If finding the right person to spend your life with was a steep climb, looking for the perfect engagement ring has to be no ordinary task. For one, engagement rings has been traditionally thought to resemble love and commitment – picking the perfect ring to embody that should follow after careful consideration.

One feature that makes engagement rings special is the setting. Engagement ring settings boost a gemstone's beauty and add charm to the overall look of rings. There are as much varieties of engagement ring settings designs as there are different types of personalities, more so, when the settings are custom-made to suit personal preferences. In that sense, the beauty of engagement ring settings lies in how it looks on the wearer's finger.

It helps to have some background of the types of engagement ring settings and what types are appropriate for certain gemstones.

Prong Setting

The oldest (designed in 1886) and most popular choice of engaged couples especially for solitare engagement ring setting, the prong setting type allows more light to reach the diamond enhancing its ability to refract. The gemstone, usually diamond, is set in a metal basket and secured in place by at least three prongs.

One rule of thumb when choosing this setting type is to make sure the diamond is safely secured with six prongs and it should not wiggle in its place for security. Prong settings are excellent to use for larger gemstones or diamonds, but may be inappropriate for smaller stones as it makes them look puny and insignificant. A disadvantage for prong setting type is it easily gets in hair or fabric so that proper maintenance is required for this setting.

Varied Settings

Some engagement rings employ two or more types of settings in one ring band, typically by highlighting one precious stone and flanking it with more stones for accent. This style can be very intricate and tends to more expensive, which is not the ideal option if you're budget for an engagement ring is somewhat limited. However, more affordable designs may use this setting type by securing a precious stone using central prong setting and flanking it with accents using channel setting.

Channel Settings

The use of channel settings is very popular for engagement bands or wedding bands, or in the absence of precious stones to serve as focal point of the ring. This is more appropriate for smaller diamonds that are of similar shapes such as princess or round cuts, then lined together using a channel inset onto to the band. Jewelers craftily secure the stones along the sides in place without using bars or prongs. The channel inset technique is a very durable setting option although it doesn't raise the stones so as to emphasize them.

Semi Mount Settings

"Mounting" in rings refers to the process of setting a precious stone as the center of a ring. If you have a loose diamond you inherited from your grandmother, mother, or great-grand aunt, select from semi mount engagement ring settings to set the diamond in. There are so many semi mount settings complete with accents and metal design intricacies to enhance the beauty of your precious diamond. Semi-mounts give couples more flexibility in choosing the stone they want to mount on the ring.

The most popular metal to use as settings for engagement and even wedding rings is platinum, which is by far the most durable metal used ever since. Jewelry connoisseurs find platinum engagement ring settings perfect for any type of precious stone because of its white luster, and many people discover that platinum does not wear away even after constant use. Security-wise, platinum effectively secures the stones in place and provides a charming backdrop for many precious stones such as diamond, sapphire, ruby, and many others.

Your upcoming engagement is a very special milestone in you relationship with your spouse-to-be. Let your ring speak half of the feelings you want to express by choosing the ones most special for you.