Are you looking for a unique engagement ring that does not use a diamond as the main stone? If so, you're in luck. Traditional diamond engagement rings have been falling out of favor recently. Instead, you can pick up a ring with a colored gemstone, metal centerpiece or petrified wood focal point. Read about the options in more detail below.
Rubies
You may associate gorgeous red rubies with feelings of love and adoration. These eye-catching gems stand out in complex filigree settings due to their bright tones. Rubies have a lot of natural fissures and deviations in the center of the gem, making each one unique despite traditional cuts. If you want a perfectly formed ruby, consider picking up a lab-created gem. Since rubies are just one notch lower than diamonds on the hardness scale, they stand up to the test of time quite well.
Sapphires
If your beloved doesn't favor the color red, pick up a sapphire for a gem just as gorgeous and durable as a ruby. Sapphires come in a wide range of blue tones that suit nearly every personality. Natural light shining through the gem may even change its tone from dark to light and back again. Oval and cushion cut gems further improve this phenomenon by scattering the light toward the center of the jewel.
Opals
The opal leads the pack when it comes to color changes. Silica fragments inside of the gem make the jewel sparkle with all of the colors in the rainbow. The color types range from white gems with rainbow sparkles to black ones with red, orange and yellow flecks inside. Many jewelers set the rings in a polished, natural shape to maximize the amount of sparkle you can see from above. However, opals cut in teardrop, rectangle and princess configurations show different colors at each facet.
Metal Cutouts
If you prefer to skip the gem selection process altogether, consider picking up a ring with a metal centerpiece. Jewelers construct faux gems out of copper, bronze, platinum, gold and palladium, and then attach them to the band using solder. The gem configurations range from geometric shapes to replicas of real life objects. Geometric shapes frequently look like real gems from afar as they reflect light off their surface. Artistic replicas may capture the personality and interests of your loved one or represent items unique to your union.
Petrified Wood
You can also find rings and centerpieces made from petrified wood. Jewelers may create rings with a petrified wood stone attached to the center or use the wood as an inlay in the band. You can even obtain a ring made completely from this type of wood, band and all. Depending on the tree type, you can find this wood in ranging in color from honey to cocoa tones.
Petrified wood is just one-step down from rubies on the Moh's hardness scale, so it makes a good replacement for gems. However, it can be difficult for jewelers to shave it down to size and shine it up due to its brittle state. As a result, each piece made from petrified wood takes a lot of time and energy.
Finding A Ring
Troll the local pawnshops until the perfect ring jumps out at you. Keep your alternative gem preferences in mind while you shop. However, do not ignore rings that feel just right, but do not perfectly match your visions. You want the ring to speak volumes about your love and commitment to your partner, no matter what kind of gemstone or centerpiece it has. Try to match the ring to both of your personalities to make sure it acts as a reminder of your love for decades to come.
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