Choose your Engagement Ring's Metal.
Each has its own look and characteristics, and there are lots of finishes available. Your designer will guide you through the practicalities of each and talk about engraving.
Browse through our information on metal types, finishes and engraving and bring your ideas to your design consultation.
If you have any questions or would like to arrange a design consultation,
please contact us.
As you discuss the piece, your designer will constantly be thinking about how the engagement ring is going to be made by one of our goldsmiths, working out the practical as well as creative elements of the design. Different precious metals behave differently and practical issues like how finishes will last all have to be considered.
Precious Metal Choices
In preparation for you appointment, why not browse our engagement rings knowledge section and collect together a few ideas and information about precious metals that you prefer. Below is a very quick summary of your choices:
Types
The look, durability and price of precious metals varies greatly. The choices are silver, gold (in various colour and carats) and platinum.
Silver has a lovely blue-white colour and makes a nice ring that's much less expensive than gold or platinum. We work in sterling silver which is 925 parts in a 1000 - in other words at least 92.5% pure silver which is less brittle than less pure alloys.
Yellow gold is the classic choice for engagment and wedding rings. Pure gold (24 carat) is very soft and not ideal for jewellery, so it is normally alloyed with other metals such as zinc to add hardness. White gold is yellow gold alloyed with metals such as platinum or palladium and silver while rose gold is alloyed with copper. White or yellow gold is now available as pre-certified fair trade gold in some shapes.
Platinum is the most expensive and hard wearing of the precious metals and a wonderful contemporary steely-white colour. The combination of diamond and platinum in an engagement ring is a wonderful sight and unsurpassed in brilliance.
Palladium is as beautiful as platinum thought much less expensive! It has just become legally hallmarkable in the UK.
Why not be adventurous and combine metals together - your designer can discuss doing this during your appointment.
Finishes
The classic finish is polished, to bring out the lustre of the metal and complement the gemstone. However, there are various other finishes available including satinised, which gives a more contemporary look, pin-end (like it has been scratched with lots of little pins), and Tunstall, which was invented by our head jeweller Richard, and is a more durable version of the pin end finish.
White gold engagement rings can be rhodium plated to give it a steely white, platinum-like appearance. This is a good way to achieve a platinum looking ring without the extra expense of using platinum. However this plating will wear off over time to reveal the more yellowy coloured white gold underneath. The speed at which this happens can vary hugely between people, from only a few months to several years, but it is simple and inexpensive to have engagement rings re-rhodium plated. We or any jeweller are always happy to do this.
Engraving
Your engagement ring could be engraved on the outside or the inside of the shank with letters - perhaps a special message or date. Engraving can also be applied in patterns or lines as part of the overall design.
Learn more about the environmental impacts of mining precious metals.
If you have any questions or would like to arrange a design consultation, please contact us.
