Gemstone Engagement Rings

Blue sapphire engagement rings have been known to be preferred by royalty because the blue sapphire stone is even more rare than a diamond and is almost as hard. This is a nice factoid to share with your number one queen as you slip a blue sapphire engagement ring on her ring finger. Blue sapphires come in a range of shades from a light to deep blue. The blue color is due to the level of titanium in the stone: the more titanium, the richer the color. However, too much color can actually create a dull black effect, reducing the price of the stone.
Most blue sapphires are found in Sri Lanka, Burma, and Madagascar. Burmese sapphires tend to cost more than those from Sri Lanka and Madagascar due to their brilliant color. Kashmir blue sapphires are the most rare and expensive of all as the supply found in a remote region of India was exhausted around a 100 years ago, thus escalating price and demand.
Prices for blue sapphires depend on whether or not they've been treated (with untreated costing much more) as well as color, cut, tone (lightness or darkness of stone), saturation (degree to which hue is hidden by other shades), and clarity. One carat blue sapphires can range from a few hundred dollars to several thousand.
Buy your ruby engagement rings with pride! Don't let anyone tell you that diamonds are better as engagement rings. Only you and your potential spouse should decide what fits in with your style, taste, and budget........not popular opinion.... or your future mother-in-law. Besides, you can always tell the nay-sayers that large rubies are even more rare than diamonds. Rubies belong to the corundum family. Any other color besides red from this family is considered a sapphire. Rubies are almost as hard as diamonds. Diamonds are considered a "10" on the hardness scale while rubies come in at a 9. Rubies have somewhat less clarity than other gemstones and tend to have at least some small inclusions. Most rubies are heat-treated to improve their color, but stones in their natural form do exist. Cushion cut and oval rubies are the most common shape. Burmese rubies are considered to be the most desirable.
You may be able to save money by purchasing a ruby with a slightly off-shade i.e. a little bit lighter or darker than what is considered ideal... a vivid red color. You can also save some dough by purchasing synthetic versus natural rubies. Rubies belong to the corundum family. Any other color besides red from this family is considered a sapphire.
Rest assured that buying opal engagement rings for your partner will not bring them bad luck but perhaps even the opposite. Concerning the opal gemstone superstition, some still feel that it is bad luck to purchase an opal for oneself, but good luck if someone else gives one to you. Throughout history there have been negative connotations associated with opals. Interestingly enough, it is said that the diamond dealers became nervous in the 18th and 19th century about the beatiful gemstone stealing away diamond customers and further perpepuated stereotypes of the opal to prevent this from happening. The powers that be tried hard to defeat this bad luck urban legend when huge amounts of opals were found in Australia.
I personally love opal engagement rings. With their rainbow hues, I just think opals are some of the prettiest stones around. The rainbow shades are oftened referred to as a "play of color." Most of the opal supply come from our Aussie friends in Southern Australia.
Here's the science behind the opals. Opals are a noncrystalline form of the mineral silica which are formed from amorphous "balls" or "lumps" of silica. In other words, water in the ground carrying dissolved silica seeps through sand and dirt, where the silica particles are deposited in cracks. As the water evaporates, the silica particles cement together to form the opal. The color is caused by the diffraction of light. Where the tiny spheres of silica are of a similar size and arrangement, the light reflecting from them is divided into its spectral colors, and the stone appears to contain all the colors of the rainbow. Where the spheres are larger and less uniform, the range of color is more limited.
One of the major downfalls of opal engagement rings compared to diamonds is that opals are a much softer stone. While the diamond is considered to be a 10 on the Mohs hardness sclae, the opal rates between a 5 and a 6. This means that over time, it is possible for the opal to break and you must be careful to treat it with care and look for a ring setting that best preserves its integrity (i.e. semi-bezel is a good choice).
Opals exhibit an impressive color range. They can be white, pink, green and blue, gray, or black. Australian boulder opals are the most durable of opals as well as the most robust in color. As a result, they are considered to be valuable and are pretty pricey Black opals are actually the most rare and expensive. They have a dark backdrop with a rainbow colors or deep blue-green hues. Fire opals, which have any color backdrop but exhibit an unusual amount of red color play are also fairly rare
There are a thousand legends and stories related to the opal gemstone.
The Ancient Greeks believed opals fell from heaven during flashes of lightning and provided individuals with the ability to see into the future.
The Romans thought that wearing opals made one more lucid in thought and spontaneous in action.
Can you believe this? In his play "Tweltfh Night," Shakespeare made use of the gemstone to make an analogy between the opal's changing colors and the ever-changing moods of a woman. Hmmmmmmmm.......not sure if I like the comparison.
The author just recently celebrated her one year anniversary and sports a beautiful ascher cut diamond on her ring finger. She and her husband put together http://ultimate-engagement-ring-guide.com to help you find the perfect engagement ring.
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Celebrity Engagement Rings - Famous Wedding Jewelry

