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While Offbeat Brides don't always follow traditional wedding conventions, I do notice that lots of offbeat proposals happen during the traditional time between Thanksgiving and New Years. People like getting engaged during the holidays for all sorts of reasons — things already feel special, families are often all assembled, it's a dark time of year that can use some extra light, you're thinking about new beginnings with solstice and new years, etc.
Let's take a look at some of my very favorite offbeat engagement rings, giving you plenty of time to order your bling and scheme your proposal. Now, of course you don't need an engagement ring (we've featured lots of non-ring alternatives) but if you're into a little bling, I'm here to help. Oh and I'm including both women's AND men's rings, because I know that some of you ladies like proposing your mens and/or wearing masculine rings yourself.
As always with posts like these, CLICK THE PICTURES to learn more about each ring and where to buy it.
Diamonds: ethical, black, and otherwise
Organic and nature-inspired rings are our jam these days. This one totally rocks that look.
Edgy as hell and I'm so digging it.
So vintage-inspired and so stealing my heart!
Joseph Jewelry's custom engagement ring design: From on a budget to on your finger
Want a kick-ass ring, but you're not finding the exact design you've had in mind anywhere? Have you thought about having a custom engagement ring... Read more
For that sassy Slytherin in your life jonesing for emeralds!
This vintage engagement ring is like Gatsby come to life.
Non-diamond engagement rings: Rubies, sapphires, morganite, topaz, etc.
This video game-inspired blue sapphire engagement ring was custom designed for a client by Joseph Jeweler, a Bellevue-Redmond-Seattle (Greater Seattle area) jeweler… Seattle is home to many video game and tech businesses, and lots of amazing nerds. The ring features marquise blue sapphires bezel set into a flower with feathered wings and twisted rope accents along the shank that are inspired by the video game Kingdom Hearts.
Two-tone pink is exactly the amount of pinks that we need in our lives.
There's just something about a light colored gemstone that tickles my heartstrings.
Flower and nature-inspired engagement rings
I couldn't stop myself from showing off some rings inspired by flowers and nature. Swoon!
Masculine rings
Tungsten! Titanium! Platinum! For those who want to get down on one knee and propose to their male or masculine-identified partner or just aren't into diamonds for an engagement ring…
What rings did we miss? Share links to your awesome engagement ring findings in the comments!
About the Author: Catherine Clark
Catherine Clark loiters at her local library, makes art, watches movies en masse, plays video and tabletop games, poorly cooks healthy things, cuddles with her feline fur babies, and blogs at BijouxandBits.com.
Mine is an absolutely wonderful titanium and sapphire ring. Totally different and very affordable.
Their page – http://titaniumrings.com/isisB.html
I’ve been lusting over some of the rings at Catbird lately. There are a few that I would LOVE to be getting this season.
Love these art-deco, vintage inspired rings! Blue Topaz over here!
One thing also to keep in mind, if all you care is that your ring is uber sparkly, then there are a lot of clear stones that can be alternatives to diamonds. I think most people can’t tell the difference between a genuine diamond and a non-diamond anyway.
All they see is shiny, sparkly goodness!
My engagement ring was a white Sapphire, sparkly like a diamond but much cheaper, I do love the vintage inspired rings as well. Found a shop on ebay that sells the settings, for those that might want to lust over them, also gives you an opportunity to find a setting for an existing stone you might already have (family heirloom)
http://stores.ebay.com/BlufoxxCreations
We ended up with a rings from Etsy–for both the engagement ring and the wedding bands
http://www.etsy.com/shop/BendTheFish?section_id=5920553
http://www.etsy.com/listing/59254137/lifetime-wedding-set-of-two-bands-wide
I don’t work for any of these people, but I adore my rings!
I have an Art Deco garnet ring from Janeliunas Jewelry which is fabulous! They make reproductions of actual antique rings. I contacted the company before I picked out my ring and they were really helpful, friendly, and quick to respond. Oh, and did I mention affordable? Plus you can pretty much choose any setting, metal, and stone combination that you want. I highly recommend them.
http://www.jansjewells.com/item.php?item_id=664&category_id=127
(You can also find them on Amazon, if that is your thing.)
