When I was getting engaged, the thing I wanted to avoid was having a ring just like everybody else. I watched all of my friends and acquaintances getting engaged and marveled at the likeness of the many rings. I knew I had expensive taste, so the thought of designing a custom ring frightened my then boyfriend.
Here are the 5 things I learned in my experience of designing my own custom ring.
- Uniqueness- According to Dr. Suess, “Today you are you. That is truer than true. There is no one in the world youer than you.” Your ring should be as unique and special as you and your relationship. You need that ring to be the perfect reflection of your love, and the beautiful things about you and your style. Custom-creating a ring is a wonderful way to do that, and it is surprisingly affordable. If you think about it, there are few things that will last past the wedding day; the rings, the pictures, the video, and the dress. The ring may be the best thing to splurge on since you’re hopefully going to wear it every day for the rest of your life. The venues, florists, and caterers cannot tell you the same. Some things, unfortunately, will only last for 1 day. The ring lasts a lifetime.
- Artistry– You might think that you don’t have the artistic talent to design your own ring, but you’d be surprised. All you need is a list of things you like, and things you don’t like. Have somewhat of a vision for what you want, or leave more options to the designer. You could take pictures of rings you’d like combined, sketch out several options, or simply give your designer a list of adjectives for the look you’re going for. You and your designer will go over proofs several times back and forth until you approve the design 100%. There’s no harm in trying out what you think is going to look great.
- Designer– The designer we worked with was impeccable. She knew her stuff so much that I didn’t need to know the specifics, and she ended up capturing my vision completely. As I described it, showed her pictures, and gave her poorly drawn sketches of what I wanted, she created the design on a computer program. We sent it back and forth via email or in person until it was perfect. It was important to have a knowledgeable ring designer because, I didn’t know the exact scale or size that everything needed to be in order to look right. She knew all the different types of settings, and how to make the center stone pop. The perfect thing was, she always made sure that what she was doing was within our price range.
- Quality– No matter how crazy you go with the designs, it is always important to make sure your ring is made with precision and excellent quality. Always go for a center stone with an excellent cut. This is what makes the biggest difference in the level of sparkle and shine. Go to a jeweler that you trust, because going from the design phase to the creating phase is crucial. Make sure that the jeweler has a lot of experience and that it is exactly what you wanted when you get the finished product.
Because all of this takes time, make sure that you have the ring before your exact proposal day or week. Each case will be a different amount of time depending on how many edits it takes, how complex the design, and how specific you are about what you want. Getting a custom-made ring is something that will be as special and unique as you and your love are, and it’s a purchase you’ll never regret.
