Classic solitaire, halo or pave engagement ring settings?

The bi-annual bridal survey co-authored by the KNOT and JCK Magazine has just been released. According to the survey, the top three most popular settings of engagement ring are prong settings, such as the classic solitaire (32%), halo / shared prong settings (22%), and rings with pavé set diamonds account for 17% of engagement rings. However, nearly one third of brides are not familiar with these terms, and I thought that was a topic that should be addressed.

The classic prong set engagement ring:

The term prong set refers to any diamond which is held into place with metal prongs, the classic configuration is four or six prongs which are placed evenly around the circumference of the diamond, but three and five prongs might also be used depending on the design and shape of the center stone. The Grace Solitaire designed by Brian Gavin, pictured above, features four prongs, crafted in 18k white gold, the ring is also available in platinum, rose gold (pink gold) and yellow gold, and also looks great set with a square princess cut diamond. The prong is the straight piece of metal which extends up from the base of the ring, running up to the top of the stone.

The prong configuration is commonly referred to as a head, which consists of a base that attaches and/or extends upwards from the ring shank, the portion of the ring which wraps around the finger, and a number of prongs that are held together by a metal framework which gives it added strength.

People often inquire as to whether four or six prongs is preferable, the fact is that this is largely a matter of personal preference given the improved design of the modern engagement ring. Some people find that four prongs makes a diamond look larger, because there is less meal covering the surface of the diamond. Other people prefer the look of six prongs, which tends to keep the diamond looking more round.

Halo and shared prong settings:

The term halo setting refers to any ring that features a center stone that is set in the middle of a halo of diamonds that may be set using shared prongs, or a bezel. The term shared prongs refers to a setting style where diamonds are set in a series, where diamonds are held in place by prongs which are used to hold the edge of more than one diamond in place, the setting style looks kind of like this o:o:o:o:o where the “o” represents a diamond, and the colon represents the prongs.

This halo setting designed by Brian Gavin features a circular halo of Brian Gavin Signature melee size diamonds which are set using shared prongs and then accented by a bezel. Brian Gavin offers a wide variety of halo settings for our Brian Gavin Signature round diamonds, each setting is custom made to fit the particular diamond selected as a center stone. Needless to say, we can also custom design and/or modify any of our existing designs to accommodate diamonds of a different shape, such as a Brian Gavin Signature Cushion cut diamond, or a Brian Gavin Signature Princess cut diamond.

Pavé set diamond engagement rings:

The term pavé is used to describe a setting style where small diamonds are set closely together and held in place by tiny prongs that are created by pushing up metal from the structure of the ring, to create a paved surface of diamonds. The concept is that the surface of the ring will be paved with diamonds, in much the same way that an old European cobblestone street was paved with stones, providing an endless view of glittering diamonds that span across the surface of the ring so that it sparkles from every vantage point. Pave settings are extremely popular, and Brian Gavin offers an extensive collection of pave settings like the Kim micropave setting pictured left.

One thing that you might have noticed is that many diamond engagement rings feature common design elements such as prong settings, a halo of diamonds, or shared prongs, and pave set diamonds. The ring pictured above for instance, incorporates a four prong head configuration that is set on a ring shank that is adorned with pave set diamonds. The center stone could just as easily be set in a halo of shared prong or pavé set diamonds.