OUR PROCESS
Engagement is a special and meaningful event that you both will remember and talk about for a lifetime. How do you start the process of picking out and purchasing the perfect engagement ring that represents your love story?
Engagement Rings come in all shapes and sizes, but we are here to help you narrow down the options by taking into account the style preferences, lifestyle, and personality of the bride to be. Ring styles can range from eternity band engagement rings to a solitaire rings, or even a combination engagement ring, so it's important to find the perfect setting for your partner.
Do you want a lab grown diamond or a mined diamond? What is the difference? We offer free consultations to help educate, design, and create the ideal ring for you.
Selecting a style for your engagement ring can be difficult. For starters, think about the type of person, their lifestyle, and the fashion accessories they love to wear. What does your significant other gravitate towards? How active are they? Do they have any specifications that they like in their jewelry or preferences for their type of diamond and style of ring? If your partner is thinking about rings, they may be dropping ideas in conversations, so be alert.
1. Complementary Consultation
with our Specialists
Choosing an engagement ring and the jewelry you wear is a personal experience, every couple wishing to tell your unique story with their ring. At Audrey Nicole Diamonds, we create unique bespoke pieces that are truly unique and made specifically for you.
We will begin with a conversation with our specialists about your vision for the engagement ring or custom jewelry piece. We will discuss your design preferences, diamond education, stone selections, timelines, budgets, and answer any questions you have about the process.
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2. Selecting the Perfect Diamond or Gemstone
Once we co-create the project scope, finalize timelines and budgets, we are ready to source your stones and create designs for you.
Whether you choose a natural or lab grown diamond, a colored gemstone, or a mxture of the two, our team will walk you through the selection process. We use our extensive network of diamond resources and sources to create an assortment of diamond options specifically for you.
We will co-create the piece and finalize the design so it is perfect for you. A final quote is given, a deposit taken, and we get into the production phase.
3. The Final Jewelry Piece
Our team oversees every step of production through completion to ensure the highest quality craftsmanship for your perfect ring or jewelry piece.
When your piece is complete, we will either ship or hand deliver to you depending upon where you are located.
ENGAGEMENT RING GALLERY
Our head designer says...
"I knew when I got engaged, my ring needed to be able to withstand my lifestyle, which is a lot! I am extremely active all the time, in my career and my personal life--so I could not have the high setting that I wanted. I needed my stone set down a bit, so that it could handle my lifestyle. With my work, workouts, sports, and overall activity level--I needed a ring setting that would work for me."
"I created my setting with my ideal stone, the emerald cut diamond, with a basket that was set high enough to be beautiful, but low enough so that I could wear it everyday snd not worry about having to take it off--knowing it would not get in the way of my lifestyle. Each ring is individual and each ring should be made to fit your particular way of life. I love helping my clients pick out just what they want and create that special ring that represents their love story."
1. Don’t get too concerned with current trends.
You want the engagement ring to be a lifelong and timeless symbol of your love, so the ring should be long-lasting and a perfect match for your future fiancé. Look at their current jewelry, what is that piece they always choose to wear and why? Do they like white gold, yellow gold, or rose gold? Do they want a single stone type ring or would they prefer an eternity band? Really look at their style and use it to choose a ring design that they will wear everyday of their lives and love it. For example, everything is about yellow gold right now, diamonds always book better in white gold--pick the best one for you and don't let the trendy stuff get in the way.
2. A stone doesn’t have to be perfect on paper.
Diamonds are catagorized by the 4 C's--color, cut, clarity, and carat size, they come with a certificate but their are many factors in your decision-making beyond the stone's paperwork. You don’t need a D Flawless stone to design and execute a beautiful ring. It’s better to judge a stone by what you prefer and the feeling you get when you see it rather than the GIA certificate or it's authenticity papers.
3. Size does matter, but beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Bigger is not always better!
Sometimes bigger is better and other times it is not, it really comes down to personal preference. Your size can matter too--a tall individual with long fingers will generally want a different size of ring and type of setting than a petite shorter stature individual. Depending upon your budget, you may want a smaller size stone that has better color and clarity vs the large stone that may not be as perfect in it's color and clarity--it all depends on what the stone looks like and what the individual preferences are.
The engagement ring is an extension of the individual's personality and who they are--they may opt out of the big bling and opt into more of a band style or a diamond eternity ring. "I like to create engagement rings that fit the person and I love to see that people are now thinking outside the box to develop a ring that fits their personality and lifestyle, not just a fashion trend or what their friends are doing!"--Our Founder, Sherri
4. The story says it all.
Everyone likes the "story behind the ring"—how did you pick that ring, that stone, that style? Where is your stone from? Our customers know that we take great pride in ethically sourced gems. Now we offer completely sustainable and environmentally safe "Lab Grown Diamonds" along with our traditional mined diamonds. We look for stones and design settings that are unique and different. We look for diamonds or gemstones that are interesting and even ones with a story.
5. Think about the setting, not just the stone or stones.
You usually pick the stone first, but when picking the stone, think about what you want the overall ring to look like. The setting is like the frame around the picture, and when the frame is not great, the stone suffers. Look at stones from all angles, for example, our designer likes to set emerald and radiant shaped diamonds sideways or east west--which look amazing. When you consult with us, we can give you different ideas for settings that will make your stone or stones really pop.
6. It's not about the price tag.
During the Depression, De Beers put out a campaign/ad pushing men to spend one month’s salary on a ring if they wanted to be "a responsible person." By the time we got to the 1980s, it jumped up to two months and now it has moved it's way up to three months salary because this jewelry is set to be a forever. This is just a bunch of marketing, but fun to think about. The reality is some individuals want a big diamond, some want eternity bands, and some don't want diamonds but prefer emeralds or sapphires. Each ring is unique and different, so take time and make it your perfect choice!