• They have a HUGE selection of designer jewelry. Almost everything that they have is unique and I’ve never seen it before.
• Almost all of the jewelry is customizable. If you’re looking at a three-stone diamond ring, for example, and you want to change the two outer diamonds to a different gemstone, then you can! You see a nice ring with white gold and you want rose gold, instead? No problem! I’ll explain it more below.

When you’re looking at an item, click the “click here to customize” link. I’m going to use this “Arbor Ring” as an example. This ring has a sterling silver setting and diamonds in a leafy pattern.  However, click on the “Click here to customize link, as shown below:

It will bring up a menu that looks like this:

You can click on any of the gemstones in the list to change the type of gemstones that make up the Accent 1 stones. As an example, I changed the Accent 1 stones from Diamonds to Blue Topaz – notice how the gemstones changed in the picture below. Then, you can click on the “Accent 2″ (I circled it in red on the picture below) to change the Accent 2 gemstones.

Now, you can choose the gemstones for the Accent 2.  I picked Emerald for the Accent 2 stones for my example. Notice how the other stones are now emeralds instead of diamonds in the picture below. Then, you can either click the “Metals” link to change the metal or the “Save & Close” or “Add to Cart” links (circled in the picture below).

Isn’t that really cool? You can customize pretty much all the rings that they carry just like that. Play around with it a little – I’m sure you’ll come up with many rings or other types of jewelry that you want to buy! I did

The other thing that I really like about Gemvara is all of the styles that they have. Here’s how this is so powerful:  If you’re looking at their engagement rings page, but want a specific style ring, such as antique  or modern, you can narrow down your selection with the categories on the left.  You can see it on the picture below:

This allows to sort your search by the style of the ring. Pretty cool, right?

I hope you think Gemvara is as cool as I do… I’ve been playing around with their jewelry for the last few days customizing any and everything!

First, I will run through the different types of setting styles and then I will show you how to pick out the right one for your needs. Here’s a quick video (not mine) explaining the most popular engagement ring setting styles. I will recap and review the video after and then expand on the information from the video. Then I will show you how to pick out the best setting for your individual needs. I’ll even include some example rings that fit into each category.

Here are the setting styles that he mentioned:

• Solitaire setting- the simplest setting. A single diamond in a simple shank.
• Three stone setting- 3 diamonds side by side.
• Pave/channel setting- A setting with diamonds embedded in the shank.
• Halo setting- 1 diamond in the center with diamonds it in a circle
• Antique style settings- Designer settings made to look like diamond rings of the past.
• Contemporary settings- New, edgy settings like tension settings where the diamond is held only by the pressure of the two sides of the shank where they come together at the top of the ring.

Here are some examples of each of these settings, along with links to view all the rings of each type in my #1 recommended engagement ring store, James Allen. Then after this I will show you how to choose the right type!

• Solitaire Settings
  

Knife Edge Solitaire Setting

Cathedral Reverse Tapered Solitaire Setting

Click here to view all of the solitaire settings at James Allen.

• Three Stone Settings

Three Stone Channel Set Ring

Three Stone Simple Setting

Click here to see all of the 3 stone settings.

• Pave Settings

French Cut Pave Setting

Cross Prong Setting

Click here to see all of the pave settings.

• Halo Settings

Designer Eternity Halo Setting

Swirl Halo Setting

Click here to see all of the halo and designer settings.

• Antique Settings

Engraved Channel Antique Setting

Bow Tie Channel Antique Setting

Click here to see all of the antique settings.

• Contemporary Settings

Spiral Tension Bypass Setting

Tension Setting

Click here to see all of the contemporary settings.

So there you have it! That’s the types of settings that are available for engagement rings. Now, to answer the bigger question:

How do you choose your engagement ring setting?

The first thing that you can do is to look at the types of rings that your soon-to-be fiance already owns. On top of that, which ones does she prefer and wear more? These are a huge clue to the setting that you should choose for your engagement ring. Get a setting that matches the same style of the rings that she prefers. If you notice that she has mainly antique style rings, then get an antique setting. On the other hand, if she has more contemporary style rings, then go with a contemporary style setting.

