Knox Jewelers Journal

Beautiful Engagement Rings

Beautiful Engagement Rings

The Top Ten List of our Most Popular & Beautiful Engagement Rings

Making a top ten list of beautiful engagement rings from our library of designs is something that we have wanted to do for a while.  Upon assimilating the data, we found that the list had many very beautiful diamond rings, and also quite a few very beautiful sapphire and diamond rings.  This article will show the Top Ten Most Beautiful Rings as well as variations of the Top Ten designs. Wanting to keep the top ten list as objective as possible, we looked at the data from our web site (product page views, wish list activity, product inquiry forms)  We used this quantitative data and combined it with the input we receive from customers stopping in our showroom that request to see specific rings.

It did not surprise us that the rings from the list correspond with many of the rings that we also consider to be among the most beautiful, elegant, and exquisite ring designs. The rings in this Top Ten List share the following characteristics. They all seem to be of the Antique or Vintage genre with above average amounts of diamond pave or diamond micro pave and also a lot of hand detailing such as; hand engraving, hand made filigree, milgraining.  We put a lot of love into the making of these rings and we think it shows.

(1) Barcelona

Ring #1 from our Top Ten list of beautiful engagement rings is our Barcelona design. Barcelona is a design that combines classic lines with beautiful hand engraving and delicate hand made filigree. The outline of the ring is designed to highlight and accentuate the center stone.

Here are a few different versions of the number one ring from our most beautiful engagement ring list.

This is our original Barcelona design shown with an approximate 1.00 carat cushion cut diamond center stone. Please note the claw style prongs on the center stone which give an exquisitely delicate finishing touch.

This Beautiful Engagement Ring holds the number one spot on Our Top Ten List of Most Beautiful Engagement Rings

Here is essentially the same ring design with a blue sapphire cushion cut center stone and a slightly different engraving pattern.

Here is a beautiful round center diamond version, highlighting a 1.50 carat round center diamond… Beautiful!

Here is another beautiful sapphire center stone version highlighting a yellow sapphire combined with yellow gold filigree.

Last but not least  is a another round diamond center stone version with custom engraving and without the filigree of the other Barcelona’s

(2) Amante

Ring #2 from our Top Ten list of beautiful engagement rings is our Amante design. Amante  is a very popular  design that allows a matching band to nest perfectly underneath. The design has a beautiful double halo on a very sexy thin diamond pave band. Judging from all the different versions we have made of this design, it seems to look equally beautiful with any shape center diamond.

Here are a few different versions of the number two ring from our most beautiful engagement ring list.

This is our original Amante design shown with an approximate .75 carat round brilliant cut diamond center stone.

This Beautiful Engagement Ring holds the number two spot on Our Top Ten List of Most Beautiful Engagement Rings

Here are some other center stone versions…

Here are some modifications we have made to the side view of the design for our customers that wanted to give the design a personal touch:

(3) Passion

Ring #3 from our Top Ten list of beautiful engagement rings is our Passion design. Passion is a highly detailed design with lots of sparkle everywhere, from the double halo to the exquisitely channel set carré cut diamonds to the hand made filigree, it truly is a very special ring.

Here are a few different angles of the number three ring from our most beautiful engagement ring list.

This unique and beautiful ring design has a lot ‘going on’ with diamonds and detailing on nearly every surface of the ring,  it really takes all three of the following photos to show all of the fabulous detail.

This Beautiful Engagement Ring holds the number Three spot on Our Top Ten List of Most Beautiful Engagement Rings

Here is a photo of our Asscher Passion design.

Here is a photo of our Radiant Passion with a 1.50 carat center radiant cut diamond.

Here is a photo of our Passion design with round diamonds in place of the carré cut diamonds.

Last but not least… A very beautiful matching band for the Passion engagement ring. This unique diamond band is stunning all by itself and of course compliments the engagement ring perfectly.

(4) Valencia

This Beautiful Engagement Ring holds the number four spot on Our Top Ten List of Most Beautiful Engagement Rings

Here is a version of our Valencia design with a cushion shape halo.

Here is our Valencia design shown with a  matching band.

(5) Maui

This Beautiful Engagement Ring holds the number five spot on Our Top Ten List of Most Beautiful Engagement Rings

(6) Firenze

This Beautiful Engagement Ring holds the number six spot on Our Top Ten List of Most Beautiful Engagement Rings.

(7) Classic Cushion Halo

This Beautiful Engagement Ring holds the number seven spot on Our Top Ten List of Most Beautiful Engagement Rings.

(8) Asscher Siempre

Asscher cut designs are very classsic and elegant. This beautiful design combines hand made filigree and hand engraving to nearly every surface of the ring.

This Beautiful Engagement Ring holds the number eight spot on Our Top Ten List of Most Beautiful Engagement Rings.

