Smart Tips to Make a Custom Wedding Ring

Creating a custom engagement or wedding ring design can be more challenging than a trip to the jewelry store, but potentially much more personal and rewarding. Here are some things to consider when designing your own engagement or wedding ring, either for yourself or your special someone. 

It could take weeks or months to finish your desired ring design. You should be well rested by your wedding day, so finish this task early on so its complete well in advance.

You can gather inspiration for your ring design from Internet searches, glossy magazines, old episodes of “Downton Abbey” or other sources. Copy these images or sketch them out to present to the fabricators. You should be able to point out what type of band on the ring you would want, the setting, and the type of stone. 

The above video Fire and Brilliance, walks through eight steps for designing a custom ring. 

Search writeups and reviews for local and online designers you like. Check previous work to be sure that the jeweler can capture the style you want. If the jeweler is nearby, it definitely helps to have one or more conversations with him or her to check you have a similar vision. Seasoned jewelers will work with you on your design to give you the best possible outcome on your special day. 

Engagement rings are traditionally yellow gold, silver, white gold, or platinum. When customizing a ring, you can choose any metal. You can even choose recycled metal, which can be a mix of different metals. You can also opt for less common materials like palladium, titanium, and rose gold. 

Selecting a unique stone is one of the most important things to consider when designing your own wedding ring. Shape, color, clarity and production type can all impact the cost and how it can be utilized in the jewelry.

While choosing your stone, decide on the cut you want for it. You might choose from conventional styles such as round, princess, cushion, emerald, oval, radiant, pear, marquise, heart or Asscher -- or create your own. 

Commit to your wedding ring setting. Traditional styles include halo, cathedral, tiffany, prong, bar, bezel, suspension, flush, channel, tension style, cluster, vintage, three-stone, and shank settings. It probably makes sense to look at them all for preference. 

Sketches are great for understanding what the ring will look like, but digital rendering or wax model can be even more helpful for understanding how the finished piece will look and feel. 

After the design approval, a jeweler will cast, clean, and set the stone you chose. Micro pave is one of the final stages of customization, which involves adding handmade customizations to the ring. Your wedding should glimmer. It represents all that you have been through as you took the time and effort to create your wedding ring.