Another thing that you should do is take note of her hints if she happens to drop any. She might give you ideas about what type of jewelry she likes. Make sure you remember these!

The other thing that you should do is try to figure out what size ring she wears. You can look at her rings that she already has and if they don’t say the size on them you can try to take them to a local jeweler and they can tell you the size of the ring.

Taking all of these things into consideration, you should be able to decide on a style of ring that would be best. From there, browse that category of rings and choose the one you like the best!

My top recommendation for a place to get your engagement ring is James Allen. Click here to look at their engagement ring settings!

18K White Gold “Reverse Cathedral” Diamond Ring	Spiral Diamond Engagement Ring

I like these first two rings because they are simple. The first one is a classic, solitaire engagement ring. The second one is a more modern, different-looking, but simple ring.

French Cut Pave Ring	18K White Gold Round Raised Engagement Ring
Tapered Knife-Edge Pave Set Diamond Engagement Ring	Engraved Channel Cut Diamond Ring

These next 4 rings all have pave settings. They look a little fancier, and they will definitely shine brilliantly because of the diamonds going all around the setting. I like the last one because it has engraving on the shank – this gives it an antique, sophisticated look. Here are some more beautiful rings:

“Bypass” Pave Tension-set Diamond Ring	1 Carat Three-Stone Diamond Ring

Here are two more awesome rings – a tension-set pave ring and a three-stone ring. Regular tension-set rings are beautiful, but with a pave setting? Amazing! And then there’s the three-stone ring – why have 1 diamond when you can have 3?

Ready for some more?

Braided Pave Diamond Ring	Platinum Bezel and Pave Set Ring

These next 2 rings are really cool. They are definitely very unique and very beautiful. Probably not for everyone, but they are definitely something different worth considering.

Danhov Designer Engagement Ring

This last ring is a designer ring. I love it – it’s really fancy looking.  Diamonds all around the shank and diamonds all around the center diamond makes for a great ring.

I hope you have enjoyed this post and gotten some good ideas for the holidays! Remember to order early so that it gets there in time.

Happy holidays!

Here are the diamond rings with emerald sidestones. You can choose from 4 shapes for the emeralds- round, trillion, step-cut, or pear. You can choose almost any shape for the diamond in the center.

	Diamond Ring with Trillion Cut Emeralds
	Diamond Ring with Step Cut Emeralds
	Diamond Ring with Pear Cut Emeralds
	Diamond Ring with Round Cut Emeralds

And now, here are the rings with an emerald in the center, and diamond sidestones.

	Emerald Diamond Ring
	Emerald Diamond Ring This ring looks the same as the first one, but it’s bigger.
	Emerald Diamond Micropave Ring
	Square Emerald Ring with Diamond Sidestones

I hope you enjoyed these rings! Please take a look if you like them.

	3 Stone Tension Ring This is a breathtaking, brand new ring. This setting is very different and modern looking, and it definitely brings something new to the table!
	Diamond Accent Solitaire Ring This is a gorgeous ring with a diamond accent on the shank. It’s simple, but the accent adds additional style to it. This is a great ring if you like simple, traditional rings, but want something a little more decorated.
	Spiral Tension Diamond Ring This dramatic ring showcases the diamond for all its worth. The combination of the spiral design with a tension setting makes for a beautiful ring!
	Platinum Split Shank Diamond Ring Here is a ring with a unique, modern design.

That’s just a few of the modern styled diamond rings out there… click here to see more rings like these.

The Ideal-Scope itself looks kind of like the kaleidoscope toys that kids like to play with. However, the scope gives you an accurate view of how much light is reflected back by the diamond and how much is leaked out. Obviously, the more light reflected back, the better. That means the diamond will shine and sparkle.

The visual information that you get from an Ideal-Scope goes beyond what the 4 C’s tell you. The Ideal-Scope image is specific to each diamond and there is no guesswork. However, it isn’t necessary to view an Ideal-Scope image before purchasing. You can still make a good decision without one.

Anyway, here’s how to use it.

