That craft, handed down generation after generation, may be less visible today. But it is still just as vital to making a fine wedding ring as it ever was. The most sophisticated computer programs can barely begin to simulate even elementary human movements. And none come anywhere close to duplicating the creativity of expert jewelry makers.

Those skills are nowhere more evident than in the hand crafted wedding rings that are available today. For those looking for a truly unique engagement ring or wedding ring, one that will never be found anywhere else, a hand crafted ring is your guarantee.

Imagine the delicate, complex scrollwork evident on a classic white gold band. The master’s hand is everywhere evident. The unique sworls, the individual petals and other touches could only have been created by that unique person. At the same time the level of skill is so high, that it might seem as if the ring was made by machine. That’s the mark of a true expert.

Picture a titanium ring in a contemporary design. The subtle sheen is the result of the master’s attention to detail. The dark cable running down the center was selected by careful thought with an eye to the design of the whole. This two-tone masterpiece could only have been made by a single person striving to create their best work just for you.

An 18kt yellow gold comfort fit band sports a delicate wave of rose gold down the center. Asymmetrically at one top corner is a small round-cut diamond. It was cut by the hand of one who has trained for decades to acquire the needed skill. It was mounted with equal care and attention to this unique creation.

A braided tri-color band shows clearly the hand of the artist. The design could only have been conceived by someone concentrating on the task at hand. It could only have been executed once. To create the same ring over again would violate the canon of artistic principles.

The result in each case is a one-of-a-kind work of art to be displayed as proudly on the hand as a fine sculpture is on the table. Consider a hand crafted wedding ring and obtain that piece that lifts the soul of the wearer as it did the artist.

Picture Setting and Type of Stone in Your Mind

Nevertheless, if you are of creative bent of mind, you can then consider designing your own engagement ring and also take heart from the fact that this is not such a difficult task as you may imagine. However, before you design your own engagement ring, you should picture the engagement ring as being an ensemble of the stone and a suitable setting, and once you can picture these two aspects, you should then put pencil to paper and sketch or even make notes about the specific details of the engagement ring.

When designing your own engagement ring you must also be sure about the right type of material to be used for the engagement ring and only then can you get down to the specifics. Thus, you should make up your mind as to the type of stones to be used, their quantity as well as size and of course, diamonds will certainly prove to be a popular choice though you should leave your mind open to other stones as well including opals, sapphires and rubies.

Next, you need to be sure about the type of setting for your engagement ring and here you can choose from bezel or pave or even channel and of course, prong setting. While designing your own engagement ring you may also need to decide on the features of your engagement ring including whether to use white or yellow gold and even decide on whether platinum would not be more useful. Finally, you should select an appropriate size as well as shape of the setting and the best option is one that does the most to enhance the wearer’s personality.

Lastly, to complete the design your own engagement ring, you need to know the better outlets from where you can buy the materials as well where to get the engagement ring made to your exact specification. Of course, you must first check and then double-check the designs that the jeweler come up with based on your specifications and only after you are satisfied that the completed designs conform to your expectations; you can then give the go ahead to turn your designs into action.

Gold Custom Engagement Ring

Gold is a chemical element with the symbol of Au. The root of the word means “shining dawn.” For many centuries, gold has been highly sought after to be used as money and jewelry. Gold is dense, soft, and shiny and the most malleable and ductile of all the known metals on Earth.

Pure gold has a bright sparkling yellow color and is frequently chosen by women who love to be the center of attention for their custom engagement ring. Gold dissolves in mercury but is insoluble in nitric acid, which dissolves silver and base metals. This is the basis of the gold refining technique known as “inquartation and parting.” Nitric acid has long been used to confirm the presence of gold in items, and thus the origin of the “acid test,” referring to a gold standard test for genuine vale.

Silver Custom Engagement Ring

Silver is a chemical element with the symbol AG, and translates from Latin to English as “white shining.” This luscious metal has the highest electrical conductivity of any of the metals and also the highest thermal conductivity of any metal.

Most silver is as a by-product of copper, gold, lead, and zinc mining. It has long been recognized as a precious metal used to make jewelry and high value tableware and utensils. Silver is stable in pure air or water, but tarnishes when exposed to ozone or hydrogen sulfide.

The silver in today’s custom engagement rings is sterling silver, an alloy of 92.5% silver with 7.5% copper. Sterling silver is harder than pure silver and has a lower melting point than either pure silver or pure copper.

Platinum Custom Engagement Ring

Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol of Pt. It is resistant to corrosion and naturally occurs in some nickel and copper ores along with some native deposits.

