Best Engagement Ring Settings for Active Women
When buying a ring, an active woman should consider many things besides just how it looks like. Practicality and durability are extremely important as well. Most people should think about the durability of a ring when making the purchase, to minimize the possibility of damage. Constantly taking the ring off your finger out of fear of it being damaged will make misplacing it likelier, so a more practical choice would be one that fits in with your lifestyle.
Best Setting for an Active Woman
By active woman, we mean anyone who uses her hands a lot to do household chores or salaried job. There are several ring settings well-suited for active women. The bezel setting is one that will protect your centerpiece gemstone better than any others. The setting has a protective metal rim around the edge of the center stone to protect it from chips. It is also typically an extremely low profile setting, with the top of that gemstone not raised high above the ring’s band. This means it is not all that likely to catch on clothing or something else.
Some individuals feel that the bezel setting makes the diamond shine less, but this is not really a problem. Most of the natural lighting causing the sparkle of a diamond enters the top, bounces off the pavilion facets and exits through the top. The bezel setting restricts the light that enters the side of a diamond, but this does not affect it entering the top; so, its effect on the sparkle level is minimal.
Double Solitaire Setting
If you would rather select a more conventional pronged solitaire, we suggest that you go for one with six claws. The claws setting will hold your center diamond more securely. Even when one of the six claws bents out of position or breaks, the other claws will keep it secure.
Settings to Avoid
If you do not want the diamond bezel, choose a different setting that is well-suited for you. The cathedral setting is not so. In this setting, the center gemstone is placed in an elevated position, allowing maximum light to enter it from all angles, plus the long claws look elegant and clean.
However, as this setting sits so high, it is much likelier to snag on things. The long claws of the setting could be bent backwards when it is caught on something. This will cause a gemstone to become loose or even the center stone to fall off of the setting.
Pave setting holds small diamonds in position with extremely small metal beads placed between these stones. Treating the ring roughly can easily dislodge the metal beads, which will cause the diamonds to fall off.
Best Diamond Shape
You want to reduce the possibility of your ring setting or diamond snagging considerably. One of the big factors in the possibility of it snagging on something is sharp corners and points. So, you should avoid center diamonds with defined points such as the marquise, pear and heart-shaped stones.
Choosing a smoother diamond shape will minimize the snag possibility a lot, meaning it is less likely to be affected by being knocked or to snag on clothing.
Round or oval diamonds, with gentle curves, are your best options to ensure that the centerpiece stays looking great.
Best Metal
Like the center gemstone options above, different metal band options have different hardness. You have to consider two other factors here: toughness and strength.
What is the difference between these three?
Hardness of a metal is its resistance to scratching, strength refers to the resistance to bending and toughness to how possible something is to break if the metal is bent. You should ensure that your ring metal has all of the above to ensure that it lasts as long as possible.
If you are going for the diamond bezel, the center stone will be held very securely. The solid construction of it means that toughness and strength is not so important because the setting has considerable metal holding the gemstone in place.
Therefore, minimizing scratches should be your priority. If you are considering a white-colored band, then white gold is a better option than platinum.
White gold has alloys in it and rhodium plating. As long as your white gold band is plated with rhodium, you will be able to minimize as many scratches as possible.
If you are looking at a claw setting, you should go for platinum. This white metal scratches more easily compared to white gold, but it is also tougher and stronger. It is less possible to bend, and even if it does, it is less possible to break.
For the prong setting, this is important because you want to make sure that claws stay in their position and hold the center stone tight.
Bottom Line
To summarize, if you want the hardiest ring, then our recommendation would be the bezel setting, round or oval cut diamond and white gold.
When this setting is not for you, you can choose another one, but you should consider every factor mentioned above to make sure that your piece can survive the lifestyle and continue to look beautiful.