What Each Engagement Ring Style Symbolizes
Sparkling and totally romantic, engagement rings are the ultimate symbols of love. Finding the one forever ring to symbolize your love starts with choosing the engagement ring style that you'll wear every day for the rest of your life. If you've started shopping for engagement rings, you know that the most popular styles fall into a few basic categories: solitaire engagement rings, halo engagement rings, pave band engagement rings, and three stone engagement rings. Because these rings aren't just adornment but are the most meaningful jewelry you'll ever wear, the symbolism is as just as important as their beauty.
Engagement rings symbolize a promise to marry. This symbolism has a long history, beginning with the Ancient Egyptians who wore rings on the fourth finger of the left hand. They believed that a vein in that finger led directly to the heart. The Romans took up the tradition of a ring on the ring finger to connect your heart to your promise to love your spouse. When gem cutters finally developed a way to cut diamonds, the hardest of gems began to be added to engagement rings. One of the first diamond engagement rings was given to French Princess Marie of Burgundy by Austrian Prince Maximilian in the 1400s. For centuries after that, diamond engagement rings became a royal tradition. Diamond's strength and beauty makes them a fitting symbol of enduring love and total commitment. Today, about half of couples choose a lab-grown diamond engagement ring which symbolizes both lasting love and a commitment to sustainability, safeguarding the planet for future generations.
Each engagement ring style also has a symbolic meaning embedded in the design. The secret romantic message may help you decide which engagement ring style best represents your partnership. It might even make you love your engagement ring even more! Here is a guide to the symbolism of each engagement ring style.
The Meaning of Solitaire Engagement Rings
If you close your eyes and think or an engagement ring, you'll probably picture a solitaire engagement ring: a single stone on a gold band. It's even the engagement ring emoji. There's a good reason for this, of course. Solitaire engagement rings appeal to traditionalists and also to minimalists. In a recent survey, 32% of couples said they chose a solitaire engagement ring. Of course the style of a solitaire relies on the stone. Although it's simple, some might even say basic, solitaire engagement rings aren't all alike. Choose a delicate and small mined diamond. Or a large dramatic lab grown diamond. Choose your favorite cut. Round lab diamond solitaire engagement rings are classic. Princess cut lab diamond engagement rings look modern. Ovals, emerald cuts and pears have their own personalities too. No matter the cut or carat weight, solitaires are undeniably romantic. The single gem symbolizes the one love of your life. A solitaire engagement ring says you are the only one for me, forever.
The Meaning of Halo Engagement Rings
With a glittering circle of gems surrounding a brilliant center stone, it's not surprising that halo engagement ring styles are so popular. With all that sparkle going around, halo engagement rings look bigger and brighter than other engagement ring styles. With all the intricate detailing, you'll love how a halo engagement ring has all the charm of a vintage engagement ring, without the wear and tear. Although the most popular styles are round halo engagement ring designs, oval halo engagement rings and pear halo engagement rings are also trending. Halo lab diamond rings are popular because the extra brilliance of the halo and the extra carats you can afford for the center stone means that you can get the look of a breathtaking celebrity engagement ring for much less. Halos have a beautiful sentimental meaning as well. Halo engagement rings symbolize that your love is the center of your life, with family friends, family, work, and everything else surrounding and supporting you.
The Meaning of Pave Engagement Rings
As you've no doubt noticed, pave engagement rings are having a moment. Your favorite engaged influencers and celebrities no doubt have pave engagement rings on their ring fingers (and maybe even on their pinky fingers too.) Pave engagement ring styles give you the best of both worlds: the timeless simplicity of a solitaire crossed with the sparkly setting of a halo design. Pave designs are a little more dressy and high maintenance than a simple solitaire with a metal band but they make up for it with extra sparkle. You can add extra appeal to your pave engagement ring with a fancy shape lab diamond. We especially love a lab emerald diamond engagement ring with a pave band. By combining the look of the engagement ring and the wedding band, a pave engagement ring symbolizes that you are already committed to each other in your hearts. You have already said "forever" and the marriage is just a formality.
The Meaning of Three Stone Engagement Rings
With one center stone flanked by two side stones, three stone engagement rings are breathtakingly brilliant. Three stone engagement rings look beautiful from every angle, with the side stones stepping down from the height of the center stone, giving the side profile extra appeal. Three stone engagement rings have been gaining in popularity in recent years because the availability of lab grown diamond means that this high carat weight of this design is much more affordable than it used to be. (And Meghan Markle's three stone engagement ring helped to put this classic design back in the news again.) The most popular variation is a round lab diamond three stone engagement ring with a one carat or two carat center lab diamond with half-carat lab diamonds on the sides. Undeniably gorgeous, the three stone engagement ring is even more meaningful. The three diamonds symbolize yesterday, today and tomorrow. The symbolism comes from the poem written by Rosemonde Gerard to her beloved husband Edmond Rostand, the famous author of Cyrano de Bergerac. When you wear a three-stone engagement ring, you are promising that your love will grow and deepen every day from now on.
No matter which style you choose, a simple solitaire or a blinding red-carpet worthy three-stone sparkler, it's the romantic symbolism and meaningful connection to your love that makes your engagement ring truly priceless.