Anyone know where to find some dark-metal, vine-y or flowery rings? I like rings that don’t look like engagement rings and aren’t TOO ostentatious, but still have a personality.
Wexford Jewelers in Michigan makes floral designs in black silver! LOVE THEM!
Beautiful rings! I have to say that I am a HUGE pusher of Moissanite, because they first created in my home state of North Carolina! My engagement ring is a moissanite stone, and I absolutely love it, it’s soooo sparkly.
I was really excited when the dept store I worked at brought in moissanite jewelry, but unfortunately they stopped selling them after a year or so. Guess they weren’t making a profit. I think a lot of people are still really intent on diamond engagement rings.
When I get engaged I’d love to have a moissanite stone in my ring. My question has always been, though: how do you pronounce it?! Haha. I’ve never heard it spoken aloud.
Ooooh, I LOVE them all! Especially the ones at Brilliant Earth (just checked out their site too).
Please help though ladies (and gents!) – does anyone know any stores in the UK where they might have these sorts of more offbeat rings? I’m a lucky gal who’s getting to choose her own, but need to be able to try on first as lots of gorgeous ones online don’t work when actually put on my giantess’ hands!
Really appreciate if you have any ideas!
d x
My engagement ring is the Brilliant Earth art deco one featured here and I love, love, love it! Obvi, I’m biased, but it is the prettiest ring I ever saw. Also, I can feel good about where it came from. I can’t recommend Brilliant Earth or this setting enough.
I found this while looking for a wedding ring for my man and I thought it was pretty neat.
http://www.etsy.com/listing/59633647/titanium-engagement-ring-featuring-a
I love the 2 garnet hearts!
Great suggestions. Your dedication to find so many options is to be commended. Thanks for posting this info!
love the rings! my Man picked me out a ring for christmas last year. it was supposed to be more of a “promise ring”, but he said it was to hold me over until he could do better. (were going on 9 years together lol). he said he really went in not intending to buy a ring at all, but when he saw it he said that was it, it was me and there was no reason to look at anything else. Its a gorgeous diamond ring set in a circle with little diamonds wrapped with intricate detail, it looks very vintage i love it. when we decided to get married he said he would get me another “engagement” ring that was bigger? but I told him absolutely not, this is my ring its the only one i need, its perfect! we just went yesterday and picked him out a tungsten carbide ring, its very nice too.
moissaniteco.com sells filigree rings that look very similar to some of the ones here. Moissanite is an excellent alternative to diamond, and much less pricey. You could even get a yellow, pink or blue moissy!
Kaitlin, did you you not see the Moissanite ring I included in the post?
I totally love/agree with these choices! I’ve got an amethyst, art deco-y ring. I love it, it was WAY less expensive (especially given the size) than a diamond would have been, and I get nothing but compliments when customers see it on me in the store. I literally had a customer gush about how pretty and awesome wearing a purple engagement ring was! Go for the colored stones, ladies!
My fiancee’s engagement ring (we’re both girls) is also gorgeous and very her – it’s set in a Victorian-esque setting and has side decorations that almost look like it’s made of lace, and the stone is a treated topaz that goes from blue to either violet-blue or green depending on the light. I will warn you if you’re looking at complex settings to be careful, because hers was NOT the best constructed and we didn’t think about how fragile it would be–people selling colored stones don’t think about the fact that you might wear them *every day* since diamonds are traditionally engagement rings. It’s still beautiful, though.
“people selling colored stones don’t think about the fact that you might wear them *every day* ”
This is great advice!
Sapphires come in every color in the rainbow. Red sapphires are rubies – they have the same atomic structure. Did ya know that? Now ya do.
I’m very pro sapphire though. My ring is a pinkish orange sapphire. I heart it. And I get so many compliments on how unique it is!