In addition to custom engagement rings, platinum is used in catalytic converters and spark plug tips. In the eighteenth century, King Louis XV declared platinum the only metal fit for a king.

Titanium Custom Engagement Ring

Titanium is a chemical element with the symbol of Ti. It is very light, strong, lustrous, and corrosion resistant, with a grayish color. Titanium obtained its name from a god in Greek mythology. In its unalloyed condition, titanium is as strong as some steels, but 45% lighter; just another reason why it is a popular choice in custom engagement rings.

There are good and simple reasons this magnificent material is so highly valued as a base for wedding rings. Gold never tarnishes. It is scratch resistant and doesn’t produce any allergic reaction. And, not least, it is supremely beautiful.

But pure gold (24 karat) is also somewhat soft. So, in order to make it useful for a wedding ring, which is expected to last for generations, it is alloyed with other metals. Thus the total gold content of a ring is less than 100%. When it’s about 58%, the result is 14kt. (14/24 x 100% = 58.3%.)

It may be alloyed with palladium, for example. Palladium, with superb hardness and capable of long duration, is often used in the manufacture of gold wedding rings. It provides the stiffness and increased scratch resistance that pure gold does not. At the same time, it allows for beautiful variations in tone and a larger array of designs.

White gold, for example, is an alloy that may be formed from a blending of gold with silver or palladium. A particularly hard form is created by coating the ring with rhodium, a metal similar to platinum. The coating does wear off gradually, however, and will need to be replaced periodically. An 18kt white gold ring will be composed of about 75% pure gold with 25% other metal.

Note that platinum is a completely different element, and doesn’t go into making white gold, even though the appearance of the two rings is sometimes similar.

Yellow gold may form by allowing more of gold’s natural color to dominate the mixture, especially near the surface. But typically, the color is the result of blending pure gold with copper or zinc. In different mixtures, the result may be rose gold.

Because of this alloy process, gold wedding rings can incorporate a million unique designs.

A plain gold wedding ring is anything but ordinary. It shows itself in simple elegance, with nothing more needed to bring on envious looks. But it can be enhanced in a thousand different ways.

A simple milgrain scrollwork can form a classic looking wedding ring. A row of simple diamonds can easily be embedded along the sides of a main stone or as the chief feature. There is an endless array of purely geometric alternatives, such as stripes, hash marks, rectangles and more. These design elements open up the possibilities so that every wedding ring can be unique.

And, after all, shouldn’t your gold wedding ring be as one-of-a-kind as you?

Invitation Composition for Who Is Hosting

One thing that the bride and groom should bear in mind for wedding invitation wording ideas is who will be hosting the event. In many cases, it is the bride and groom who will be paying for the event which means that the invitation to the guests will be issued by them. In cases where it is either the bride’s family or the groom’s family who will be hosting the event, it will state that “Mr. and Mrs. Jones seek the pleasure of your company for the wedding of their son…” or “Mr. and Mrs. Jones cordially invite you to the wedding of their daughter…”

This wording is to give due homage to the family or person paying for the event. It is usually the host or the family who is paying who is inviting the guests to the wedding. In cases where both the bride and the groom along with their families are paying, then the wedding invitation wording should be like this: “Jane Doe and John Doe along with their families would like to request the honour of your presence…”

There is also wedding invitation etiquette if one parent is deceased or if the parents of either the bride or groom are divorced. In the case of a deceased parent, it is alright to write down “the late Mr. Doe…” In the case of a divorce, both the parents’ names will be written separately with their present names if they have remarried.

Spelling of Words

It is customary for formal wedding invitations to follow the British spelling of certain words. This wedding invitation wording idea has been around for ages but this does not necessarily mean that you have to follow it. These wedding invitation wording ideas are just suggestions and ideas which you can consider.

Examples of words that you can alter to British English are “favour” and “honour”. You should also spell the words in full instead of writing them down partially. Examples are “street” for St. and also months and days. The same goes for the titles of the guests such as “Honourable” instead of Hon.

These are just a few wedding invitation etiquette guidelines which you may find handy. You do not actually have to follow these ideas but they can be your guide regarding how to go about wording your invitations.

For the woman who appreciates the romanticism of vintage fashion there is the cushion cut engagement ring. This unusual cut last popular in the 1800s is now making a comeback. Getting the perfect cushion cut engagement ring is sure to wow your fiancé.

