2021 Diamond and Engagement Ring Trends

2021 Diamond and Engagement Ring Trends

The global coronavirus crisis has changed things. For some people, it has changed their lives dramatically, while others have managed to muddle through without too much of a change to their work, school or home circumstances – but everyone is feeling the impact in one way or another. When it comes to getting engaged the changes run two diverging ways. Either people are clinging to tradition, longing for normal, or they are following their dreams, dusting off ambitions and no longer caring so much about sticking to stuffy conventions. Here are some ideas to look out for during 2021:

Halo Rings

Halo engagement rings allow you to give the impression of a large ornate ring, without the attendant costs. With a halo ring, a distinct band circles the central stone, often with a gap between the ring and the diamond, the ‘halo’ then being set with smaller melee diamonds. Halo engagement rings are a great way to show off some bling without risking finances already rendered fragile by the pandemic, which has seen businesses and jobs vanish without trace and with little hope of a quick recovery.

A Step Away from Conventions

Many newly engaged couples are opting to design their rings themselves, designing them to be unique, either with a nod to something that has drawn them together: the Deathly Hallows symbol, from Harry Potter, for example, or a Star Wars icon. A unique custom designed ring does not have to include pop culture references, of course, they can equally well be an abstract design that is meaningful only to you two simply because you conceived the idea together.

Clinging to the Known and Historical

Love stories are as old as time, or so it seems, and in an uncertain world, lovers are looking for old symbols of lasting romance. This is being seen in a growing fashion for retro style rings and old-fashioned diamond cuts. If this sounds like it would suit you and your partner, you can hunt around auction houses, estate clearances and antique jewelry stores to find diamonds that suit your old-fashioned tastes – or you can get a brand-new ring made in an old-school style, with the diamond shaped into a plump and comfortable Asscher cut which looks opulent, as though the stone is bursting with diamond-ness, or a romantic marquise cut.

If you wonder why the marquise cut is so romantic, you need to know its back story. King Louis XV of France was so enamored of his lover, Madame de Pompadour, that he demanded his jewelers create a diamond cut in the shape of her mouth, which he held to be quite perfect. The jeweler did his job and gave us the marquise cut diamond – something which is now one of the oldest cuts for a diamond, and has the advantage of being both beautiful and strikingly unusual, so you can enjoy a very traditional and popular diamond design, without having a ring that looks almost identical to your fellow betrothees!

Which camp do you fall into? Everything new and exciting for the new year? Or go back through the centuries to find the happiest love stories that have stood the test of time?

Welcome to Vivre Le Rêve, an online lifestyle magazine for all those who are or who want to be living the dream! I’m Rose, the lifestyle editor here at Vivre Le Rêve.