What You Need to Know Before Buying an Emerald Engagement Ring

Some modern women want anything but traditional when it comes to their wedding, including their engagement ring. Over the years, customers and jewelers have experimented with different gemstones as engagement ring alternatives. Engagement rings with emerald gemstones is one variation that rose quickly to trending status within the last couple of years. With an emerald, both custom, unique engagement rings, and vintage, simple emerald engagement rings make big impressions.

Origin of Emerald Engagement Rings

Some of the earliest records of people wearing emerald rings on their left ring fingers involve the Sumerians. They believed that emeralds had an anti-inflammatory effect, especially on the eyes. Therefore, it was common to wear emeralds on the left side and to give emerald rings to loved ones fitted for the fingers on the left hand to loved ones who had any swelling related issues in or around the eyes. Over time and around the world, emerald engagement rings have been popular. Victorian style emerald rings and vintage-inspired designs have gained prominence and popularity over time.

Emerald Engagement Ring Meaning

An emerald engagement ring has special meaning. The emerald gemstone once represented gods and goddesses in older cultures, and carried sacred religious significance. Various cultures have placed spiritual and cultural significance for various cultures.

Today, emeralds mean successful love, given to one's beloved in the hopes of supporting a strong, unwavering love and commitment for the rest of their lives together. Giving women engagements with emeralds is like wishing for luck, peace, and longevity in your soon-to-be marriage.

Metals That Go Well With This Gemstone

As with any other ring, jewelers can make emerald engagement rings with any metal available. However, because of the emerald's clarity, inclusion, and delicate condition, many jewelry professionals believe that certain metals better suit the gemstone. Silver, for example, makes a weaker substitute for other metals. Although it is a less expensive alternative to common white metals, it is prone to blemishes, and daintier silver bands break easily.

Ring aficionados encourage those considering emerald engagement rings to opt for rose gold, yellow gold, or platinum. Yellow and rose gold metals are strong and withstand a great deal of use, and complement the emerald's hue and brilliance elegantly. Platinum is another great white metal, and it goes well with either emeralds alone or diamond and emerald engagement rings.

18 karat metals are a nice median for your engagement ring, no matter which metal you choose. It gives the emerald adequate support with just the right amount of delicacy, without overwhelming or compromising the stone's strength or appearance.

Emerald Engagement Rings With and Without Diamonds

Emerald solitaire engagement rings are at the top of the list of most popular emerald rings. Simple, classic single emeralds with white gold or platinum bands offers a classic beauty that tends to be overshadowed with more complex gemstone combinations. However, the addition of accent diamonds to an emerald solitaire ring can add some extra sparkle to that classic appearance, and offer an emerald engagement ring that any bride will adore.

Emerald halo rings aren't unheard of; however, all-emerald halo rings can detract from the emerald gemstone's natural beauty and sparkle. Therefore, many emerald halo engagement rings are made with either a diamond center stone surrounded by an emerald halo, or an emerald stone encircled with diamonds. That way, the unique qualities of both stones shine through, without masking or muddying the characteristic of the other.

Popular Emerald Cuts and Shapes for Engagement Rings

At the top of the most popular emerald cuts for modern engagement rings is the emerald cut. The elongated shape and enlarged appearance make it a beautiful shape, and an elegant choice for a solitaire emerald engagement ring.

Next to the emerald cut emeralds are the round cut ones. Round cut emeralds make amazing solitaire engagement rings, and accent gemstones complement them well in any style.

Oval cut emerald engagement rings are also popular choices for solitaire engagement rings. Like the emerald cut stones, they have an elongated shape, which adds to the size appearance of the gems. Both the oval and emerald cut stones can make a bride's finger look slimmer and longer. This is especially appealing for women with smaller hands and petite fingers.

The deep green hues in emerald give princess cut diamonds, especially in tri-stone styles, a sense of royal elegance. Princess cut gemstones go well in repetition with themselves, as well as with square-shaped and cushion-cut stones. Like the emerald and round cut emeralds, they also make beautiful, unique looking solitaire emerald engagement rings.

Cushion cut stones are often used in vintage or antique style engagement rings. The soft square shape without the sharp corners and edges of the square-cut gemstones help create a delicate, vintage look, with less of the modern “edge” of the pure square-shaped gems.

Emerald Engagement Ring Setting Styles

For the ever-popular solitaire and tri-stone emerald engagement ring styles, a common setting involves multiple prongs. Anywhere between 3-6 prongs hold the emerald(s) in place. This setting relies on the emerald cuts and metal work designs to enhance the appearance of the ring, rather than more complex ring settings.

Halo settings are also popular for emerald engagement rings. Many people shopping the market for the ideal emerald engagement ring have a more vintage look in mind. Halo settings provide the perfect combination of antiquity to a modern ring, which is something that any vintage-loving modern bride can appreciate.

Another antique-looking setting is the emerald-and-baguette stone engagement ring. This setting works well with either a tri-emerald stone style or an emerald center stone between two diamond baguettes. Both offer a neo-vintage kind of ring for today's brides and look beautiful on the hands of all types of women.

Pave settings accentuate the individual facets of the emerald gemstone, and can be used to create the most unique custom made emerald engagement rings. Pave settings complement solitaire, tri-stone, and accent gemstone encrusted engagement rings.

Popular Examples of These Rings

Colored stone engagement rings are becoming increasingly popular worldwide, especially in the wide kingdom known as Hollywood. Celebrities are taking to colored engagement rings more each year, and emeralds have been popular choices since before the 1950s.

For example, Jackie Kennedy sported an emerald-and-diamond ring after accepting the marriage proposal from J.F. Kennedy in the early 1950's. With the center, square shaped emerald, and emerald and diamond accent stones, it is one of the most widely known emerald engagement rings in American history.

Halle Berry received a 4-carat emerald engagement ring. This special, handmade gold ring has the beautiful center emerald, nestled between two small accent diamonds. The painstaking work it took to make the ring, as well as its well-known beauty, created quite the buzz among celebrities and Halle Berry fans worldwide alike.

The late Duchess of Windsor possessed another of the most famous emerald rings in the world. Hers was nearly 20 carats of emeralds, set in a platinum band with a gold setting. It is considered to be one of the most beautiful emerald gemstone rings ever created to date.

Monaco's royal family welcomed Grace Kelly through her marriage to Prince Rainier, who proposed to Kelly with an historical emerald engagement ring. Measuring about 12 carats of emerald and embellished with two diamond baguettes.