Last updated on June 15, 2021
Your engagement ring is probably one of your most special possessions. That is why there is nothing wrong with thinking about choosing a new setting style, a band made of another metal with a new trending design or wishing to upgrade the quality of your diamonds. Whatever the reason for the update, let’s find out the best ways to upgrade an engagement ring.
Upgrading an Engagement Ring Setting
Changing the setting style is one of the most common requests when upgrading an engagement ring. One of the reasons for this is getting the setting type or metal that holds gemstones more securely. Alternatively, people want to switch to a setting that leaves more of the stone visible.
Whatever the reason to change the setting, make sure you go over all the possible options with your jeweller. Often changing the entire mounting is not necessary. The current setting can often be adapted, or it may be possible to upgrade it by changing some parts.
To enhance the brilliance of your ring, you may add some accent stones. If this is the case, make sure that the new diamonds are uniform in colour and clarity. They should also match the centre stone, meaning there should not be any significant difference between the colour and clarity grades. However, keep in mind that not all designs allow the addition of new stones. In some cases, you might need an entirely new setting.
When upgrading your engagement ring, do not forget to ask the jeweller if there are any metal parts or small stones left over. The metal parts and accent stones can be used for repairs and resizing in future or even for making a new piece of jewellery. Alternatively, try to ask the jeweller if they buy such pieces for recycling.
Make sure to compare the price of a new setting and the fee for upgrading your current one. Depending on the design of the current setting, upgrading may be so expensive that it would be wiser to buy a new one and reset your diamond in it.
Upgrading an Engagement Ring Band
There are many reasons to upgrade the band of your engagement ring: a new design, more durable metal, a band of different size, etc.
Depending on the new design of your ring band, it may be possible to keep the old setting and have it mounted on the new piece. However, in most cases, you will need to get an entirely new ring.
It is common to buy a new band made of more durable metal. People often choose to upgrade from gold to platinum. So if you want a new metal for your band, make sure you understand how the diamonds will look with it. For example, if your diamonds have yellowish tints, white metal will make the yellow even more noticeable. In this case, yellow or rose gold would be a better choice.
If the reason for upgrading the band is its size, ask your jeweller if it actually can be resized. Whether resizing is possible depends on the design and metal of the ring. Some metals are hard to work with, and resizing turns out to be costly. Other bands have such a design that resizing will distort the alignment of the stones.
Upgrading an Engagement Ring Centre Stone
If you want to replace the centre stone of your ring with a better one, you need to consider how the new stone will look when set in the ring.
For example, setting a new diamond with a higher colour grade in a ring made of yellow or rose gold does not make much sense. The colour of the setting will make the stone look yellowish anyway. In general, there is no need to pay extra money for a higher colour grade if you will not see visible improvements.
If you want to upgrade your diamond because of its clarity grade, you should compare the new stones with your current gem and see if they look noticeably cleaner with the naked eye.
Getting a bigger diamond is very exciting, but you should remember that a larger stone may look worse than your current diamond because of its flaws and visible tints. In general, imperfections in bigger stones are more noticeable simply because of the stones’ size. That is why make sure you are comfortable with the quality and the appearance of the new stone.
Upgrading your diamond to the one with a better cut is always a good idea. More proportional stones return more light and have higher brilliance and sparkle as a result.