(9) Moon Dance

The custom cut Half Moon shape diamonds help to perfectly frame an oval or cushion shape center diamond.

This Beautiful Engagement Ring holds the number nine spot on Our Top Ten List of Most Beautiful Engagement Rings.

(10) Seville

The Eclectic mix of elements make this ring a very unique as well as beautiful design. A beautiful blend of a half bezel set center diamond with delicate hand made filigree and hand engraving.

This Beautiful Engagement Ring holds the number nine spot on Our Top Ten List of Most Beautiful Engagement Rings.

Our website will show many other versions of these top ten designs. Use the search feature on our web site and search by the ring name.

Tags: Beautiful Engagement Rings | Categories: Top Ten List

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Engagement Ring Photos and the Importance of Real Photography

As we approach 6000 “real” photos of engagement rings and wedding bands, we’re reminded of all the work we’ve done in getting our designs on this very website.  It’s important to understand that our quality and workmanship have to be top-notch when photographing at the macro level.  Our jewelers and craftsmen must execute with the same passion as our designers.  It takes years of experience across these many dedicated individuals to deliver a quality piece,  something that a virtual image will never convey.

Sometimes we wish our photos could be produced by the touch of a button.  It would be much easier to generate 6000 perfect computer renderings and not worry about capturing the countless hours of detail and passion put into our pieces.  One slight problem, our customers don’t wear virtual rings.

The key to our business is heirloom quality unique engagement rings.  The designing is only half of the battle.  The craftsmanship yields the end product and is where we really shine as you can see in every one of our engagement ring photos.  Our designs are handmade and given meticulously attention to in every detail.   How would anyone be able to see our quality if our collection was all computer generated? The diamonds still have to be precisely set, the metal still has to be polished smooth, and the engraving still has to be cut by hand.

Our customers come to us because they want to cherish the beauty and art put into everyone of our designs.  They don’t want the same design that has been made ten thousand times by an overworked, underpaid worker overseas.  They want unique, they want one-of-a-kind, and they want heirloom quality.

Virtual jewelry only shows 50 percent of any given design.  It’s a mere concept of how a design should look.  The design still has to executed into a beautiful piece of art and that feat takes years of experience. Quality and craftsmanship come with no easy button.

Tags: craftsmanship, engagement ring photos, quality, render, virtual | Categories: Unique Custom Design Engagement Rings

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Sapphire Engagement Rings

At Knox Jewelers, we have been creating more and more Sapphire Engagement Rings in many design styles, some of which are:

• Antique Style Sapphire Engagement Rings
• Contemporary Sapphire Engagement Rings
• Fancy Shape Sapphire Engagement Rings
• Solitaire Sapphire Engagement Rings
• Three Stone Sapphire Engagement Rings
• Custom Sapphire Engagement Rings
• Micro Pave Sapphire Engagement Rings
• Split Shank Sapphire Engagement Rings
• Hand Engraved Sapphire Engagement Rings
• Unique Sapphire Engagement Rings

Corundum, the stone that is commonly called sapphire, comes in every color of the rainbow except red, as red Corundum is called Ruby.  There is also a white sapphire that when well cut, can look very much like a diamond.

Here are a few photos of some very unique sapphire engagement rings we have made.  We can build these designs around any shape or size sapphire or diamond.  So follow the links or click on the photos if you’re interested in more info.

Blue Sapphire Engagement Rings

Here is a custom version of our “Caledonia” design with a remarkable 3.60 carat blue cushion cut sapphire.

Check this link to see other versions of our “Caledonia” Knox Heirloom Band. – Caledonia Custom Designs

Here is one of many of our “Cushion Barcelona” engagement ring designs.  This is shown with a blue cushion cut sapphire.  The hand done filigree and hand engraving make this design truly unique.

Here is a link to other versions of our Barcelona engagement ring. – Barcelona Engagement Rings

Our “Bezel Elegante” design is shown here with a beautiful bezel set, blue princess cut sapphire.

Check this link to see other versions of our “Elegante” engagement ring. -Elegante Engagement Ring Designs

Here is a very classic design with a blue emerald cut sapphire, beautifully accented by two tapered baguette shaped diamonds.  Notice the elegant claw prongs holding both the side baguettes and the center sapphire.

Here is an Emerald cut blue sapphire in our “Art Deco” engagement ring.

Here is a Bezel Set Emerald cut blue sapphire engagement ring with hand done filigree.

Purple Sapphire Engagement Rings

This purple sapphire engagement ring features our “Seville” design again, with hand engraving and hand made platinum filigree.

Here is a link to all of versions of our “Seville” design throughout the website. – Seville Engagement Rings

Here is a recent three stone engagement ring design with a purple sapphire. The design features a near eternity diamond band and also beautiful hand engraving.