Shape and Proportions

The cushion cut engagement ring has the characteristics of emerald, princess and oval cuts. In appearance in can either look rectangular or square, its corners are soft and rounded rather than sharp and pointed. A cushion cut engagement ring can come in many proportions, but it is important in this cut to have a diamond with great clarity. The fewer facets in a cushion cut engagement ring means that any flaws the diamond has will be more visible if it does not have good clarity.

The name for this gorgeous diamond comes from the resemblance between its shape and an overstuffed cushion. The shape was developed so that it would shine brilliantly in candlelight back in the 1800’s and 1900’s, before the advent of electric light bulbs. For the best setting a diamond with this cut should be set as a solitaire so that it can be the central point of attention.

The perfect setting for a cushion cut engagement ring is a four-prong setting. Most vintage and antique rings will come with an eight-prong setting. These two settings are best for this shape and other settings will not show off the diamond’s beauty as well. The soft curves of this shape need the four or eight-prong setting to sit nicely.

Finding the Perfect Ring

Looking for a cushion cut engagement ring can be difficult as this is not a popular modern cut though it is starting to come back. This means that you will have to do your homework a little and may have to look in places you would never have thought to look. Pawnshops, antique stores and vintage jewelry stores are places that you can find this diamond shape. Some modern jewelers may be able to cut a loose stone into a cushion cut and set the stone just for you.

Diamond wedding rings also provide one of the industry’s latest fashion trends – that actually goes back to France more than two centuries ago: invisible settings. In this technique the stones are cut and placed, as usual, to connect to structures in the metal ring below. But the girdle is designed to show no prongs, no supports, no visible setting.

A 1/2 carat of stones will appear much larger when set together. At the same time, because the diamonds are separate, light is bounced from one to the next and not just within the stone. The result is dazzling. The effect is one of enhanced beauty from a series of close-set ‘ice blocks’ that shine like crystalline snow in winter sunlight.

Even a traditional semi-mount remains a great favorite, though. The reason isn’t far to seek. These engagement or wedding rings continue to feature a fine diamond in an unparalleled way. Picture a superb 1-carat blue-white stone sitting atop a mount on a yellow gold band. The brilliant colors reflected create a lovely vision that makes this design a neverending success story.

But jewelry designers are nothing if not restless. Investigate some contemporary styles and you’ll quickly agree that their efforts are not wasted.

A white gold band studded with yellow diamonds around the entire perimeter will amaze not just you but any onlooker. From any angle these stylish modern looks are stunning. Set a set of perfect white stones in a rose gold band. You won’t have to wonder why designers are stretching themselves to devise new and ever more amazing styles. The effect says it all. Alternate the gems with rubies or emeralds and you have a wedding ring that will be passed down proudly for generations to come.

Have you ever seen a 4mm band of yellow gold with a white gold or platinum center strip? Nothing to get excited about, eh? Ok. Stud the front with a set of three square-cut diamonds lovingly embraced by deep blue sapphires. Now you have a wedding ring that will generate excitement wherever it appears. That combination of a simple elegant band and stunning jewels is what provides contrast to stir the passions.

Whether your taste runs along the elegant and never-out-of-fashion traditional, or you are looking for the contemporary styles that will be popular a hundred years from now, there’s a diamond wedding ring or engagement ring perfect for you.

If you want the marriage to last, then don’t buy her a cheap engagement ring. Instead, save a lot of money by designing the engagement ring yourself. Because you will need to select the precious stones to be used, you might want to break tradition and get her involved.

Precious Stone

A gemstone or gem — also known as a precious stone or semi-precious stone – can be cut and polished so that the mineral can be used to make jewelry. Most gemstones are very hard, and this attribute can be used in detecting counterfeit cheap engagement rings. Of course, the rarity of a gem greatly affects its value. Besides hardness, genuine gems have attributes of a refractive index, dispersion, specific gravity, cleavage, fracture, and luster.

Diamonds

Real diamonds — not the counterfeit ones found in cheap engagement rings – are a girl’s best friend. The diamond is a gemstone whose value is determined in a different way than all other gemstones. Traditionally, a diamond is valued mostly for its physical properties such as hardness and brilliance.

Rubies

Ruby originates from the Latin word “rubber,” which means red. Rubies have an ancient history in civilization, being the most frequently named precious gem in the Bible. Known as one of the four precious stones, rubies have a hardness level of 9 on the Mohs scale, but diamonds are the hardest of all, with a level of 10. Oftentimes a bogus, fake, cheap engagement ring can be uncovered by the recipient trying, and failing, to cut glass with the “diamond” or “ruby” gemstone.

