'I'm an engagement ring designer and there's three styles I would never buy'

31 December 2023 , 16:07

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There are three engagement ring styles to avoid, according to an expert (Stock Photo) (Image: Getty Images/Westend61)

Choosing an engagement ring that will perfectly suit your fiancée isn't always easy - or necessarily affordable.

Given that the hope is your partner will wear this ring for a lifetime, picking a style that is beautiful, to their taste, and hard-wearing is no mean feat. Thankfully, a jewellery designer has come forward with her expert advice on what three styles you should absolutely avoid purchasing in your hunt for the perfect engagement ring because the styles simply are not "durable" for a lifetime of wear, and which styles she would opt for instead.

The expert - Jordan an engagement ring designer who founded the Canadian jewellery company Castlefield Connection - explained that "the first thing you want to avoid is a ring without a gallery rail." Whilst showing an image of what a gallery rail is, she explained it is "a thin piece of metal that goes in between the prongs of a ring.

"Without a gallery rail, especially if you only have four prongs holding your stone, if one prong gets pulled down or gets caught on something, you will lose your stone." She added, "You want that gallery rail for that extra support."

Jordan then explained that another style that should be avoided is engagement rings which feature only an extremely thin band. "I would never buy a very, very thin-banded engagement ring. While thin bands like these can be very pretty, it is just not very durable," she explained, "so my recommendation is to always stick to at least 1.8mm for your engagement ring."

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Then Jordan displayed in her video an engagement ring, the band of which is made up of diamonds, "I would never buy an engagement ring that looks like this, that has a bubble band, that's what they call it

"This has one prong holding every two stones in the band. This is not durable at all." Jordan explained that these rings should definitely be avoided because "the question is not if it will drop stones, it's when."

The engagement ring designer explained that it is possible to still opt for this look if you really want to and you know you will love wearing it for a lifetime, but you need to be careful to make sure it has enough support to keep the stones attached.

"If you want that bubble band look, make sure that you have at least three prongs holding each stone," she advised, and captioned her video to remind viewers that while "unique engagement rings are popular," those looking to make a purchase should not "compromise on durability."

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Emma Mackenzie