Here is our “Lotus” halo style engagement ring, shown with a bright purple sapphire.

Yellow Sapphire Engagement Rings

This sapphire engagement ring features a low set cushion cut yellow sapphire mounted around diamonds, hand engraving, and yellow gold filigree.  This is a custom version of our “Cushion Barcelona” engagement ring.

Here is a link to other versions of our Barcelona engagement ring. – Barcelona Engagement Rings

Here are two custom versions of our “Fireworks” engagement ring with yellow sapphires.

Green Sapphire Engagement Rings

Here is a fabulous green cushion cut sapphire engagement ring.  The sapphire is surrounded by a halo of diamonds.  The hand engraving and hand done filigree are what make this unique engagement ring a work of art.

Another beautiful green sapphire engagement ring.  This is a version of our “Amante” halo design, customized with hand done filigree filling the gallery.

Orange Sapphire Engagement Rings

Stunning orange sapphire engagement ring.  Based off of our “Contour Trellis” three stone engagement ring.

Here is a custom version of our “Cushion Barcelona” design with an vivid orange square cushion cut sapphire.

Here is a link to other versions of our Barcelona engagement ring. – Barcelona Engagement Rings

Pink Sapphire Engagement Rings

Here is a beautiful 1.84 carat cushion cut pink sapphire engagement ring in a micro pave style.

Check this link to see other versions of our “Adriana Sophia” ring. – Adriana Sophia designs

Here is a Pink Cushion Cut Sapphire in a split shank micro pave engagement ring.

Check this link to see other versions of our Cielo design.  – Cielo Engagement Rings

More to come soon… please stop back.

Tags: beautiful sapphire rings, custom, ring, Rings, sapphire, Sapphire Engagement Rings, sapphire wedding rings, unique sapphire rings, unusual sapphire rings | Categories: Sapphire Engagement Rings

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Hand Engraved Ring Designs

Hand engraving on jewelry and other metal objects is a very specialized art form in and of itself and when skillfully placed on an already high quality ring, can make for an absolutely unique and heirloom quality piece of jewelry.

The actual engraving is done with an extremely sharp tool called a graver. The graver is used to carefully carve a pattern or design into the metal, leaving no room for error. The artisan that does the hand engraving will have various sizes, shapes, and angles of gravers that they use for different effects/designs. The cutting into the metal with the graver is often (but not always) facilitated by small hand held pneumatic devices that are essentially small pneumatic hammers.

What is Cast in Place engraving or CAD-CAM engraving?

It is important to differentiate between actual hand engraving and the much more commonly found cast in place engraving or CAD-CAM engraving in which a design or pattern is placed in the wax or prototype of the item being cast to give the look or effect of hand engraving.

Here are a few examples of cast in place engraving or CAD-CAM engraving.

Example #1 of cast in place ‘engraving’

Example #2 of cast in place ‘engraving’

Example #3 of cast in place ‘engraving’

Is it possible to tell the difference between hand engraving and cast in place engraving?

The quick answer is no, a novice may not always be able to tell the difference.

While even a novice may be able to tell the difference between extreme examples from both methods, (the example photos used here are classic examples of the representative methods) please note that there will be many examples from both methods that may be virtually indistinguishable from each other when looking at merely photos, especially to a novice.

That said, the predominant indication of cast in place/faux engraving will be a ’smoothed out’ or ‘polished down’ look to the detailing in the pattern as opposed to a much sharper or crisper pattern in hand engraved designs.

Here are a few examples of actual ‘Hand engraved’ designs. Notice the sharpness and crispness of the detailing in the patterns.

Example #1 of a hand engraved design

Example #2 of a hand engraved design

Example #3 of a hand engraved design

Example #4 of a hand engraved design

Example #5 of a hand engraved design

Please visit our web site here:

Tags: hand engraved, hand engraving, Unique | Categories: Jewelry, Unique Custom Design Engagement Rings

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Unique Engagement Ring Styles – Filigree

Unique Engagement Rings

What exactly is filigree?

Filigree is fine and delicate ornamental work done in platinum or gold wire.

Filigree can be located on the shank or crown portion of the ring.? It can be used as a main, accent, or complementary design element. ? By definition, filigree is wire work done by hand.? While it’s very common to see mass produced pieces with cast in place filigree, only true hand wrought wire can be considered as such. Hand curled filigree is an extremely skilled and tedious task as the wire used is often under half of a millimeter or the thickness of 3-4 pieces of paper.? It takes a steady hand in welding wire to a ring and is often done under a 10X microscope to ensure proper contact and alignment.

The design pictured above uses filigree to hold several very light blue ceylon sapphires.

Tags: antique, Engagement, filigree, Rings, Unique | Categories: Jewelry

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Copyright © 2003-2011 Knox Jewelers LLC. Designers of Unique Engagement Rings.