One of the most exciting parts of getting engaged is choosing the perfect ring.

Whether your partner chooses the ring for you before proposing or you choose your own ring after the proposal, it will be worn for many years, so it should be perfect for the hand that wears it.

The Springs Advertiser spoke to jewellery designer and owner of José Jewellers, Carmen Amdur, about current trends and the benefits of having your ring designed specifically for you.

According to her, rose gold is popular at the moment, but she believes this a temporary phase.

“Ideally, platinum is the best metal to go for and it is a lot more affordable than it was in the past.

“It used to be very expensive to have rings done in platinum, but if you can afford it, I always advise clients to choose platinum,” Carmen says.

The metal doesn’t need any treatment, whereas 18-carat white gold needs to be rhodium plated once a year to keep the metal white.

Carmen explains that while white gold is very popular, many people don’t realise that it has to be rhodium treated to ensure it stays white.

“White gold is yellow gold with palladium added to it, so it has a greyish-yellowish sheen to it when it is first made.

“As you wear it, that colour starts to come through and it needs to be coated.”

Platinum, in contrast, needs no treatment at all other than just polishing it up.

It is also harder and more durable, making it the most popular metal for engagement rings.

She says that while it is still more expensive than gold, the gap is lessening with the price of platinum coming down, which makes it more feasible to use than in the past.

According to Carmen, a few of her clients still choose to have their rings made in yellow gold, but there aren’t many people making this choice currently.

Settings

When it comes to settings, Carmen comments: “We have gone past the very broad, wide look of the ’80s and ’90s.

“The trend now is to choose something more dainty, with an emphasis on highlighting the stones rather than having a lot of metal.”

Fitted wedding bands – where they fit into the engagement ring – are still very popular.

“The settings have gone a little higher and the vintage look is in at the moment, with hand engraving and stones set on the side.

“In choosing a diamond, the round brilliant cut is still the most popular, but princess – that’s the square – is also popular.”

While Marilyn Monroe may have sung about diamonds being a girl’s best friend, Carmen says that Moissanite may be her new best friend.

“Moissanite has become very popular.

“It is a natural mineral but it is cultivated and polished in a laboratory and the stones have all the properties of a diamond.

“They look like a diamond and are just as hard.”

Carmen says these stones have been created to have almost the same colours as diamonds.

“In the past Moissanite used to have a slight yellow tint but now they actually make them in the equivalent of a white diamond colour D, E, F.

“Those are the very white colours so that has been quite a popular option.

“They are beautiful and they have a lifetime guarantee but for someone who can’t afford a one carat diamond its more affordable.”

She says the stones replicate diamond so closely that, even with her trained eye, she often needs to use a tester to definitively tell them apart.

“They still cost a fair amount but have the same durability and brilliance.

“We import them from New Zealand from a very reputable company,” she says.

Stones

If you don’t want a diamond, there are alternatives.

However, Carmen steers he clients away from certain softer stone which she says are better for dress rings that don’t need to be as durable as an engagement rings.

She says aside from birthstones, clients love blue sapphires which she says, in an engagement ring, is a sign of fidelity, that you’ll always be true.

If you are looking at alternatives to diamonds you need to look to some of the harder stones.

She says rubies and sapphire are only slightly lower in strength than diamonds and also durable, which is important in an engagement ring.

Her other suggestion is an emerald.

The perfect design

Carmen says there is a demand for custom-made engagement rings.

She says the beauty of working with a designer is that you can get something perfect and still stay within your budget.

“There are many designs available on the Internet, so if a client sees something they like, they bring in the pictures and we can start from there.

“We can also start from scratch with the client.

“Designing works well because we work according to a client’s budget, and then I can quote and suggest alternates where necessary, but we can create something very similar to their desires within their means.”

If you want to find out more about Moissanite visit Carmen’s suppliers on the Charles & Colvard website