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Palladium vs. White Gold for Celtic Puzzle Engagement Rings with Wedding Bands

A client just asked me about why I often recommend palladium for a Celtic-inspired puzzle engagement ring, especially if it is to be worn with a wedding band, other than a traditional Poesy ring (in which case 14K white gold is best).

His comments are in blue, and my responses are in black.

I have done some searching on the Internet and it seems it is mostly a personal preference between palladium or white gold, along with some very unscientific opinions.   Some (possibly) myths I read are:

Myth 1: Palladium is difficult to work with, This is true to the extent that platinum is hard to work with. This is because it is initially more malleable than gold, but all platinum-family metals work-harden with wear over time, which means they become more durable the longer they are worn. As opposed to gold that simply wears away over time – if you have seen your grandmother’s or great-grandmother’s gold jewelry, you’ll know what I mean, as there is very little left after 40-50 or more years. This would be triply true of sterling silver, which we do not, in any case, use for puzzle engagement rings, as it is not strong enough to bear stones. A sterling engagement ring would be worn away in record time.

However, this is also not true, depending on how you are working with the metals. Yes, platinum and palladium are more difficult to cast, so it takes expert casters. Occasionally we will have difficulty with a casting, so we’ll redo it – this is not a concern for you, though, because what you get is the perfect final product.  (Incidentally, the only rings we’ve had problems casting were ones with particularly fine lettering fonts, but we stopped using those fonts and haven’t had any issues, since.)

And as far as making a palladium or platinum  puzzle ring – we prefer to work with them (as does any hand-fabricator of jewelry) because they are more malleable and easier to hand weave than gold.

Myth 2: Palladium cannot be re-sized Palladium can absolutely be resized. We resize palladium puzzle rings all the time. All of our puzzle rings come with one free resize (you just pay the FedEx shipping back and forth on our account for best insurance and tracking). Subsequent resizes down the road are done at a fraction of what a regular jewelry store would charge for  four bands. The reason people probably say it can’t be resized is because it takes some work and practice to find the correct solder and soldering method for your work – there is really only one company in the country that sells solder for palladium – it is known as 20K white, and it is recommended by the Palladium Alliance. There is no such thing as palladium solder yet.

Myth 3: And it may be difficult to find a jeweler locally to work on your ring. That may be true, depending upon where you live, but we ask that you not put your Crystal Realm rings into the hands of local jewelers, as we cannot guarantee your outcome. In fact, if you have work done on a puzzle ring by a local jeweler and it is damaged, then it voids our lifetime pledge for the ring.

Myth 4: Some sites said a palladium ring is lighter than WG, but I found another site that said the density of 14K WG and Palladium are nearly identical, hence the same style ring would weigh the same. Both are true. Palladium is approximately 96% of the weight of 14K gold, so it is nearly identical, yet a tad lighter.

Any chance you have a palladium and WG ring pictured side by side? Read on . . .

Are most of the rings pictured on crystal realm Palladium?  Some platinum? Our rings are variously platinum, palladium, and white gold.

I’ve updated our White Metals page with images, each of which links to the actual ring or set on my site. If you are facile with browser windows, you can bring up the large pictures on product pages side by side in separate windows.

Is a palladium ring 100% palladium metal, or is the setting WG? All palladium. In the beginning, before we could get palladium settings, we made palladium rings with platinum settings.

This ring pictured, is it all palladium? 14K White gold. See how the metal is not dead white – it is slightly creamish? (We can use a palladium setting, if you like, on a white gold ring to give a more true white to the diamond setting.)

I guess my preference towards white gold is mostly out of familiarity with gold as a precious metal and not familiar or haven’t seen palladium jewelry.  From what you’re telling me it has similar color and long wearing traits as platinum, at a fraction of the price?

