4 Questions You Should Ask Your Jeweller When Designing

There is a wide variety of readymade engagement rings that can be bought off the shelf. Another way to go is to create a bespoke engagement ring, which can hold special meaning to you and your partner, and reflect your unique style and love story.

Designing a bespoke engagement ring should be about more than just choosing from a selection of existing band shapes, metal colours and stone cuts and sizes. It should be a meaningful process that can result in a unique ring that represents your love and commitment, your story and personality. At Lizunova Fine Jewels, our bespoke process typically begins with an initial consultation, where we get to know you, your unique story, style, preferences and wishes. Some typical questions a jeweller could ask you could be your metal preferences, the type and size of coloured gemstone or diamond, and if it’s the latter, your preferences around diamond cut, clarity and colour vs size, ring size, as well as your budget.

Below are some questions that you should ask your jeweller to ensure wearability and longevity of your engagement ring:

#1 – Is this ring design resizable?

As this is a ring your partner will wear for many life seasons, whether or not your ring is resizable is an important question to ask. Weight fluctuations, pregnancy, moving to a different climate, etc may affect finger size, and it’s important to be able to resize your ring to ensure it’s wearable and comfortable for many years to come. Not all rings are able to be resized – eg. if you are going for a complicated ring design or diamonds set all over the ring shank may mean that the ring is not resizable. Rings made of alternative metals, such as titanium and zirconium, are not resizable either.

#2 – Is this gemstone suitable for every day wear?

Not all gemstones are suitable for every day wear. Diamond is the hardest and most durable gemstone on Earth and measures 10 on the Mohs hardness scale. Sapphire is 9 and is an excellent choice for an engagement ring, due to it durability, and a wide array of colour, from the widely known blue sapphire, to fancy colours ranging from white/colourless to all shades of yellow, orange, pink, grey, purple and green. Sapphires can also be bi-colour, also known as parti sapphire, displaying unique combinations of shades of teal, blue, green and yellow. Ruby is another great choice, measuring 9 on the Mohs scale. Other gemstones, such as morganite, aquamarine, spinel and emerald are also great alternatives to the traditional diamond, providing greater value for money. Softer stones such as tourmaline, can also be used in engagement rings, but require more careful wear, and a setting that protects the stone from knocks.

#3 – Am I able to exchange the ring if it’s not exactly right?

If you are planning to propose with a ring, rather than having your partner participate in the purchase or bespoke design process, it is important to clarify what the jeweller’s return or exchange policy is, if the ring is not exactly right. Most jewellers would not allow you to return a bespoke or custom made ring. If you are not confident, another idea could be to propose with a diamond or gemstone of your choice (see #2), or a ‘placeholder’ ring, which could be a fashion ring, or a temporary ring your partner could wear later as a memento of your proposal.

#4 – What wedding band would go with this ring?

Gone are the days when a wedding ring was just a plain gold band - there is such a huge variety of wedding band designs to choose from. Wedding rings can be curved or angled to go around your engagement ring setting, open in the middle, set with diamonds or every imaginable shape and size, or coloured gemstones – the choices are endless. While you may want to leave the choice of the wedding band to your partner, it’s important to know that the engagement ring design allows plenty of scope to choose a wedding band to go with it.

Sydney based jewellery designer and founder of Lizunova Fine Jewels, Maria Lizunova can help you create the perfect bespoke engagement ring to reflect your partner’s unique personality and celebrate your love and commitment. To begin the bespoke process, please email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to book a bespoke jewellery design appointment, or shop our jewellery online www.lizunova.com or visit our jewellery store at Chifley Plaza, 2 Chifley Sq, Sydney NSW 2000.