dull the gemstone over time. Like tanzanite, it is also sensitive to heat and may fracture when exposed to sudden large changes in temperature. |
Topaz |
| Topaz is a radiant gemstone that falls within a color range of pale yellow to a rich brown with the best color in that range being a medium brown with a red tint, a subtle color not found in any other gemstone. The royal jewelry of the Russian Czarinas in the 18th and 19th centuries contained a great deal of pink and red Topaz which then came to be known as Imperial Topaz, a name which remains to this day. Topaz is a hard stone that would seem to be ideal for daily wear but unfortunately, it exhibits the phenomena of perfect cleavage and even a light tap against a solid object could break the stone in half, clearly a problem for a daily wear engagement ring. |
Opal |
| Opal's entrancing play of colors intrigues people the world over and its neon greens, blues and reds can't be overlooked by even a casual observer. Opals are water rich stones composed of tiny, closely packed spheres of silica surrounded by voids that are filled with water. Light reflected by the spheres and passing through the water is what gives them a shimmering effect. While opals love to be worn, absorbing moisture from the wearer's skin and from the air to maintain their water balance, opal is a very soft stone that is easily scratched or gouged by the daily wear and tear of an engagement ring and is better suited to pendant or necklace wear. |
Zircon |
| Zircon is one of the oldest members of the gemstone community but is becoming increasing popular due to its refractive properties, often rivaling the brilliance and play of color found in the best diamonds. While they come in a variety of colors, Zircon is best known as a radiant blue and though it is an intensely beautiful stone, Zircon is very brittle and is often damaged while being set by a jeweler, frequently needing to be repolished or recut. |
As Unique as You |
| As you can see, the options available with colored gemstone are endless and while careful attention must be paid to the durability of the gemstones you are considering, selecting and purchasing an engagement ring does not have to be the cookie-cutter process that it has become in recent years. You can infuse it with your own personality and meaning, making your ring as unique and special as your relationship with each other. |
Written by Rosemary Arends, G.G. , Du Lyon Jewelers. To order gemstones from the web's number one source, please visit Du Lyon Jewelers. To read more about gemstones, please click here. |
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