Gemstone Engagement Rings

It took the diamond industry a long time to establish the diamond engagement ring as an essential part of the culture of marriage. In fact, the De Beers consortium mounted a concerted decades-long advertising campaign, beginning in the late 1930s, to firmly ensconce the association of diamonds with love, courtship and marriage, under the now familiar slogan "diamonds are forever". The campaign was probably one of the most successful feats of social engineering in the 20th century.

Loose colored gemstones for engagement rings have become an increasingly popular choice, offering a vibrant and personalized alternative to traditional diamonds. These gemstones come in a wide array of colors, from the deep blues of sapphires to the rich greens of emeralds, allowing couples to select a stone that reflects their unique style and preferences. Not only do loose colored gemstones for engagement rings add a stunning and distinctive element to the design, but they also carry meaningful symbolism and a connection to nature. With countless options available, loose colored gemstones provide endless possibilities for creating a one-of-a-kind engagement ring that is both beautiful and deeply personal. Browse through our huge selection of loose colored gemstones for sale.

Unheated Blue Sapphire from Tanzania

In addition to these reasons, one cannot discount the effect of the famous blue sapphire and diamond engagement ring that Prince Charles gave to Lady Diana Spencer in 1981, which was later given by prince William when he proposed to Princess Kate. Consumers now had both pro and anti-establishment reasons to move them toward colored stone engagement rings.

Burmese Ruby

The jewelry industry has not been very effective in marketing colored gemstone engagement rings, and undoubtedly the diamond industry has exerted pressure on the trade to keep retailers in the diamond camp. Thus many couples who select gemstone wedding rings with a colored gemstone do it as a project that involves selecting a stone and then a ring design and setting. The result is typically a truly personalized ring.

Since engagement rings stones need to be very durable, the most popular colored gems for this purpose are sapphire and ruby, since they have excellent hardness (9 on the Mohs scale) and no cleavage. Other good choices include spinel, aquamarine and some of the garnets. Some very popular colored gems, such as tanzanite, are not a good choice for engagement rings due to their lack of durability.