Couples looking for unconventional engagement rings that still nod to tradition buy character-filled diamonds like natural colors, rustics (included stones), opaque rocks, and even old-mine cuts. Shoppers who eschew colorless round brilliants appreciate the unorthodox appeal of storied stones, ones that have an artisanal vibe. Sylva Yepremian, designer and owner of Sylva & Cie, had trays packed with these diamond rings at the Couture jewelry show this past June. Her reason? Shopper demand.
“I see more brides choosing less traditional diamonds and opting for stones that are organic in shape, like opaque diamonds,” she explains. “They are looking for something with a story.”
Ditto for Ruth Tomlinson of the eponymous design firm, whose wedding ring clients often spring for old-mine-cut diamonds that are “cut by hand and less precise and sparkly than modern cuts,” she says. Their appeal lies in primitive charm and secret stories from being passed down over generations. “We love imagining what special occasions they may have been part of over their lifetimes, and what future memories lie in store for them in their new homes within a Ruth Tomlinson engagement ring,” she explains.
Then there are colored diamonds like browns, which Alan Bronstein — president of the Natural Colored Diamond Association — says are a huge opportunity for jewelers. If more couples knew they could afford to own a natural colored diamond, they would surely cultivate a taste for the earthier tones, he believes. His advice? Show shoppers what’s available and explain that while the pinks and blues are the rarest diamonds, there are other, more plentiful options. “Some diamonds may not be beautiful out of the ground, but put them in a great design and they take on a different persona,” he says.
Colored-gemstone engagement rings have a history with European royalty — think the late princess Diana’s sapphire and diamond ring — that’s finally catching on stateside. That famous jewel has likely inspired many Americans to seek out their own sapphire styles, but other gemstone varieties are becoming de rigueur thanks to education, photo-sharing on social media, and the millennial desire to innovate.
Color choices span a gamut of stones, from opals to yellow and lilac sapphires to black diamonds, says designer Pamela Froman. “There is no rhyme or reason to choices. People want to be unique; they do not want to wear what everyone else wears.”
Natasha Lazorova, operations manager at Z Folio Gallery in Solvang, California, knows firsthand the significance of color to millennials. Five cousins — all millennials — who married last year “definitely considered color” for rings, she says. And at a retail conference in Florida in early October, she met six more millennials who expressed enthusiasm for colored-gemstone engagement rings. “They liked the idea of the tradition, but wanted something a little bit different,” she recollects.
And while the “Big Three” — ruby, emerald and sapphire — remain the most widely sought-out gemstones for engagement rings, colored-stone advocate Doug Hucker, CEO of the American Gem Trade Association (AGTA), understands the appeal of other gems that can offer a more affordable alternative in larger sizes. “Today, people are getting big looks in morganite and aquamarine that nobody would have thought of 10 years ago,” he says.
Color for weddings is on the minds of so many that wedding-dress designer Ines Di Santo reached out to AGTA for gemstone jewels to place on the models in her 2017 Fall/Winter show during New York Bridal Fashion Week.
“Bridal is mirroring what is happening in jewelry in general,” says Hucker.
Engagement-ring seekers are also enamored of fancy shapes and setting heads. Oval, emerald-cut and marquise-shape diamonds offer unparalleled style and whimsy, while cuts like baguettes, which most wouldn’t think of as center stones, also speak to lovers of uniqueness. Others in that realm include hexagons and additional geometric silhouettes, which can take shape in setting baskets and appeal to shoppers with a minimalist vibe.
Diamond jewelry designer Jade Lustig of Jade Trau added hexagonal heads to engagement rings a few years ago, but says their use as far back as the Victorian era served as inspiration. Round brilliants look best in them. “The hexagon shape brings out the angular faceting of a round stone and really complements it,” she says.
Ovals have been in such demand for diamond jewelry house Rahaminov that it built a collection around them dubbed Movál, meaning an elongated or marquise oval shape. “Ovals have become popular for their softness and femininity,” observes Melanie Goldfiner, director of business development.
Tacori, too, sees a lot of interest in fancy shapes. Requests for these have “increased dramatically in the last four years,” says Nadine Tacorian Arzerounian, the company’s chief operating officer and design director. “Modern brides, especially millennial brides, are on the lookout for a truly unique ring style, not only playing with fancy shapes, but styling them their own way.”
With those younger brides in mind, the brand debuted its new Simply Tacori Collection of east-west, or sideways-set, rings with fancy-shaped diamond centers.
Julez Bryant DeCosta of Julez Bryant agrees about the fancy demand: “My brides want unique shapes — ovals, emerald cuts and rose cuts.”
Stacking rings, many with mixes of metal colors, round out top wedding jewelry trends for 2018. While color tastes can differ from region to region — DeCosta sees more rose gold inquiries on the west coast and white gold on the east coast, while retailer Isaac Gottesman has seen a rise in requests for yellow gold at his dimend SCAASI store in Chicago — mixes of colors are common nationwide.
“Women are getting more adventurous with their stacking by mixing and matching different shapes and metal colors,” observes Arzerounian, whose company’s new collection lends itself to this trend.
Designers like DeCosta and Froman, too, note a movement among shoppers to blend and stack metal colors. Multi-rings that offer a bigger look and bands in mixed shapes and colors are fixtures in DeCosta’s line, while Froman’s best-selling Ellie ring “has scrolls on each side and can be stacked,” she says. And for Jade Trau’s Lustig, whose Astor set is a winning look among consumers, the style victory is twofold: “On its own, the Astor engagement ring is totally untraditional, but stacked with the matching bands, it’s an incredibly classic look,” she says.
Merchants confirm the stacking trend. Gottesman often receives requests for eternity bands instead of one big diamond in a ring, and Lazorova gets myriad calls for wide bands with pavé diamonds from her large client base of second-time brides. In the last six months alone, Lazorova filled six orders for diamond-studded Dune bands from Annamaria Cammilli, a popular Italian line.
“Right now, it is all about mixing metals, shapes, and stacks,” adds Rahaminov’s Goldfiner. “We often see brides opting for a white gold engagement ring with a fancy-shape center diamond and then accenting those rings with yellow and rose gold bands.”
Image: Ines Di Santo (clockwise) - sylviecollection.com; gabrielny.com; jadetrau.com; julezbryant.com; singlestone.comArticle from the Rapaport Magazine - November 2017. To subscribe click here.