ebookcarat refers to the weight of a diamond. one carat is equivalent to 200 milligrams. one carat...

H

H

A guide to choosing your perfect ring

Ebook

Visit Our Site at www.essexweddingjewellery.com

WELCOME

With preparations underway for the big day, you would think the wedding rings would be one of the most important items to arrange, yet they often get overlooked and left

until quite late in the day to arrange. Surprising, when you consider that you will be wearing your ring for life!

In order to make your ring choice easier, we have put this guide together with some basic information and things to consider when choosing your rings.

Because of limited choice of jewellery on the high street, much of which is mass produced and imported, many people looking for something a little bit different are

turning to specialists such as Essex Wedding Jewellery to purchase their wedding rings.

We realise that everybody is individual and work with you to understand your needs to create jewellery for your special occasion.

Our advice to those looking to purchase wedding rings, is don’t add to the stress of the wedding preparations by leaving your rings until the last minute.

Stand out from the crowd, find your special wedding ring and have a beautiful handcrafted piece of jewellery made by us.


CONTENTS

INITIAL CONSIDERATIONS SHAPES STYLESMETALS

SIZEDIAMONDS & THE 4 C’S

Do you want matching wedding bands?

Do you want a ring that reflects your personal style?

Do you want your wedding band to match your engagement ring?

What type of wedding ring would look best on your hand?

Do you have a cultural tradition you want to follow with your wedding bands?

What budget do you have?

SHAPES

Flat wedding ring - traditional flat shape ring on the inside and outside.

D-shape ring - shaped dome on the outside and flat on the inside.

Court shape ring - curved on the outside and inside.

Flat Court shape - flat on the outside and curved on the inside.

Various ring shapes exist, described below are some basic ring shape definitions:


STYLES

There are many styles to choose from, do you want diamonds set into the band? Do you want a pattern in the band? Or do you prefer a plain band?

A few styles are explained below.

METALS

A big choice to make is which metal to choose, the more popular metal choices are below, your choice may depend on other jewellery worn, strength required from the ring or budget.

Channel set - A channel-set ring arranges diamonds in a line that is inlaid into the ring’s band with a small metal lip on each edge to keep the stones in place. There are no individual prongs around each stone; instead, the metal lips keep the stones secure without detracting from them with additional metal.

White gold - a modern choice, white gold is made by mixing pure gold with other metals such as silver and palladium and enhanced with rodium plating to produce a highly reflective white surface.

Yellow gold - traditional choice, in pure form it’s too soft to be used on it’s own, so it is alloyed with other metals to produce a strong metal whilst maintaining it’s yellow colour.

Platinum - a special and popular choice, naturally silver-grey in colour, it is extremely hard wearing and looks beautiful on it’s own or set with diamonds.

Other metals – this includes titanium, palladium and silver.

Diamond set rings diamonds can be placed in the ring, singularly or in a pattern to give a ring a different look.

Pavé set - A pavé set is made up of lots of small stones, often diamonds, set closely together. The gems are separated and held in place by little beads of the setting metal. The result is what looks like a continuous surface of diamonds or other gems.

Patterned rings - rings can be cut using a lathe to create patterns in the ring, giving individual style to a ring.


SIZE

When buying a wedding band, you may want to choose a stylethat echoes the shape of your hand.

Generally, people with larger, wider hands can more easily wear larger bands with large stones, than people with more narrow or petite hands. A delicate or narrow wedding band

may look out of place on a larger hand, while a chunky band with large stones may look too gaudy on a small hand.

Rings are three-dimensional, so take height into consideration as well.

A slender finger wearing a ring with a tall setting can look very graceful.

DIAMONDS & THE FOUR C’S

If you want to include diamonds in your ring, it is important to understand the 4 C’s, further explained below.

CutCut refers to the angles and proportions of a diamond, known as facets. The precision of these facets, determines the beauty of the stone.

A well-cut diamond will internally reflect light from one mirror-like facet to another and disperse and reflect it through the top of the gem. The facets, when arranged in precise proportions, will maximize the brilliance of a diamond.

A well-cut diamond will be higher in quality anvalue than deep or shallow-cut diamonds.


Diamonds cut too deep or too shallow lose or leak light through the side or bottom, resulting in less brilliance and a less valuable stone.

The cut includes the shape of a diamond - round, square, or pear, for example. Round diamonds are symmetrical and capable of reflecting nearly all the light that enters, so it is the most brilliant of all diamond shapes and follows specific proportional guidelines.

Some examples of non-round shapes, also known as ‘fancy shapes’ are shown.

ColourColour refers to the degree to which a diamond is colourless.

Diamonds can be found in many colours, however white-coloured or colourless diamonds remain the most popular.

Clarity

Clarity refers to the presence of inclusions in a diamond.

Naturally occurring features called inclusions provide a special fingerprint within the stone. Inclusions are natural identifying characteristics such as minerals or fractures, occurring

while the diamond was being formed in the Earth.

The majority of these natural birthmarks are invisible to the naked eye, yet they affect the way light is reflected and refracted within the stone.

Diamonds are graded on a colour scale which ranges from D (colourless) to Z. Warmer coloured diamonds (K-Z) are particularly desirable when set in yellow gold. Icy winter white coloured diamonds (D-J) look stunning set in white gold or platinum.

Colour differences are very subtle and it is very difficult to see the difference between an E and an F. Truly colourless stones, graded D are treasured for their rarity.

Nature has also created diamonds in shades of blue, green, yellow, orange, and pink. Red is the rarest of all. These diamonds are called ‘coloured fancies’ and are extremely rare and highly treasured.


Inclusions appear as different shapes, such as crystals, clouds or feathers. These idiosyncrasies often add to the overall character of the diamond.Most inclusions are not visible to the naked eye unless magnified.

Inclusions are ranked on a scale of perfection, known as clarity. The clarity scale, ranging from F (Flawless) to Included (I), is based on the visibility of inclusions at a magnification of 10x.

Even with a loupe, the birthmarks in the VVS (Very, Very Slightly Included) to VS (Very Slightly Included) range can be very difficult to find. It is only when a diamond is graded ‘I’

that it is possible to see the birthmarks with the naked eye.

The position of inclusions can affect the value of a diamond and you should consider the number, size, brightness, nature and position of inclusions. There are very few flawless diamonds found in nature,

making these diamonds very rare and therefore much more valuable.

CaratCarat refers to the weight of a diamond. One carat is equivalent to 200 milligrams. One carat can also be divided into 100 ‘points’. A .75-carat diamond is the same as a 75-point or 3/4 carat diamond.

Since larger diamonds are found less frequently in nature, a single 1-carat diamond will cost more than two 1/2-carat diamonds, assuming the colour, clarity and cut are the same.

THANK YOU

Thank you for taking the time to read our guide. We hope it has given you greater knowledge and understanding of how

you would like your wedding rings to look and feel.

We at Essex Wedding Jewellery pride ourselves on our customer service. We take the hassle out of looking around high street shops and bring our services to you.

We are always happy to answer any questions you may have so please do not hesitate in contacting us via phone or email.

To discuss your requirements or arrange a meeting or simply ask a question, please

phone us on: 01277 810702 / 07876 447711

or email us at: info@ essexweddingjewellery.com

In addition to wedding rings, we also make and supply the following:

Engagement rings

Eternity rings

Wedding day jewellery for the bride or bridal party- earrings, necklaces, bracelets

Bridal party thank you gifts

Wedding party favours

Cufflinks

ebookcarat refers to the weight of a diamond. one carat is equivalent to 200 milligrams. one carat...

Documents