CZ Cubic Zirconia Sterling Silver Jewelry

It’s a fun and satisfying process to design your own cubic zirconia engagement ring.  But it’s hard to know where to start.  With so many colors, shapes, settings, carats and other considerations, it’s easy to get lost in the options.

We suggest taking the design one step at a time as follows:

1. Setting – Most people have some idea of the type of ring setting they want, so this is a typical place to start.  You’ll need to select the style of the setting, such as solitaire.  Is the band plain or set with pave gemstones? After getting a sense of prices, you’ll also want to determine the metal used in the setting.  This could be gold, platinum or sterling.

2. Stone - The setting you choose determines the type and shape of the primary cubic zirconia stone.  If you chose a solitaire setting, you may be in search of a round or square cubic zirconia.  If the setting is accented with colored gemstones, it’s important to identify the gemstone and consider their shape in relation to the primary stone.

3. Price – Once you have a complete picture of what the ring will look like, you can make adjustments based on cost, stone size,and more.  For example, your ideal ring in platinum may cost considerably more than in a 14k gold setting.  In order to get the carat weight you want, you may decide to go with a less expensive metal, or vice versa.    There are always tradeoffs.

The important thing when designing an engagement ring is that you start with what you know.  Try to keep an open mind and proceed one step at a time.  You’ll be sure to end up with the perfect piece.

We all have our own reasons for wanting, or not wanting, to give or receive a big fat expensive engagement ring.   Some see an engagement ring as essential to a relationship.   Others view it as a bad investment or indirectly supportive of malevolent dictators in third world countries. (which is true).  As a result, people claim they are in the market for cheap engagement rings.   Given our passion for all cz jewelry, we think of cubic zirconia engagement rings less as a cheap substitute for diamonds, but in a class by themselves.  They have incredible variety, sparkle and precious metal settings that can be far from cheap!

The Frisky blogger discusses this in response to the NY Times Freakonomics blog.  The NY Times raises the very valid points about blood diamonds and paternalism, which we totally agree with.  But the Frisky blogger has a great point that an engagement ring is not just a token, but something symbolic, and while it doesn’t have to be anything fancy, it has meaning.

Ladies, Your Engagement Ring Is A Bad Investment | The Frisky.