6 Steps to Custom Designing the Perfect Ring
We’re excited to introduce a new post series featuring Brilliant Earth jewelry specialists, and their advice on how to create your perfect ring! One of our custom design specialists, Ryan Stauffer, shares his thoughts below on how to custom design your dream ring.
Designing a custom ring for your partner is one of the most exciting gestures that you can do to show your love and commitment. It can also be a bit scary at first, but learning the lingo and familiarizing yourself with your special someone’s style are the first steps in overcoming this fear and ensuring a successful finished piece that you both will cherish. As a Jewelry Designer and a recently engaged guy, I have experienced both sides of this creative process. I created my fiancée’s engagement ring here at Brilliant Earth about a year ago and enjoyed the ability to finely tune the ring to match my fiancée’s and my unique sense of style. She loves the ring and gets compliments and questions about it all of the time! When the style of the ring matches the style of the person who’s wearing it, it will make any outfit she wears that much cooler. Here is what to do to make sure your custom design is a success!
1.) Find the person you want to spend the rest of your life with. Ok, that part is obvious, but now that you found them – take a look at what they are wearing. Then tomorrow do the same thing, maybe take a peek in their closet to get accustomed to their sense of their style. What type of jewelry do they wear every day, if any? If you haven’t paid attention in the past to these details, you should tune in! This will help you decode their style, guiding you to the right collection of pieces to base your design on.
2.) To help you get more inspiration and learn some of the lingo for different ring types, you can browse our site. We have a great custom ring gallery that will show you many of the options out there, as well as a large inventory of beautiful engagement rings that could serve as the base for your idea.
3.) Talk to them! If you are like me there are a bunch of people around you getting engaged. This is the perfect excuse to bring up the topic. They may be waiting around, looking for a way to give you some clues to what they like.
4.) Think about how the ring will be worn each day – this may indicate some of the ring styles and gem types that are best suited for the design. For instance, a person with a job where they will wear gloves every day or spend their time outdoors may be best suited for a ring that is designed to be lower on the finger or designed to avoid areas where dirt could build up.
5.) Decide if they are the type of person that would enjoy any added symbolism that a custom ring can offer. You can use this opportunity to add a flower, animal, symbol, or color that they love in various ways. This is not something that all people will want to have on their engagement ring, so do some probing and get a sense of their thoughts on the subject.
6.) Plan ahead! Designing a custom ring can take at least a few extra weeks to create – the average turnaround time is 4-6 weeks. Being able to go through the custom design process with minimal time pressure ensures you have the time to make sure the ring is exactly as you envisioned. Rushing to meet an opportune proposal date is not always avoidable, but planning ahead can make the experience more fun and rewarding in the end!
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