My ring is an antique white gold setting with a black diamond, pretty similar to the top few rings. One of my best friends is a jeweler, so of course I went to him and bought the setting and had the shank widened using gold from my fiance’s mothers wedding ring, and then had small diamond chips from a donation ring from my best friend set into the platform around the black diamond. Picked out by someone that loves me, out bits of gifts from people who love us, made by someone who loves us.
The band I picked out for my man is also really effing awesome. It’s titanium with two stripes of black ceramic tile inlaid in it. The ceramic tiles are bought from NASA and are the same ones they use in their ships. His ring is totally ready for lift off.
Lovely rings! I love the Art Deco ones – and the garnet hearts. Garnet is so overlooked and comes in all sorts of gorgeous orange and red shades.
My FH made my ring himself – these guys http://www.londonjewelleryschool.co.uk offer day long silversmith tuition during which you can make your own item of jewellery to take home. The FH spent a day there one-on-one and created my ring from his own design – it’s chunky silver with a cut out on one side, a square red garnet and an art-deco-ey dragon engraved around it. I love it but am constantly scared of losing it now as it’s a complete one off! :s
They also do couples wedding ring days, where you can both go and make each others wedding bands together. I’d highly recommend them for any UK/London based brides.
(The ceramic NASA tiled ring sounds utterly awesome!)
I have a moissanite engament ring and I adore it. It’s so sparkily compared to a diamond. And I can be confident that no one died to get it and my dear, sweet fiance didn’t have to starve for four months to buy it.
I fell in love with this beautiful two tone rose quartz ring…
http://www.etsy.com/listing/58669514/rose-kingdom-sterling-silver-integrated?ref=sr_list_2&ga_search_query=rose+kingdom&ga_search_type=handmade&ga_page=&order=&includes%5B0%5D=tags&includes%5B1%5D=title
I work in a family jewelry store, and totally promote alternative engagement rings. My diamond was owned by someone else who sold it after a divorce, my mounting is from a company who only uses recycled gold. Personally, I only recommend diamonds (which are being grown in labs now), sapphires, rubies, and moissanite. I love, love, love colored stones of all kind, but most of them don’t fair well for everyday wear. Engagement rings take a lot of abuse being worn everyday. Everyday wear will wear down the facets and cause chipping in most colored stones, and some are even UV sensitive, causing the stone to lose color over time. When anyone is picking out the ring that they plan to wear for the rest of their lives to represent their commitment to another, it needs to be able to last.
Great rings, but I wanted to ask you to stop with the verbal assumption that all ladies are asking guys and or vice versa–there are lots of queer brides reading this, too!
Thanks so much for flagging this. The post has been edited to eliminate gross heternormative assumptions.
I’m in love with this blog. Anyway…
Gorgeous rings you picked. My favorite is the black diamond.
My fiance proposed to me with a $10 mood ring with hearts on it from a shop in the neighborhood. It was cute. He said he wanted me to pick what I really wanted. So I picked a sterling silver poesy ring that says Vous et Nul Autre (you and no other) I had seen and fallen in love with in a museum gift shop back when I was a teenager. My wedding band will be another poesy ring that says My Heart in German.
So no stones at all for me, but I love the romance of poetry.
I’ve been engaged since 2009, three years in march, and he popped the question with the most amazing black diamond solitaire in a simple silver band. Now its gotten so popular to see more and more black diamond rings, that im looking forward to seeing more wedding bands that are black diamond.
Wow**** very beautiful
My husband originally had a dragon ring from the Franklin Mint that he loved. Unfortunately daily wear (over 10 years now)caused the stone to become loose, and one of the prongs holding it in broke and began to cut him. So we have been searching around for a new ring, and this time I want him to get something that can last. I came across a website gemvara.com and we have loved several of the designs. You can pick your style, your gems (and they even have alexandrite ~ beautiful!!!!) and even what metal it’s made from. They have some pretty nice designs and we are currently looking at the Bacchus band made with palladium metal with White and Blue Sapphires. BTW I don’t support the diamond industry not JUST because of the sale of blood diamonds, but also because of the De Beers Consolidated Mines, Ltd. Monopoly.
