VROOMAN DESIGNS

Few things in one’s adult life are as charged with meaning and symbolism as the selection of an engagement ring. A symbol of commitment, fidelity, eternity. Metal and stone, fashioned into a circle and worn until “death do us part”.
But where to begin? What things does one consider when undertaking such a decision?
The following guidelines is / r offered by (by me? By professionals in the field?) To assist with this exciting but sometimes daunting task.

What you need to know before you design an engagement ring:

1) what style or statement do you want to make with your ring?
Are you looking for a knock your socks off statement piece? Or something more understated? Are your taste traditional? Contemporary? Funky and iconoclastic? It can be helpful to have a collection of images to show your perspective jeweler the kinds of things that interest you, and why. That will help him understand who you are and where you’re coming from, and how to tailor a ring to your tastes.

2) What about stones?
Do you want a big diamond? Do you want multiple smaller diamonds, or diamonds with an unusual cut or color? You may prefer colored stones instead, or birthstones or something with symbolic or sentimental significance.
A good jeweler should be able to advise you of the pros and cons of different kinds of minerals, cuts, and ways of setting them to achieve the type of look or feeling communicated in your collection of images.
Some things you may want him/her to address might be:
•durability
•a practical cut for your design
•size
•cost and availability
•time frame for acquiring stones
•possible combinations of minerals
•possible synthetic options

3) using your own stone or stones.
Most, but not all jewelers are willing to work with stones provided by the customer. This could be your grandmother’s old engagement ring, or a stone you sourced yourself online or elsewhere.
Sometimes this can expedite and streamline the process, but it does introduce an element of uncertainty for the jeweler as to the pedigree of the stone, and can sometimes affect whatever warranty the jeweler may offer, so that’s something to ask about and consider.

4) What metal or metals do you prefer? Most jewelry will fall into one of three categories:
• white metals (Platinum, palladium, white gold)
• regular yellow gold in 14 or 18 carat
• a combination of those two.
Obviously there are no hard fast rules about this, it’s largely a matter of preference, although there can be some technical considerations regarding the setting of certain kinds of stones that can influence your decision. Again, good jeweler should be able to walk you through that process.

5) cost:
Most engagement rings will probably start at $1,000 or so, and go up from there for something in 14 karat gold possibly with a small stone.
Diamonds are often handled separately, and a one carat stone of not very good quality can be had for 12 or $1,500, the sky’s the limit. As a general rule, it’s better to spend on a smaller stone with better quality, then a larger stone with lesser quality. Better color trump’s better clarity, as one’s more visible than the other at arm’s length. There’s a lot of quality material that will suit most needs for between about 3,000 to 6,000 give or take. These stones are typically certified.
The expense for metal work is difficult to estimate given variables such as number of stones, size, cuts, complexity of design etc. $2000- $3,000 can get you quite a few choices, though it can sometimes come under, or run well over that.

6) Choosing a jeweler
Selection of your jeweler should be made based on two things (not necessarily in this order):

A) Their work:
• Do you like their sense of proportion?
• The textures they use?
• Their attention to detail, or boldness of their design?
• You’ll want to choose someone whose design sense appeals to you, the way they work with the metal. The work they’ve already done will tell you what their strengths are, and that’s typically the pallet they’ll draw from to create your piece as well.
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B) credibility:
• trust/ confidence in your jeweler: Trust and confidence are gut feelings based on a number of things;
• does he she seem to know what they’re talking about?
• Do you feel like your questions are being answered?
• Do they have a portfolio that indicates a good track record and competent work?
• Do they come recommended / do they have good reviews?
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C) The other thing to consider is their personality and your compatibility:
• The design process is often non-linear. Especially in the early stages, ideas should be able to come and go freely as you explore the possibilities and get a sense of how your ideas may or may not reconcile with a feasible path forward.
• There can be a certain amount of stress inherent the process, but a comfortable rapport is worth its weight in gold during this process.
• Your jeweler should be a good listener and understand where you’re coming from. He/she should be patient and knowledgeable, and able to translate your ideas from the ephemeral plane into stone and metal for you with an understanding of which techniques can best achieve that goal.
• There may be some sourcing that happens after the initial meeting, then a second round of designing based on what may or may not be available. Ideas will come on and off the table, and that’s fine. This is the time to explore everything as you make your choice.

7) Brass tacks:
Usually your jeweler will lay all this out for you and you don’t have to ask, but these are something things that can be helpful clarifying the what/ where/ how type issues:
• What do they say when you ask about customer satisfaction?
• What is their return policy / exchange?
• Is he/she clear about the cost and length of time involved in sourcing materials and building the piece?
• what to expect once the job is initiated; what about updates, photographs, additional design consultations etc?
• final delivery: Will you meet in person, or shipping?

8) what does a design process look like anyway?
• No two people will be exactly the same, but typically you will sit down with the jeweler and start by articulating what you have in mind. A picture is worth a thousand words here, so bring plenty of images and/or adjectives so that he /she gets where you’re coming from.
• there will probably be a certain amount of sketching or rendering that happens, as they began to understand your vision, and also begin to educate you on some of the technical aspects that they’ll be faced with.
• depending if your face-to-face or virtual, a designer might use images from their portfolio or actual pieces to illustrate issues of scale, setting techniques, textures etc to introduce possibilities or clarifications to the process.
• depending on things like material availability, there could be one or two rounds of this. In any case, by the end of it you should have a pretty clear idea of what to expect: it will be this finger size, it will be made of this metal(s), The stone will be the size and cut, it will be set in this way, we will use this texture here and that texture there. The cost will be x.
• typically in a changes or amendments can be made up until the time money changes hands. At that point, materials may have been purchased and deviations may be accompanied by surcharge or modification in the cost. Sometimes this is unavoidable, but as much as possible try to get all of that done beforehand.
• Most jewelers will charge a 50% deposit, usually non-refundable, with balance due on completion of the piece.

8) Lastly, don’t forget to HAVE FUN! This is often (though not always) a once in a lifetime event. There can be many forks in the road, but having chosen the right professional, for the most part you can leave a lot of those decisions to him / her and enjoy the ride! By the end of it you will have a beautiful piece of wearable art as a memento of both the process itself and a symbol of love of another.
I hope these tips are helpful and making your ride as smooth as enjoyable as possible!