Valentine's Jewelry: How to Choose the Right Setting

Valentine's day offers a set day of the year for romance and to show your affection for your significant other. St. Valentine's Day often accompanies a gift that includes candy, flowers and jewelry and choosing any of these are difficult but buying jewelry can open up an entirely new world. Jewelry has it's own set of rules and depending on the style or design you may not have a clue of what you're buying. Are you looking for a large center stone in a bezel setting? What about a channel set band with milgrain work? Don't have a clue of what that means?

The settings are what your gemstone is going to be placed in. There are many different settings and depending on the design there may be two or three types in a single piece of jewelry. When trying to decide on the style it's important to research all the setting types before making a purchase. If your significant other has a tendency to wear jewelry all day be sure the settings can accommodate that lifestyle. Each of these settings can be found on right-hand-rings, necklaces, earrings, solitaires, any gemstone and a plethora of other pieces. Check out some of the most popular settings available before purchasing jewelry for Valentine's Day.

Tiffany

This has been the most popular style setting since the first creation in 1886 by Tiffany & Co. The signature style setting has four or six prongs which brings out the look of the diamond by allowing the most amount of light into the stone. Due to the space between prongs, mount and the visible table of the gemstone the fire and brilliance of the stone is well presented.

Invisible

An invisible setting is just that; it's invisible. The metal framework that holds the stones in place are beneath the stones and creates the illusion a solid surface of gems. The appearance created by this type of setting are larger stones while there is no metal to detract from the diamonds.

Channel

The channel setting is often seen with several stones in a single row , multiple rows or found in an eternity style where the gemstones are set around the entirety of the band. The stones are inlaid within the band by a "lip" to keep the diamond in place. This lip will also protect the stones from chipping. These types of rings can not be sized unless there is a sizing bar in it.

Bezel

Any gemstone is well protected in this style of setting because the metal surrounds the entire girdle of the stone or large portions of it. It also has a lower profile which prevents snagging or getting caught on objects. If your significant other is active or rough with jewelry this is a setting that will keep the diamond in good condition.

Pave

Pave (pah-vay) settings create the illusion of having a larger surface area of diamonds by using extremely small prongs or beads to hold each diamond in place. This style is often done with smaller diamonds and are fairly inexpensive to expensive depending on the quality of the diamonds.

Bar Setting

The design of this setting keeps the table of the diamond or other gemstone in plain view with each stone divided by a solid bar. The bars hold the stones in place by a channel and protects the stone from wear and tear.

Sources:
Love to Know
Shapiro Diamonds, LLC