It’s a bit early for the season of weddings and engagements, but nothing beats the early bird! If you and your significant other have started to hear wedding bells for yourselves, it might be time to start your search for the best channel set diamond rings. Whether it’s for an engagement or a wedding, the goal is to make your wedding a forever thing—and this includes the symbol for your partnership.
Channel Setting Rings
For those who want an on-trend but still fashionably classic engagement ring, you may fancy the channel setting ring. Not only does it work well as an engagement ring, the style can also be fashioned into a wedding ring. This paves the way for more matching wedding jewelry for you and your partner. Read on to learn more about this type of ring setting
What’s A Channel Set Diamond?
It’s probably not the first time you’ve heard of a channel setting diamond. But it’s also not always the top-of-mind diamond style for engagement and wedding jewelry pieces. Let’s start with the basics. Here are a few key things you may want to remember the next time you are looking at channel set diamond rings.
What is a channel set?
A channel setting ring has oftentimes been relegated to the engagement ring setting. This means having a large center stone as the focus of the ring and then tapering it off into the band with smaller stones.
As the name suggests, there is a channel where the smaller gemstones are set in. This channel has grooves to secure the gemstones in place. The beads and grains that hold the smaller stones in place do not follow a prong style of holding in the gemstones.
Since the style is often meant for engagement rings, the channel setting sets off the stone in a sparkly and marvelous fashion. Thus, some jewelry makers do not often recommend that you create an infinity style channel setting. This may offer a much bigger space for sparkle, but it might just be a waste in some cases.
What does channel set diamonds mean?
If you are a beginner jewelry collector, you may also wonder if there is such a thing as a channel cut diamond. But in reality, the channel setting often makes use of round stones that can easily be fashioned and set in the grooves of the band. If you have small square cut diamonds, this can be another option. However, it’s best to consult with your jeweler on how to go about having a channel set diamond rings, particularly if you are planning to have it custom-made.
Pros and Cons of Choosing Channel Set Diamond Rings
If you are highly considering the channel setting for your next ring purchase, make sure to know the benefits and risks in owning one. This especially goes to jewelry enthusiasts who may be looking at engagement and wedding bands. These rings will most likely be your end-game rings. Since these two pieces of jewelry may be your most-used of all your collection, you would want them to be as durable and easy to wear as possible.
Cost-effectiveness
A common question for jewelry enthusiasts is this: “Is Channel setting more expensive?” As with any other fine jewelry piece, pricing always has a place in one’s decision. If you are considering channel setting for your ring, then this may actually be a good thing. That’s because channel setting is typically more cost-effective compared to others.
Versatility and durability
Typically, rings become more vulnerable to wear and tear with settings that snag easily. The prong setting may be the easiest style that gets snagged on clothes.
The lack of prongs lessens the snag factor for the ring. Additionally, diamonds are even more protected because they are secured within the grooves of the band, as seen in this Charm Diamond Centres review.
Great complementary sparkle
“Are Channel Set diamonds out of style?” Some may wonder if this sentiment is true because the channel setting has already been done and redone many times. However, the channel setting has its own unique strengths, the biggest of which is that it can easily be both a primary and secondary setting.
As a primary setting style, the channel look can be a great feature for your wedding band. As a complementary or secondary setting, this works well to add more sparkle to your engagement rings, particularly if you are working with a smaller center diamond.
Medium-effort maintenance
A sturdy yet ornate setting can have its flip side. For the channel setting, it has to do with the aftercare. According to Brides.com, the style easily accumulates dirt and other debris. So if you’re the type of person who handles a lot of items on a day-to-day basis, or if you have some habits, like putting on lotion, you may want to think about how you wear your channel set diamond rings.
One roundabout way to address this is to always remove your ring before doing work. This also means that aftercare should be a priority. If you feel that your ring needs its regular maintenance, then don’t hesitate to have it done.
Slightly hidden diamonds
Even if it’s just a small diamond, most jewelry enthusiasts would prefer to showcase their stones using settings that uplift them in full view. However, the channel setting seems to go the other route. The style embeds gems into the band’s groove, effectively hiding the lower part of the diamond.
While the surface of the gemstones are in full view, it limits the area of the diamond seen on the ring. Still, this works since the goal is to add more sparkle to your center ring. That’s why many people prefer this to be an additional setting style for their engagement rings.
