Dream Engagement Ring

Isn't this ring stunning... I mean STUNNING?!  Love!

Clearly I've got rings on the mind.  It's odd - I go through phases where I don't think about it, and then this wave of engagement fever hits! What's a girl to do?!  Clearly, a girl is to indulge in her obsessions a bit.

Over the past year, my tastes in rings have changed, and changed again... and changed again, but I think I've reached a point where I've settled on two engagement ring types that I love:
    - Ideal #1: Classic...
    - Ideal #2: Classic... with a twist

Ideal #1: Classic
What could be more classic than a round solitaire?  A round diamond has several benefits - one, the way the facets are cut, round diamonds outshine all other diamond shapes, proving to be the most sparkly...  awesome... what else?  Round diamonds also offer the largest surface area per carat of all cuts.  Super awesome!  As a girl who loves everything that glitters, would I settle for a plain band?  Of course not - so there it is... round diamond on a micropave diamond band. Simple, elegant, timeless, and yet... it brings a wow factor that is hard to beat!

         Classic Round Solitaire with micropave band:

     

             

        

        

Ideal #2: Classic with a Twist
Ok, I might need another cup of coffee on this sleepy Monday morning, but I swear this is a category!  I am not talking contemporary settings.  On the contrary, this "classic with a twist" is actually a blend of contemporary diamond cutting and vintage styles (halo settings actually became popular in the 1920's and 30's when glamorous art-deco aesthetic dominated the day).  Becoming popular again, I have sort of fallen in love with the revamped micropave halo setting.  I love them to frame either a very symmetrical cushion cut diamond, or a round stone.  As opposed to the more ornate vintage styles, I am drawn to the cleaner more contemporary halo's, thus the classic... with a twist... ha!

         Round Micropave Halo:
         
         
         
         


Cushion Micropave Halo:
         
         
         
         


So there we have it... a bit of diamond porn to start your week off!  And for any men looking for engagement ring inspiration and / or advice, print out this post, take it to a jeweler and start pricing these babies out!