Diamonds or Colored Gemstones
Traditionally, an engagement ring is made with a larger center diamond and some smaller side diamonds, and the diamonds are all white diamonds. But this is not always the case. There are some women who do not care all that much for diamonds. They feel diamonds are cold, unappealing and expensive. Or maybe they just want a little bit of color on their engagement ring. Just about any engagement ring can have the smaller side diamonds replaced with colored gemstones such as rubies, sapphires or any other colored gemstone. Adding colored gems to an engagement ring can really brighten the ring up, and give it more character. The choice of stones to be used is strictly up to the individual. Because the small side diamonds are not all that vulnerable to wear, it really shouldn't matter all that much what stones are used.
However, if the choice is to replace the large center diamond with a colored gemstone, a little caution should be exercised. If this is done, I would suggest staying with either ruby or sapphire, because the only stone stronger than they are is a diamond. Although they are not as hard as a diamond, ruby and sapphire will hold up very well under the wear and tear of daily use. Unless you use gem quality stones, rubies and sapphires will be a great deal less expensive than an equal sized diamond. Generally speaking you'll find that rubies are more expensive than sapphires of the same size and quality although there are exceptions to that rule. Gem stones such as emeralds, topaz and some of the others should be avoided for use as the main stone in an engagement ring because they are fairly soft and will become skinned up looking before too long. Emeralds can be a particular problem for this use because besides being soft, they are also very brittle, and will break much more easily than diamonds, sapphires and rubies. If the lady insists on an emerald as the center stone for her engagement ring, you might want to consider using a Chatham emerald. Chatham emeralds are made of the same elements and have the same chemical properties as natural emeralds. The only real difference is they are grown in a laboratory where they are grown much more quickly and much better than nature does it. A Chatham emerald looks just like a gem quality natural emerald would look, if you could find one and afford it if you did. Natural gem quality emeralds can be every bit as expensive as a gem quality diamond, except they are much more rare. Using a colored gemstone may seem like an unusual suggestion to you. If this is the case, just remember Princess Diana's engagement ring was a large blue oval sapphire surrounded by 18 white side diamonds. Whether the engagement ring you purchase is all diamonds or diamonds mixed with colored gemstones is a matter of personal preference, and you might want to discuss this option with the love of your life.
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