This site uses cookies - see our privacy policy. Ads & links in bold may give us a small payment from the seller, at no cost to the buyer. However, this never affects our views - if we like it, we recommend it.
The beginners guide to gemstones for engagement rings
What do gemstones do?
They look pretty, and in most cases they are very hard, so won’t scratch or wear away. The four precious stones are diamond, sapphire, ruby and emerald, basically because the Ancient Greeks decided those were the best. Rubies and sapphires are the same material: if it’s red, it’s a ruby; any other colour counts as a sapphire. All other gems are classed as semi-precious, including organic gems like pearls or amber.
What’s so special about diamonds?
- They are harder than anything else.
- When properly cut, they sparkle like no other material can. That was only discovered in modern times, and is to do with diamond being extremely dense and slowing light right down.
But why are they so strongly linked to engagement rings? Well, it’s really just down to a rather effective marketing campaign which created the ‘tradition’ of engagement rings being diamonds.
For more on this tradition, see our guide to 10 things you need to know when buying a cheap engagement ring.
What’s the difference between a cheap diamond engagement ring and an expensive one?
The vast majority of diamonds found in nature are on the spectrum from clear to a dirty yellow-brown. Natural diamonds in beautiful colours (called fancy diamonds) are mind-meltingly expensive, red being the rarest of all. You'd be paying £30,000 even for a tiny one, which is certainly going beyond “Cheap Engagement Rings”.
There are other differences – such as the number of imperfections (clarity) although generally you’ll only see these under a magnifying glass. Obviously size is important in an engagement ring – diamonds are measured by weight, or carats. 1 carat is 0.2 grams.
There is more on the ‘4Cs’ – cut, clarity, colour and carat in our guide to 10 things you need to know when shopping for a cheap engagement ring.
There are other differences – such as the number of imperfections (clarity) although generally you’ll only see these under a magnifying glass. Obviously size is important in an engagement ring – diamonds are measured by weight, or carats. 1 carat is 0.2 grams.
There is more on the ‘4Cs’ – cut, clarity, colour and carat in our guide to 10 things you need to know when shopping for a cheap engagement ring.
What's the difference between “natural diamonds” and "non-natural gemstones"?
There are four categories of gemstone:
Simulated gemstones are anything that looks vaguely like the real thing but isn't. They are used in costume jewellery, which is jewellery that is deliberately just for fashion and has no intrinsic value. But they are also used in fakes and scams. Two types of simulated diamond are cubic zirconia, invented in the 1970s, and rhinestones, which are basically glass beads.
Synthetic stones are versions of the gemstone grown in a lab. Synthetic rubies and sapphires have been produced for over 100 years, and synthetic emeralds since the 1960s. Diamonds are more difficult to grow and cut: the small diamonds used in industry are synthetic, but gemstone-quality lab diamonds are only now coming on to the market in numbers.
Here's the thing about synthetic gemstones: they are chemically and optically exactly the same as natural ones. You cannot tell the difference without professional equipment. What you get by paying a whole lot more for a natural stone is the knowledge that it formed deep in the Earth over millions of years, rather than in a few days on an industrial estate.
Enhanced gemstones have come out of the ground, but then been treated with something like intense heat or radiation, to improve the colour or hide flaws. If you are buying a “natural” ruby or sapphire, assume it has been treated unless it specifically says otherwise. Semi-precious stones are often treated, e.g. almost all blue topaz has been irradiated, and most citrine is heated amethyst.
Enhancements have always been a massive part of the gemstone trade: supposedly, some of the gems found in Tutankhamun's tomb had been heat-treated. Enhancement may make the stone more delicate or unstable, though this varies a lot.
So you see where this is heading: fully natural, untreated stones of top quality and good size are very rare and valuable, as they always have been.
See our guide to the 10 best places to buy cheap engagement rings.
Just as an aside, there's a similar thing with pearls: even one natural pearl is rare and expensive, let alone dozens all the same size to make a necklace. But around 1900 they developed a process of culturing pearls, which meant you could get the same result far more cheaply. These days, 99% of the pearls on the market are cultured.
- Simulated
- Synthetic
- Enhanced
- Natural
Simulated gemstones are anything that looks vaguely like the real thing but isn't. They are used in costume jewellery, which is jewellery that is deliberately just for fashion and has no intrinsic value. But they are also used in fakes and scams. Two types of simulated diamond are cubic zirconia, invented in the 1970s, and rhinestones, which are basically glass beads.
Synthetic stones are versions of the gemstone grown in a lab. Synthetic rubies and sapphires have been produced for over 100 years, and synthetic emeralds since the 1960s. Diamonds are more difficult to grow and cut: the small diamonds used in industry are synthetic, but gemstone-quality lab diamonds are only now coming on to the market in numbers.
Here's the thing about synthetic gemstones: they are chemically and optically exactly the same as natural ones. You cannot tell the difference without professional equipment. What you get by paying a whole lot more for a natural stone is the knowledge that it formed deep in the Earth over millions of years, rather than in a few days on an industrial estate.
Enhanced gemstones have come out of the ground, but then been treated with something like intense heat or radiation, to improve the colour or hide flaws. If you are buying a “natural” ruby or sapphire, assume it has been treated unless it specifically says otherwise. Semi-precious stones are often treated, e.g. almost all blue topaz has been irradiated, and most citrine is heated amethyst.
Enhancements have always been a massive part of the gemstone trade: supposedly, some of the gems found in Tutankhamun's tomb had been heat-treated. Enhancement may make the stone more delicate or unstable, though this varies a lot.
So you see where this is heading: fully natural, untreated stones of top quality and good size are very rare and valuable, as they always have been.
See our guide to the 10 best places to buy cheap engagement rings.
Just as an aside, there's a similar thing with pearls: even one natural pearl is rare and expensive, let alone dozens all the same size to make a necklace. But around 1900 they developed a process of culturing pearls, which meant you could get the same result far more cheaply. These days, 99% of the pearls on the market are cultured.
So where should I buy my engagement ring?
- Only buy gemstones from a reputable dealer, otherwise you could very easily get ripped off. See our guide to the 10 best places to buy cheap engagement rings.
- Decide what your priorities are. This isn't about right and wrong: synthetic stones don't have the romantic story that mined ones do, but they may be more ethical. And going too much for quality at the expense of size may unbalance the whole ring. See our guide to 10 things you need to know when buying a cheap engagement ring.
- You certainly don't have to go for a diamond engagement ring, but it is the safest option – unless you know there's something else that the person involved will particularly like.
