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Something Old
A TWIST ON TRADITION (clockwise from above) 18k gold mounting with colorless and black diamonds, $4,290, Simon G., Glendale, Calif., 818-500-8595, simongjewelry.com; 3.30 cts. t.w. black diamond in 14k gold with colorless accents, $8,500, Catherine Angiel, NYC, 800-726-8515, catherineangiel.com; pavé Twist ring with .72 ct. t.w. diamonds in platinum, $9,750, Lazare Kaplan, NYC, 800-554-3325, lazarediamonds.com; Wildflower mounting with diamonds in 18k gold, $2,235, Maevona, NYC, 212-557-7300, maevona.com; 3.44 cts. tw. rough black diamond with 1 ct. tw. colorless melee in 18k gold, $6,995, Diamonds for a Cure, NYC, 516-466-1826, diamondsforacure.com; 2.19 cts. t.w. green sapphire with diamonds in platinum, $8,500, McTeigue & McClelland, NYC, 800-956-2826, mc2jewels.com
When it comes to ring styles, today’s young-adult “millennial” shoppers demonstrate a surprising preference for the traditional. Although some retailers say they are seeing some experimentation with colored gemstones and alternative metals like titanium and even stainless steel, the default choice is still a center-mounted diamond, with up to 90 percent of buyers opting for white gold settings. Growing demand from same-sex couples has generated greater interest in nontraditional offerings such as the ornately carved bands by Lithuanian designer Alex Sepkus (p. 80), says Matthew Rosenheim, president of Washington, D.C.’s Tiny Jewel Box. However, a significant portion of same-sex bridal shoppers do gravitate toward classic selections, notes Rosenheim.
What’s different about contemporary rings are the embellishments: Although the stones are smaller, they’re accented more frequently with smaller diamonds on the sides or around the center—a distinction jewelers say is a uniquely Gen-Y spin. According to JIRI stats, a mere 28 percent of rings today are solitaires. The vast majority are what Gassman calls “something extra and different.”
“They want more detail in a smaller space,” says Brian Toone, president and CEO of the Jewelry Design Center in Spokane, Wash. “What we’re seeing has a solitaire or streamlined look, but when you look closer, there are more stones on the sides or detail work underneath to add that personal element.”