We are at an interesting time historically for palladium. (January, 2018 update: palladium is more costly than gold, but we charge the same as gold for a medium-weight puzzle engagement ring, and most of our rings are medium weight.) It is less costly than gold, even, right now, and that is primarily because demand is low. Although it has been used for jewelry by some jewelers since 1939, it was not used on a widespread basis until about ten years ago.  Then when it burst widely on the market, the metal had been badly alloyed, and a lot of jewelers who tried it decided it was a bad metal.  That problem was quickly resolved, and those who’ve been willing to use it have been richly rewarded.  It does have all the same wonderful qualities as platinum, without the astronomical cost.  It also has the benefit of being probably the most ethically mined precious metal of all – it is domestically sourced, as it is mined in Montana. You will still see jewelers online who say it’s not a good metal, but they have not tried it since that time ten years ago.  I have learned much about the history of the metal from the folks at the Palladium Alliance International, whom I see in Tucson each February. Until they came along, there was no one speaking for the metal, but that has all changed.  In fact, I strongly suspect that palladium will rise to the level of platinum cost ultimately as demand rises.

 

Do palladium bands match the puzzle ring mostly because it is a pure metal without a plating and WG from different manufacturers may be slightly different alloys or finishes?

All palladium jewelry from different sources matches in color as platinum does, because both palladium and platinum are used 95% pure. Only 5% is alloyed metals – unlike 14K gold, which is 58.5% gold and a mish-mash of 41.5% alloys, with every manufacturer using a different formula for their alloys, so white golds turn out all different shades of white, from creamish to rose-ish.  So that is why they plate them all with rhodium (another platinum-family metal) to turn them all a uniform white. Then the rhodium wears off, so people end up with off-white white gold, or they spend a fortune in maintenance over the years. Currently, for a plain 4mm band, to have it cleaned, polished, and re-rhodium plated, a local jeweler just quoted me $65.00 to $85.00, and jewelers have told me people have their rings replated from 1 – 3 times per year, depending upon how hard they are on their jewelry.

The purity of palladium and platinum is also the reason why they are both non-allergenic. Neither contains nickel or zinc.

I really like the unique look of your puzzle engagement rings, I’m just a bit nervous about picking out and buying expensive once in a lifetime jewelry sight unseen.  I have to make sure I’ve asked all the right questions, so that what I order and what I want are indeed the same things.

I totally understand. Why don’t you start by ordering our tester ring – this will give you a sterling silver example of our work.  It’s a great way to evaluate it and learn to put it together, and then if you proceed with an engagement ring, we apply the $50.00 to your engagement ring order. The tester ring is the very same 4-band, medium-weight puzzle ring that we use for the engagement rings, only it is woven to be worn without a stone (non-custom, in other words).

I could not agree with you more about your concern to ensure that “what you want is what you get.” That is always my goal with my clients. I like the way you said it even better – that what you order is what you want.

We have other ways of ensuring your happiness before you order, beyond the tester ring.  The vast majority of my clients are happy with ordering a sizer and a tester ring (well, I should say the majority of those who choose any pre-ordering options, as many people just order straight away), but if you are interested, I can email you more information about what else we can do.  Also, we always like to deliver the puzzle ring before proceeding with any kind of wedding band, so we make sure it fits, and if it doesn’t, we’ll adjust the size before proceeding.  And one more thing – if you order a puzzle ring in palladium and then you get it and decide you REALLY wish you had ordered white gold, we will remake the ring in white gold for you. I would be very surprised though.

I’ve just entered your name and email address into my puzzle ring email list – this will start a series of nine emails that you will get each day starting tomorrow.  It is not an email list that morphs from nine daily emails into an infinity of emails. It goes for nine days and stops.  It is more geared towards folks who have already ordered, but many people find it useful when they are contemplating ordering.

Any questions? Please just let me know!

Mandira Feldvebel
www.crystalrealm.com

 

Your Bridal Set Choices – a Letter Post to a Client

Hello, Drew,

Thank you for getting in touch with me about a puzzle ring bridal set. From your email, I see you are interested in the Marquise Diamond Puzzle Ring & Recessed Celtic Eternal Knot Bridal Set and a bridal set based on the Juliet puzzle ring.

