Engagement Ring and Wedding Band Trends San Antonio TX

While speaking about general jewelry directions in all classifications, descriptions such as artisanal, handcrafted, personalized, and unconventional keep cropping up. Therefore, in putting together our annual bridal issue, Lustre asked six leading retailers if this same feeling is influencing their customers' choices when it comes to engagement rings and wedding bands. Here's what they shared with us.

MARIE-HELENE MORROW, owner
REINHOLD JEWELERS
San Juan, Puerto Rico

"There are quite a few new directions we are selling in wedding rings. Couples who come in together are buying Route 66's platinum, rubber, and diamond wedding bands for her, and platinum and rubber for him. There is also a growing interest in textured metals and various colored golds such as George Sawyer's bands, which are also being purchased as his-and-her bands. Textured gold metals are witnessing a resurgence. There is also a new interest in rough diamonds, particularly in the rings created by Todd Reed. Colored gemstones have become the alternative for women who prefer not to have a large white center stone diamond.

For women getting married for the second time, they are either resetting stones that they love and have worn for years, or using one ring as both the wedding and engagement ring. I don't believe that there are definitive rules anymore. Women who want a brand will always want a brand, and the trend client will choose from more independent or lesser-known names, but they are both looking for something that's more special and extraordinary than ever before."

MARILYN RUDD, owner
SCHEHERAZADE
Edina, Minnesota

"Our customers are asking for bridal jewelry that breaks with convention. They definitely don't want the ultra traditional ring anymore. This has been apparent for some years. The first movement was toward period and estate styles, which allowed the bride diversity in setting and diamond cuts, thus creating a more individualized look. While we still have customers interested in rings with an antique feel, particularly with the new versions of asscher and cushion cuts, one of the more recent directions our clients are asking for are engagement rings with colored center stones as alternatives to diamonds.

One of the biggest shifts is the return of wide, textured yellow gold bands or layered colored gold bands. I don't think I've seen such an interest in this during the past 30 years. I think this is due to the inventive and interesting variations being shown throughout the luxury market.

More original styling in detail, texture, finish, and stone is particularly big among women getting married later in life or for the second time. These women, ranging in age from their mid-thirties through mid-fifties, are confident. They know who they are, and they know what they want. Our clients who've been married before might have had a traditionally set diamond ring the first time, and now they are seeking out a style that's truly different. Those of the same age group, who are getting married for the first time, have been purchasing their own jewelry for years and are very in tune with their individual styles and tastes. They desire a ring that's unique to their union and to themselves."

KATHERINE AZARMI ROSE, co-owner
KAVIAR & KIND
Los Angeles, California

"Our customers tend to be more sophisticated and more willing to take risks. We are seeing a trend toward rose cut diamonds as a center stone for a simple style that can be worn as the engagement ring or as both the engagement ring and wedding band. Rose cuts in all-around bezel settings in white or champagne colors are also popular. Our clients are also asking for rough or uncut diamonds and wider hammer-textured bands in high-karat yellow gold. We have a great selection of these organic, hammer-textured bands from designer Susan Foster.

As designers ourselves, we also have the ability to create one-of-a-kind rings. We just collaborated on a ring with one of our customers, Leah Forrester, a writer, stylist, and artist—the result of which is an Art Deco inspired design of two slightly varying size rose cuts in triangular shapes, one to represent her and one to represent her husband. We got the diamond from one of the designers we carry, Carol Wallace, and set one facing up and one facing down, in a simple rose gold band. It's truly unique and has an artisan feeling that completely works with Leah's lifestyle and personality. My own ring, which I designed, is a rose cut in a simple gold setting. We believe that women today want all of their jewelry to be less conventional, less about bling and more about the artistry, meaning, and workmanship of the pieces they are buying, and this feeling has definitely begun to affect wedding jewelry—at least for us."

LYNNE SUGERMAN, manager
YLANG-YLANG
Saint Louis, Missouri

"The days of the cookie-cutter ring are over. Women want something more personalized. They can come into our store and see a ring by Beaudry or Barry Kronen, and they ask if certain aspects can be changed, and both of these designers will work with us to modify rings to their specific tastes. We are also seeing a stronger sell-through of rose cut diamonds, particularly those by Nina Runsdorf. Instead of wearing the traditional engagement ring and wedding band set, our women are also stacking bands that are more unusual, with diamonds set in a unique pattern and those that have textural interest, or they are wearing wider bands that have a hand-wrought quality.

Colored sapphires as center stones are also growing in popularity, and our clients who have an interest in these lean toward the beautiful and unexpected styles of Erica Courtney and Jude Francis. Our owners, Lois and Ray Morganstern, are truly keyed into who our customers are, and they do an incredible job of selecting a well-edited range of talented designers from which our clients can choose."

PAUL SCHNEIDER, owner
TWIST
Portland, Oregon

"There are quite a few high-end jewelry stores in Portland. WHEN WE opened Twist, we were carving out a niche by creating a gallery-type atmosphere, which would display truly original talents in jewelry design and well-edited collections that would appeal to a more artistic and sophisticated customer.

As far as bridal rings, our standpoint is that there are no rules. Our clients, who range in age from their mid-twenties to early forties, come to us because they have a similar mindset. It is no longer the norm for a man to come in alone and purchase a ring on his own. Couples come to see us together, with an attitude of 'I can do anything I want.' The type of ring a woman dreamed of throughout her teens changed as her taste matured. These are women who aren't worried about whether or not their mothers, mothers-in-law, or friends approve. Our brides-to-be are at ease in their tastes. They feel empowered by the fact that they don't need to think in terms of wearing two rings or how the diamond solitaire will match the diamond's band.

We don't buy into the classification of 'bridal jewelry.' We choose specific artists for their design aesthetic and what we think will translate from their collections. Cathy Waterman is a perfect example. She doesn't specifically design engagement or wedding rings, yet she is one of the top-selling designers in this category. Me & Ro's rose cut diamond rings are also becoming popular. Other directions that are striking a responsive chord are colored diamonds, including colored rose cuts. Our clients are also embracing different colored golds, hammered and a variety of other textured finishes, as well as more organic shapes."

JONATHAN LANDSBERG, co-owner
LANDSBERG JEWELERS
Rye Brook, New York

"We have been seeing a move away from the classic engagement ring. MORE of our customers are asking for an all-in-one look—for example, a center stone incorporated into a wider three-band micro-pavé diamond setting—giving the ring a more substantial look and cutting out the idea of matching up a wedding band. The contemporary woman has changed. She is much more educated about jewelry and in touch with her own style and what will work best for her life. She no longer cares what her best friend's ring looks like or what the carat size is. She wants a ring that will speak to who she is.

Luxury jewelry designers are aware of the fact that women's tastes are becoming more sophisticated and that they desire rings with a new twist. The designers we work with are up to the challenge, and they are offering more creativity in this classification than ever before. Since we carry a diverse range of collections, our clients have a nice assortment from which to choose. Many of the designers we carry allow for flexibility and, if a client wants a few changes done to create a one-of-a-kind feeling, we are able to work with the designer to do it for them."