Choosing a Lab Grown Diamond Engagement Ring, with Clean Origin!

Planning your wedding day full of intention means making every single purchase with purpose throughout the entire process. And it all begins with your very first purchase, the engagement ring! We are partnering with Clean Origin to give you the rundown on selecting a lab-grown diamond engagement ring that fits your modern-day love story!

Ready to pop the question to your partner?, Or, have you already tied the knot but couldn’t quite find the right engagement ring before your wedding day? PS: there is absolutely no rule that says the engagement ring can’t come after the ‘I do’ Purchasing an engagement ring is a huge move in cementing the next step of your relationship so it’s no surprise that you’d want to do a little digging on where to go to make this trusted investment!

Why select a lab-grown diamond?

Selecting a lab-grown diamond engagement ring might be right for you if you are concerned about the environmental impact that mining for natural diamonds has created. Carbon emissions, waste, and pollution in natural bodies of water are just some of the environmental effects caused by mining for diamonds. Additionally, mining for diamonds is oftentimes done so at the cost of child labor and human rights violations.

What to know when saying yes to a lab-grown diamond!

Lab-grown diamonds are not the same as and not considered to be cubic zirconia!!

Lab-grown diamonds are also indistinguishable to the naked eye from their naturally occurring counterparts, and they are just as sparkling and showstopping! Lab-grown diamonds are created by a process that uses HPHT (high pressure & high heat) which makes them physically and chemically identical to their naturally occurring counterparts! This means that when purchasing a lab-grown diamond, you are still going to follow the rule of the four C’s. Carat, Cut, Color, and Clarity.

Preparing to shop for an engagement ring

The ‘surprise’ proposal is alive and well, but so is going engagement ring shopping together! If you are planning to surprise your partner with a proposal, there are at least two things that you should figure out before engagement ring shopping! Their ring size and their style! Do you know what size engagement ring to purchase for your partner? What about a solitaire diamond versus a halo setting? (don’t worry, we will be breaking down style next!) Finding your partner’s ring size may prove trickier than narrowing down their style, but there are a few things you can do! The first thing is simply to ask them, which of course does not apply to a surprise proposal! Unless you SNEAKY ASK them: ‘hey, I noticed that your mom wore her family heirloom ring today, what size do you think she is? What size do you think you are?’ Ok – don’t use our script because it’s super obvious, but you get the idea! The next option to finding your partner’s ring size is to ask a close friend or family member if they know the ring size of your beloved. Lastly, you can also measure a ring that they currently own, or the super sneaky way – create a paper ring around their ring finger while they are asleep! Just watch out for those paper cuts!

Now that we are on the road to finding their ring size, What style engagement ring works best for your partner?

Here are four of the main styles as currently offered by Clean Origin:

Solitaire: A solitaire engagement ring is a single stone that is set on its own, with no other surrounding diamond. There are embellishments on the band of the ring. A solitaire diamond engagement can be made from just about any style or cut of diamond.

Classic: A classic engagement ring is a solitary diamond that is set with a pave style band. The word pave comes from the Frech word ‘to pave’ which refers to the way the smaller diamonds are paved inside the band around which the diamond is set. Pave bands come can come in singular or multiple rows and the center stone can be of any cut.

Vintage: No family heirloom to pass down from generation to generation? No problem! You can still purchase a vintage style engagement ring. A vintage-style engagement ring is usually full of filigree, scrollwork, and intricate design detail. They are fanciful but not overly done. Vintage diamond engagement rings typically come set with many stones and look best with round, oval, or cushion-cut shapes.

Halo: The halo style is still somewhat new to the scene of engagement rings, and a personal favorite amongst our readers! A halo engagement ring has a circle of diamonds around the center stone which creates a halo effect. The halo typically makes the center stone appear larger in size. Halo diamond engagement rings typically look best when set with a cushion-cut diamond as the center stone.

Chances are that one or two of these styles jumped out at you as being a perfect fit for your partner the moment that you read the description! If you’re still not quite sure which style would be ‘the one’ you can also shop diamonds by shape!

Shapes:

There are 6 diamond shapes that are considered standard when it comes to shopping by shape. Round, Oval, Cushion, Pear, Princess, and Emerald. Shopping by first deciding the shape of the diamond will also help you weed through your options when it comes to style! and allow you to build the ring from the center stone out!!

Still unsure which diamond engagement ring style and shape is best suited for your partner? You can custom design your own engagement ring online by selecting the shape of the diamond, price, carat, cut, color, and clarity, by clicking here to use the >>> Create Your Own <<< feature!