Most Popular Engagement Ring Styles

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“What’s popular?” isn’t a question we get bombarded with here at Poggenpoel.com. I’m proud to announce that most guys have figured out that buying a diamond engagement ring is a tad more complex than renting a DVD for Friday date-nights.

When it comes to jewellery as a whole personal tastes and preferences vary more than you would imagine and going with what’s popular is still quite blind. This post is not a list of “recommended styles”… it’s simply your chance to be a little digital fly on the wall and see what most of the other engagement ring shoppers end up buying. Who knows… you might just get a pointer or two!

#1 Halo Engagement Ring Designs

The accurately yet rather unimaginatively named halo design incorporates a ring of small diamonds (the halo) around a larger diamond.

Although this halo of diamonds can definitely increase the perceived size of the main diamond, it’s more often intentionally used as an accent or design feature. This elegant feature has been so popular that it’s spawned a complete new class of engagement ring designs over the past few years and these days you’ll be hard-pressed to find a catalogue of engagement rings that isn’t dominated by the halo theme.

Please just note that due care needs to be taken to ensure that the diamonds used in the halo aren’t disproportionately large to the point where they overpower the main diamond. Everything needs to be in perfect harmony.

#2 The Classic Solitaire Engagement Ring

The classic solitaire will always be the quintessential engagement ring design.

Where a very special diamond is at stake it often makes sense to designate the single stone as the star of the show and keep any distractions to a bare minimum. With most solitaires showcasing high-end and larger diamonds they often end up being the most expensive engagement rings sold.

Furthermore, in an ever-changing landscape the inherent simplicity of a solitaire design aids in its superior longevity as a style. It has never fallen out of fashion or favour – it’s as close to timeless as you’ll ever get.

In the past five or so years we’ve seen a “solitaire renaissance” where brilliant designers have revisited the solitaire concept and breathed new life into old designs. It’s a great time to rediscover the unfailing solitaire.

#3 The Trinity Design

In its purest form the trinity design features a set of three diamonds as the main focus of the engagement ring. This usually boils down to a single larger diamond in the middle complemented by two slightly smaller diamonds set next to it.

Pop magazines and the like state the “traditional symbolism” to be some variation of yesterday, today and tomorrow. But, in recent years the trinity design has also been popular among religious types who believe it to be a symbol of the two lovers (side stones) brought together by a single higher power (centre diamond).

Look… whatever you make of it – it’s a stunning, evergreen design-choice.

Keep in mind that since three larger diamonds are needed for the setting it’s mostly suited for medium to larger budgets.

#4 Vintage Engagement Rings

The terms “vintage” and “filigree” can be used interchangeably when referring to designs that leverage fine and crafty metal work as design features. Curls and swirls, baby!

Gents, most ladies have a love/hate relationship with these vintage designs and unless she is 100% involved in the selection and/or design process purchasing a vintage engagement ring without her input is high risk.

Unfortunately, most of the extremely intricate vintage designs seen on the internet are renderings of digital designs and not photos of actual rings. Overly fine detail is bound to break and further, a lot of these designs are actually impossible to manufacture due to limitations in 3D printing technologies and other practical considerations. Jewellery designers showcase their *amazing* skills in computer design programs and then these impressive show-off designs make their way to search results where engagement ring shoppers fall in love with rings that were never meant to be manufactured in the first place. It’s a sad sad situation.

Just for the record… overly fine detail is such a customer headache that we actually included it in our brand new ebook “Top Ten Engagement Ring Mistakes”.

Take-Aways:

The halo is currently the most popular design style, and we don’t see that changing soon.
Still… If you’re completely lost – the solitaire is your best friend!
Overly intricate vintage rings can be a nightmare – tread cautiously.
You can completely bugger up an engagement ring. Do yourself a favour and download our “Top Ten Engagement Ring Mistakes” ebook before you pull the trigger on anything.