Sapphire

Being as hard as a ruby, with a 9 on the Mohs scale, sapphires are used in many applications in addition to jewelry, such as infrared optical components, watch crystals, and wafers for the deposition of semi-conductors. Although blue is considered the normal color for sapphires, they can be found across a full range of spectral colors like brown, colorless, grey, and black. Some natural sapphires are completely transparent, or “white.” They usually come out of the ground as light grey or brown and are then heated to make them clear.

Emerald

Emeralds have a hardness of 7.5 on the Mohs scale and are included, so their brittleness is classified as generally poor. Emeralds come in many shades of green and bluish green. There is a large spectrum of clarity, depending on the inclusions and fractures in the crystal. Remember that there are a lot of counterfeit, cheap engagement rings out there that are very difficult to detect. If the deal appears too good to be true, then it probably is!

However, before the wedding ceremony there is one additional act of commitment and betrothal. That act of intention is the giving of an engagement ring. Often an engagement ring is made of a precious metal and is crowned with an expensive jewel. Often this expensive jewel is a diamond.

In addition to a standard diamond engagement ring being used to express one’s intention of marriage another form of an engagement ring that has become very popular is the Celtic engagement ring. The popularity of this type of engagement ring is due to its uniqueness and deep symbolism.

The Celtic Belief

The Celtics believed in the universality of all life. Simply put they believed that everything was interconnected and that life was interdependent. That is why much of their symbolism is expressed in knots which symbolize the belief that all of creation is intertwined.

Uniqueness of the Celtic Engagement Ring

One of the unique features of the Celtic engagement ring is that not only does it represent the devotion of one individual for another, but expresses that interdependence for life and being on others. Specifically, in the case of the Celtic engagement ring, this independence for life and being is dependent upon the one upon whose finger the Celtic engagement ring is placed.

In addition, the uniqueness of the Celtic engagement ring is reflected as part of a heritage. This is due to the fact there are very few designs especially reflective of particular cultures. Therefore, the giving of the Celtic engagement ring not only expresses one’s love and devotion, but represents a respect and deep appreciation of a culture and heritage that was proud, resourceful and unique.

Deep Symbolism of the Celtic Engagement Ring

Above all, the Celtic engagement ring is a powerful symbol of love, unity and devotion. This symbolism is portrayed on the surface of the ring through the trinity knot. That trinity knot represents two cords or, in this case, two lives being bonded together as one life. Therefore when an engaged couple gaze upon the ring they are reminded of their unique individuality and yet their lives dependent on each other for meaning.

Picture a classic yellow gold band. Ordinary? It depends. Run two platinum stripes along the edges and dot the center with a diamond of flawless clarity and then try to claim that. This is the leading edge that stays in the lead for generations to come.

Take it to the next level. Break up the band with alternating squares of rose gold and palladium. Put a VVS baguette in the grooves in between. Declare yourself the winner of the race to own one of the finest contemporary wedding ring styles around.

Execute a variation on a contemporary theme. Take an 18kt yellow gold pipe-cut band and dot the outer rim with small F color diamonds. Too regular? Fine. Move the stones to alternate sides, or break up the symmetry altogether. Now you’re creating dynamism in a wedding band. Now you’ve got a ring like no other.

Yellow gold not your thing? Platinum doesn’t do it for you? Break free from the crowd. Go with titanium. Lightweight, ultra-strong and available in variations that will surprise you, titanium rings are the latest in wedding band options.

Imagine the subtle gray sheen. Sound dull? Don’t you believe it. Burnished to a high gloss and studded with sapphires, it doesn’t get any better than this. Stripe only one side and let the sapphires crown the top along the other.

Contemporary wedding band designs, like wedding rings in general, aren’t just for women, of course. Picture a black titanium wedding band that reflects style and strength. Stud the top with an Asscher-cut diamond that completes this picture of contemporary style.

Push it to the limit. Go for tungsten. What? A material used in light bulbs? Think this will look cheap? Think again. The ultimate in a contemporary man’s wedding ring doesn’t depend on using a precious metal. It’s the result of having the ultimate design.

Imagine beveled edges of tungsten sloping off a central inlay stripe of yellow gold. Polish the product to a sheen you would swear was silver. Provide the interior with the finest comfort fit by echoing the bevel on the inside on a smaller scale. The net result? A contemporary tungsten wedding band design that fits your finger like… well, the finest gloves never fit so well.

The latest materials, the most up-to-date design. That’s what contemporary wedding rings are all about. This kind of thing never goes out of style.