Achieving The Look
The channel setting gives rings a different kind of sparkle. When consulting with a proper jewelry brand or maker, you can even save a few bucks without cutting down on your ring’s beauty. But if you don’t want to stick to just one look, there are many similar setting styles that mimic the channel setting.
Grain setting
Perhaps one of the settings with the closest look and feel to the channel setting is the grain setting. Some jewelry makers use beads or grains to hold the small stones in place. Grain setting typically makes use of a small teardrop shape to hold the grains in place. This adds to the complexity and texture of the jewelry piece.
Pave setting
For some, pave setting is just another form of grain setting, with the two being entirely interchangeable in terms of their use. Some differences may lie in the way that the grooves or beads are created. However, this can highly depend on the style of the artist.
Because of the similarities between these two ring settings, you may want to get to know how your chosen jewelry maker defines each one. For instance, some may create the pave in a way that has a vintage flourish. The pave setting may also have a more sparkly effect, depending on the style that it uses to hold each small gemstone in place.
Milgrain setting
If you want to add texture to your engagement ring or even wedding ring, then the milgrain style may be your best bet. Milgrain follows a more delicate and ornate style of detailing fine jewelry. As the name suggests, the style uses graining, so that small beads line the fine jewelry piece.
What’s great about this style is that it’s less expensive since you don’t need diamonds for the style. However, because of the fine craftsmanship it needs to get the best details, you may need to get a skilled jewelry maker.
Of course, if you have the budget, adding small diamonds into the mix adds flair to your ring. Make sure to get this kind of style if you are up for habitual maintenance of your jewelry. Due to the milgrain beads, your jewelry can attract dirt and debris much more frequently, leading to more tedious cleaning.
Shared prong setting
Channel set diamond rings tend to have more sparkle than texture. With smaller diamonds embedded in the band’s groove, the channel setting does not add any texture to the ring due to its relative flatness.
In comparison, shared prong settings have a more textured appearance overall. That’s because this setting type also uses larger diamonds. Similar to the style of prong settings, the shared prong secures bigger diamonds.
Why Should You Buy Channel Set Diamond Rings
Still not convinced if the channel style diamond ring is for you? Here are a few more things that set this setting style apart from the rest. Even though most settings can work with a little imagination, the likes of the channel setting can be advantageous if you are going for a specific style.
Unique design
Channel setting offers a lot of unique styles and looks, because it can be incorporated into an array of existing setting styles. The channel setting can create a fancy highlight to traditional wedding bands, like the one in this Whiteflash review.
A lot of wedding bands tend to look simply classic with one small stone or a flank of small stones to line the band. The channel setting offers a more ornate way of adding this texture to the ring. Combining it with a similar setting technique like milgrain can make the design even more ornate and detailed.
This may be the reason why some jewelry collectors would opt for artisanal jewelry makers. Between forging a one-of-a-kind ring and tapping their craftsmanship for it, what they get tends to be a ring that’s a unique highlight to their collection.
Versatile use of smaller diamonds
Not everyone has a budget for a huge center stone. But this can be solved with proper allocation of budget. You can work with smaller gemstones, even diamonds, to create a design that you want.
For example, a Tiffany channel-set engagement ring looks even better because the Tiffany setting is among the most classical of looks. Pair that with the channel set, and you can get a much sparkly diamond ring. What’s more, there are many ways to personalize the channel setting. Some choose a different diamond cut to create a different effect on the band. Other jewelry collectors may adjust the band size, so that they can have either one or two layers of diamonds in the channel setting.
Modern style
Some people assume that only small round gemstones can work with the channel setting. But in reality, almost all the small-cut stones can be fitted properly, with the right measurements and techniques. Some jewelry makers even make use of more modern gemstones like the emerald cut and incorporate them into traditional style rings..
A channel set diamond ring yellow gold piece inlaid with small emerald cut diamonds results in a ring with a twist. Yellow gold tends to be a classic romantic metal. Transforming the smooth plain finish into a fancy textured flourish can be quite a striking difference to set your ring apart.
Curious about other unique ring styles? Read “Cathedral Rings: Will You Dazzle With This Traditional Piece?”