I was just wondering where i could find the last vintage diamond ring on the list here that was said to be less than 800. Thank you!
Why isn’t anyone mentioning cz’s as an alternative? You can find them in a gazillion settings in silver, gold, even platinum. My understanding is that they’re pretty hard and durable, and If you ever need to replace one it’s not expensive to do so. My ring is a gorgeous 2-carat equivalent set in 14k white gold. I certainly can’t tell the difference between it and a diamond, so I think that paying $430 for it rather than many, many thousands really made sense.
Great post, more ppl should explore ethical and alternative options to diamonds: http://www.brilliantearth.com/rings/
And there’s Gemvara, where you can design your own ring:
http://www.gemvara.com/
I love these ideas! My engagement ring is in Amber from Chiapas, Mexico. It’s not even a stone, but an ancient tree resin – which to me is much cooler than some rock. Nice post. Getting ready to start to plan the wedding, so I’ll definitely be checking out your site.
I love these rings! I have a beautiful black diamond ring! I love it!
My FH and I picked out a beautiful Tungsten wedding band set only to discover that Tungsten contains Nickel! I am insanely allergic! It is often not mentioned that Tungsten contains Nickel. I figure it is worth a share to save another person the trouble!
Love this post! My friends had their rings specially made by these guys http://www.glasswingjewellery.com/ and they are beautiful – his and hers set of lovely kind of organic hammered silver with their wedding date and names stamped inside – now we are looking for my engagement ring we’re thinking of going with the same company because they do recycled diamond rings, and fair trade gemstones.
I’m not much for diamonds, but the downside to a non-diamond engagement ring is that they’re not as indestructible. My amethyst ring has a huge chip in it, and we can’t afford to replace the stone. If you’re as clumsy as I am, make sure you think about the hardness of the stone you choose!
NOTHING about this relationship has been “traditional”, so it’s not really surprising that my engagement ring was a gift from friends who were sick of hearing my fiance talk about how he hadn’t proposed yet because he couldn’t find a ring that was worthy of me. He had been looking for something sapphire/sapphire and diamond (we both love sapphire) and strangely enough, that’s what this ring is! Our wedding bands will both be coming from a shop we found on Etsy (recommended by a bunch of awesome ladies on here!), handmade, unique and pretty affordable!
How can i find out from where the diamonds came??? I always choose cruelty free diamonds, so no diamonds from Africa. I’ve learned Macy’s is selling Canadian diamonds. No murder 🙂 please and thanks
I was having a hell of a time finding a claddagh engagement ring with a matching band. I saw this post and went to Gemvara. They had 3 different claddaghs and I got exactly what I had been looking for. The heart is a light green amethyst with white sapphires on each side. I got a simple white gold band to match, and they fit together like a glove. Engraving was free too! The customer service there was fantastic too. Thanks so much for the recommendation!
*fist bump*
A great alternative to diamond is Moissanite. It is almost as hard (9.5 compared to 10 for diamond) and actually has more sparkle. I find it extremely difficult to tell a Moissanite from a diamond except for the huge difference in cost. For my money, I would choose the Moissanite! It’s also conflict free. Learn more here: http://www.moissanite.com/educate/what-is-moissanite
I love the sapphire rings. Simple, elegant and timeless. My kind of design!
I love these beautiful diamond rings..
Anyone can feel to purchase the rings by viewing such wonderful eye catchy designs. I appreciate your jewelery collection. Most of the bridals look for the updated jewelery designs of diamond engagement rings.
Mines koa wood and turquoise! Gorgeous!
For those in the uk, Alexis Dove do the most beautiful rings.
http://www.alexisdove.com
She specialises in unusual diamonds, I have a grey, and they are all conflict-free.
Amazing and Cheap Wedding Engagement Rings on your website. Whenever people talk about engagement rings on the internet. I have seen on your website First
I like halo engagement rings, and I this they are almost perfect for engagements but as I can see you didn’t put them on your list.
I love the sapphire rings not just because it’s beautiful and elegant it’s also believed to symbolize faithfulness and sincerity.