Shortly after I graduated from college, I found myself in a situation that many other people find themselves in, engaged and then soon married. Obviously I was young, naïve, and very broke. A few years of work and a little bit of wisdom later, I went back into a well-known jewelry store in my area looking for more jewelry pieces. Since I wasn’t necessarily a scared, young, and broke kid anymore, I took the opportunity to actually browse the store. While I was looking for a diamond necklace, the one thing I hadn’t seen when I was here before were ring settings without stones.
The few years prior to this when I was looking for engagement rings, I had never noticed ring settings such as this before. The salesman was quite helpful in explaining the ring settings this time around.
He explained the actual thoughts and complexities of the ring settings without stones. I have listed a few of his points that stood out and stayed with me.
- Many rings are size specific to the size of stone to be mounted in it.
- Many rings without stones were also custom made by the jeweler onsite.
- Rings without stones allowed for unique viewing by the customer to see the ring’s intricacies and detailed craftsmanship.
- These rings also allow for mounting of family jewels and stones that have been passed down from generation to generation. You can keep enjoying family heirlooms without worry of them becoming outdated in appearance due to the older settings.
- Seeing rings with no stones allows the purchaser to find or describe whatever he or she is looking to have custom made without the gemstone getting in the way. Such as tweaking an existing design by making a minor change here or change there. This is a great way to have a true one-of-a-kind ring.
As much as I personally dislike salesmen, this guy was fantastic and provided me with some great information without being a stereotypical sales guy trying to make a commission. Even though I wasn’t in the market for a ring, he also told me about the next step which was buying new gemstones or using family pieces that were too outdated to be practical.
Purchasing Loose Stones Or Using Stones From Family Members
If you are at all like me, you have seen some of the rings and necklaces passed down to other family members after someone passes away. In the midst of the tragedy and heartache comes some of the most amusing times ever.
After my aunt died, we had to go through her jewelry. Well, my wife was tasked with that job and she found some of the most obnoxious and hideous pieces of jewelry ever seen. While these pieces may have been really nice when they were first purchased, nowadays, they were just horrible to look at. But the jewels that were in these pieces were as nice as the day they were purchased.
We immediately had them appraised and decided to start our own tradition of hand-me-down jewels. This was much cheaper than purchasing new and complete pieces from the local jewelry store. We salvaged enough gems to create several new pieces including a beautiful diamond pendant and a ring with 3 diamonds in it.
While this proved to be relatively inexpensive for us, not everyone has the luxury of such a valuable find. Some people may need to purchase loose stones of their own first. While it isn’t necessarily cheap, you can still find great buys online from reputable dealers or you can try the local jewelry store for their collection of loose stones.
When you take into consideration all the resources available, you can create your own jewelry to pass down to your kids and grandkids keeping family treasures and memories alive.
Where To Shop And Where to Purchase Ring Settings Without Stones
While saying the internet is a great place to shop has become a ridiculously obvious statement, it is definitely true when it comes to being able to look through many different varieties and styles of ring settings.
It stands to reason that while many jewelry stores will have similar ring settings in traditional sense. What might not be so obvious is if the jewelry stores have a person on staff that creates custom designed rings. This will create a unique opportunity to select a ring that will have a one of a kind look, or at least have a ring that is in such limited supply that it will seem as if no one else has this design.
Nowhere else are you able to shop so many different jewelry stores without leaving the comfort of your own home. It is also beneficial to do an internet search of the jewelry stores in your local area. By doing a local search, you are searching the areas that you can drive to after you have narrowed you search down to exactly what you are looking for.
While some things can be purchased on the internet without seeing them beforehand, purchasing ring settings shouldn’t be one of them. This purchase should be made in person so you can see and touch the ring.
You want to hold it. You want to inspect the craftsmanship. You want to be able to ask the salesperson whatever questions you have. You want to know everything you can about this ring.
Odds are, this is going to be your engagement ring or wedding ring for that significant other. You want to make sure this is the absolute, most perfect, and undeniably the best selection you could possibly make to create the perfect offering when you propose. Taking the time to search online and then making the stop at your local jewelry store will ensure you select the best ring settings without stones that you could find. With this due diligence, you can’t go wrong.