This is an example of an Ideal-Scope image of a very well-cut diamond:

Red indicates light that is reflected back, and white shows light leakage. More red is better, so this is a well cut diamond.

And here’s an example of a poorly cut diamond.

Notice all the white spots. This means that a lot of light is being lost inside the diamond, and it won’t be as brilliant as a better cut diamond.

Here’s a reference chart from the creators of the Ideal-Scope. You can use this chart to compare a diamond that you’re looking at to judge its quality.

Here’s the most important question: How do you get Ideal-Scope images? Well, James Allen has Ideal-Scope images for all of their Hearts and Arrows diamonds freely available on their website. Also, you can email them to request an Ideal-Scope image of any of their other diamonds. This is the email address to use: service (at) jamesallen.com.

The other way to view Ideal-Scope images is to buy your own Ideal-Scope. You can find more information or buy one at the official Ideal-Scope website.

However, the quickest way to see Ideal-Scope images of diamonds you can buy is from James Allen’s  collection of Hearts and Arrows diamonds. Hope this has been helpful!

Click here to view more information about this ring.

This diamond ring has 24 round brilliant diamonds set in 2 rows around the center diamond. I love this ring, because I think it has a nice, solid look to it. It has a thick band, made even more exquisite with the diamond embedded in it. It’s definitely a winner!

If you want to order this ring, click here to view the ring and then select your ring size. Change the metal if you’d like (you can choose from 18k White Gold, 18k Yellow Gold, and Platinum), and then click the “Select This Ring” button. Then, click the “and Choose a Diamond” option that pops up. Select the diamond that you want, add it to the ring, and then add it to your cart and check out!

Hello diamond ring seeker! Welcome to our site. Our goal is to help people buy diamond rings by providing information about choosing the best diamonds and pointing you in the direction of the best stores to buy from. Don’t worry, we’ve done all the searching online for diamond stores so that you don’t have to go crazy finding the best stores.

Here are the results of my searching:  If you want to buy a diamond ring online, there are two stores that stand out above the rest:

• James Allen – My #1 recommendation.
• Blue Nile – The largest online jewelry retailer and Forbes’ Favorite Online Jeweler.

Why are they the best stores for diamond rings and engagement rings? You can read my full review for James Allen here and my full review of Blue Nile here, but here’s a quick summary:

• They have great prices (consistently $1,000 or more below brick and mortar jewelry store prices!).
• They have great selection. Blue Nile has the biggest selection out there (80,000+ diamonds to choose from!).
• James Allen has real pictures of every diamond in stock.
• They both have diamond grading reports for all their diamonds.
• They have great reputations (both rated A+ from the BBB).

That’s pretty much it! Go ahead and look around Blue Nile and James Allen… I promise you will find what you’re looking for!

If you need help choosing your diamond, see our diamond buying guides for recommendation on how to choose the best diamonds.

So, when you’re looking to buy diamond rings, you know that this site is the place to go first! Come back often because I will be updating this site with more sales and coupon codes.

THE most expensive diamond ring is the Chopard Blue Diamond Ring. It’s a 9-carat blue diamond(very, very rare!), with diamond shoulders, set in 18-carat white gold, worth $16.26  million!

Here are some more super-expensive blue diamonds:

-A 7.03-carat blue diamond sold for $9.5 million in May 2009 at a  Sotheby’s auction in Geneva. This diamond was cut from a 26.58-carat diamond found in South Africa.

-A 6.04-carat blue diamond sold for $7.9 million at Sotheby’s in October 2007 in Hong Kong.

-Other blue diamonds have sold for $4.7 and $4.9 at other Sotheby’s auctions.

-The Hancock Red is a .95 carat red diamond that sold for $880,000 back in 1987 for a then-record $926,000 per carat.

-The Hope Diamond is a famous 45.52 carat blue diamond with a $300-350 million estimated value! It has been owned by many different people throughout history.

-Recently, the Elizabeth Collection of House of Taylor Jewelry had a $1.3 million diamond ring. The ring had a 5.98-carat oval cut diamond in the center, and 3.96 carats worth of round diamonds around it.