An enhancer for your wedding ring is a great way to show off your engagement ring. Ring enhancers, often called wraps or guards, can be used with just the engagement ring or include a wedding band. Some brides prefer to use a ring enhancer in place of a traditional wedding band.
Choosing Wedding Ring Enhancers for Engagement Rings
Getting an enhancer to go along with your engagement ring is commonplace. Perhaps you acquired a family heirloom or antique that you would like to show off. Or maybe the ring your fiancé picked out was not quite your style, but you do not want to part with his original choice.
Women with very long fingers may want to add a ring enhancer to the engagement ring, in addition to a wedding band. Conversely, women with small fingers may want to use an enhancer as their wedding band.
Regardless of the reason for picking out an enhancer, you should not just buy the first one you like. Buying a ring wrap is just as important as picking out the original diamond. This piece accents your original ring, so be sure that the four C's (cut, clarity, carat, color) meet your expectations.
Other questions to keep in mind when choosing a ring enhancer include:
- How large do I want the ring to be? Some wraps go both above and below the engagement ring, making the total ring seem much wider.
- Do I want to accent my engagement diamond or create a "look?" Wraps can be as simple as a single diamond on each side of the engagement diamond, or have a design in the gold along with several diamond cuts. Maybe you even want your ring to look like a favorite celebrity's wedding ring.
- Which of the four C's is most important to me? Choose a ring enhancer that emphasizes your most important "C" or that matches your engagement ring's diamonds closely.
- What is our budget? Keep in mind your budget when shopping for an enhancer, especially if you plan to add a wedding band to the ring set as well.
Wedding ring enhancers can be of the same metal that your engagement ring is in, or a complimentary metal. White gold, yellow gold, platinum, and titanium wedding rings are most commonplace.
Gemstones in Ring Enhancers
A new wedding trend is to use gemstones in wedding ring enhancers. Sapphires, rubies, and emeralds are popular choices. If you cannot find the gemstone you want in a ring, have the enhancer custom made. Reasons for choosing certain gemstones include:
- Birthstone for either the bride and/or the groom.
- Deceased parent or grandparent's birthstone/favorite stone.
- Birthstone for a child or children.
- Color goes with the bride's eyes or skintone.
- Gemstone is the favorite stone of the bride.
The gemstones can be found in alternating patterns between diamonds (such as two diamonds, gemstone, two diamonds gemstone) or in part of a design (like pear-shaped gemstones sideways next to round diamonds).
Choosing a wrap with gemstones can significantly decrease the cost of buying a wedding ring enhancer, depending on the stone you choose. Buying a ring enhancer with lab created stones can save you even more money. This can allow you to get a larger engagement ring (if you are buying both at the same time) or wedding band, or simply keep you within your overall budget.
Caring for Ring Enhancers
Care for your wedding ring enhancers as you would any other pieces of precious jewelry. Clean it at home at least once a week, and take it for regular cleanings at the jewelry store where you purchased it.
If your ring came with a warranty, you may be required to bring it in yearly or every six months to have the settings checked for loose stones. Keep up with this, as missing an appointment may void your warranty.
Soldering the enhancer to the engagement ring is something many women choose to do. It makes the rings sit flush with one another and enhances the overall look of the ring. On the downside, soldered rings show wear and tear if you need them resized more than once. If you think you may be upgrading your wedding ring set at some point in the future, you may not want to have them soldered together.
