While trends in ring styles are hard to generalize, the traditional solitaire diamond engagement ring is still a very popular choice, with princess-cut (square) diamonds currently one of the favorite shapes. There has been a distinct move in New Zealand away from yellow gold and towards platinum in the past two years. Platinum is a much harder metal, and therefore more durable than gold. It’s also more expensive, although Colin says he encourages people to consider it, as engagement and wedding rings are very special pieces of jewelery that you will want to last a lifetime.
Titanium is another metal option that’s increasing in popularity. This grey-colored metal in incredibly strong but extremely lightweight. Ted Daniels of Artifact specializes in crafting titanium rings and produces a huge variety of styles. He says that men in particular like titanium rings partly because they like the sound of the name titanium – it sounds manly and industrial.
Titanium is also much less expensive than other ring metals and, because it is a pure metal, it is also a good hypo-allergenic choice. Read the rest of this entry »