Everyday we hear about the up and down lives of celebrities. We want to know about their lifestyles and love-lives. We are intrigued by celebrity couples weddings and her engagement ring. Celebrities will always be major trend setters for jewelry. Who can forget J.Lo's 6 carat radiant cut pink diamond engagement ring. It's part of a Hollywood trend that suggests "bigger is better". Catherine Zeta-Jones said yes to a beautiful antique design, horizontal set marquise diamond ring. And socialite Paris Hilton's received a huge 24 carat canary diamond ring, and also a large 15 carat emerald cut diamond ring. There are many celebrity engagement rings incorporating the elegant design of antique rings. Like Reese Witherspoon's antique 1920's style 4.5 carat asscher cut diamond engagement ring. Prince Charles also offered an art deco antique style platinum emerald ring with baguette diamonds to Camilla Parker Bowles. For some celebrities one diamond is not enough, choosing the three stone engagement ring. The stones representing the past, present and future. Guy Ritchie gave Madonna an exquisite three stone platinum diamond ring. Sharon Stone can also be seen wearing her lovely emerald cut three stone diamond ring. Seeing celebrity engagement rings shows us what an endless budget can acquire. Although, it is possible for you to choose a celebrity inspired ring at a reasonable cost. A jeweler can custom make you an engagement ring utilizing the styling cues and design of your favorite celebrity ring. Many online jewelry retailers offer rings that resemble most celebrity rings. Offering you a taste of the style and elegance of the rich and famous.
Guillaume Lafond is a successful author and regular contributor to www.quality-diamond-engagement-rings.com. A site dedicated to providing ressources and information to consumers on diamond engagement rings and jewelry.
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Inexpensive Engagement Rings

Do inexpensive engagement rings exist or do they all cost an arm and a leg? The first thing most guys want to know is how much they should spend on the eye candy. Here are some interesting factoids:
- According to a study in 2002 by the Conde Nast Bridal Group, publisher of Bride's and Modern Bride, the average cost of an engagement ring is $3,576.
- There is the popularized jewelry industry mantra which dictates spending "two months salary" (no one is sure if this is before or after taxes)
You should spend what you feel comfortable with. Society sends us many confusing messages about love and marriage. They emphasize the timeless and unconditional nature of love whilst simultanteously encouraging us to show the extent of our love by purchasing the biggest diamond we can afford. Just something for you to keep in mind.
The reality is that for some, two months salary is $500 while others pull in $10,000 a month or more. You do not want to blow so much money that you don't have anything leftover for other important expenses such as a down-payment on a house (or groceries for the next week). Whether you purchase an inexpensive engagement ring or one that is more pricey, it is best to have a pre-set ring budget. This way, you may be less tempted to spend more than you can really afford. One thing to consider is that you can always upgrade the ring down the road by adding extra stones, purchasing an additional band, etc.... this has become a very popular thing to do (much to my husband's dismay...and my delight).
Others who have limited funding but still want to purchase regardless may look into loans for engagement rings. My husbance purchased my ring at Blue Nile one of the best online jewelry stores out there, which has received a lot of positive press. Their website storefront is highly interactive and you can mix and match different stones and settings to create your own ring.
Another great place to buy rings is at Mondera which has won "Best of the Web" award by Forbes. A few weeks ago, one of my good friends got engaged. Her man purchased a ring from Mondera and both of them are ecstatic. She loves the ring and he thought the price and the customer service were excellent. And let me tell you, customer service is important when your plunking down those Gs.
Here are some factors that will impact the cost:
• Carats- the heavier the stone, the more moolah
• Color- the less of it, the more expensive.
• Clarity- the more of it, the more expensive. Small inclusions and flaws will bring down the price.
• Cut- Emerald and princess cuts cost less because they follow the shape of the stone. Heart-shaped, oval, and pear cost more.
• Retail Store, Online stores, or Online Auctions- Online stores can often price their rings at around 30% less than retail stores because they don't have to pay as much overhead.....thus, the savings are typically handed over to the customer. When purchasing online, be sure to review whether proper certification and appraisal information is provided. Make note of the terms of the return policy, should you need to return or exchange the ring. Online auctions such as on ebay can also offer signficant savings although precautions must be taken to avoid being taken advantage of.
•Ring Setting- Yellow gold, white gold, silver and titanium metals are less expensive than platinum
• Authentic diamond vs. cubic zirconia engagement rings or moissanite engagement rings I think you know which of these cost the least
Interestingly enough, two rings that appear fairly similar to the naked eye, can have vastly different prices depending on the quality of the diamond.-- Consider this as you are pulling out your credit card.
Check out http://www.ultimate-engagement-ring-guide.com for more tips on inexpensive engagement rings.
The author has a beautiful ascher cut engagement ring and has been married for just under a year. She designed the website http://www.ultimate-engagement-ring-guide.com to help out those in search of the perfect engagement ring.
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