You’ve expressed an interest in a 1CT diamond, and you’ve asked for pictures of these rings with differing views, as well.

I can show you images that will address different parts of the decision making process.

So far the variables you’ve mentioned are diamond size, ring style, and metal choices.  Diamond size has a large bearing on the weight of the puzzle ring, as well, and the weight of the ring affects the width and weight of the wedding band. So we are quickly into more variables than you asked for.

1. I will first address differing views, with what images I do have on hand.
2. Then I’ll talk about diamond sizes and the corresponding weights required for the puzzle ring to hold them.
3. Lastly, I’ll just touch briefly on wedding band thickness (profile) and width.

And before we go on . . .
Let me be clear that I don’t expect you to make all your decisions based on the information here. Our main objective is to determine if you like the look of a heavier, 1CT-diamond puzzle ring, or if you want to stick to a medium-weight ring with a diamond no larger than about 0.72CT. I am also sending you an email with quotes, so you can factor in prices to your decision.

Alternate views
The best image I have of a marquise puzzle ring with a recessed Celtic eternal knot band is a set we just did with a 1/3CT sapphire, accent diamonds, and the 3.6mm wide wedding band (narrower than the one you saw with the diamond ring).

[The added diamonds are not something you are asking for, but this is the image closest to what you’re interested in.]

 

Marquise sapphire and accent diamond puzzle ring with Celtic recessed eternal knot band

Celtic Engagement Ring and Celtic Wedding Band Bridal Set: Marquise Royale puzzle ring with 1/3CT sapphire, two 5-point accent diamonds, and the Celtic recessed eternal knot band wedding ring in a 3.6mm width

Here is the set shown on the hand.

Three piece wedding set

Close up view of the marquise setting:

Marquise diamond setting side view

Marquise diamond setting side view

 

This 0.87CT marquise emerald ring is on 15-gauge metal stock, the lightest weight ring that we can place a 1CT range diamond on.

[This puzzle ring has an open weave. Usually we only do open weave rings with custom, contoured, shadow bands, but we can make any puzzle ring with any size stone in a tight, standard, or open weave.]

0.87CT marquise emerald puzzle ring with open weave on just-over-medium-weight

Celtic Engagement Ring: 0.87CT marquise emerald puzzle ring with open weave on just-over-medium-weight

The Juliet ring is shown in several views.

Juliet puzzle engagement ring with triskele setting and 0.41CT princess-cut diamond

Celtic engagement ring:  Juliet puzzle engagement ring with triskele setting and 0.41CT princess-cut diamond

 

[Notice that the puzzle ring weave in the image above is more open than the standard weave in the image below.  We usually pair a band with a standard weave or tight weave puzzle ring. ]

Juliet puzzle ring with amor vincit omnia poesy ring in 2.9mm width and 0.45CT diamond

Celtic Wedding Set: Juliet puzzle ring with 2.9mm wide amor vincit omnia poesy ring and 0.45CT diamond

Diamond Sizes
With the exception of the marquise emerald, all the puzzle rings shown above are medium-weight rings.

The easiest way for you to see the relative marquise sizes and the weights of puzzle rings is to visit this page on my site.  Here you can see a variety of rings with marquise stones ranging from 1/3CT up to 1.85CT on ring weights from 16 gauge (medium) to 13 gauge (heavy).

We can place a 1CT diamond on a puzzle ring in a 15 gauge, 14 gauge or 13 gauge weight.

Here is a marquise diamond puzzle ring with a 0.72CT diamond, the largest size of diamond we can mount on a medium-weight puzzle.

Marquise diamond puzzle engagement ring with 0.72CT diamond and 'yovrs onli' Renaissance reproduction wedding ring

Marquise diamond puzzle engagement ring with 0.72CT diamond and ‘yovrs onli’ Renaissance reproduction wedding ring in 4.2mm width

 

Juliet puzzle ring with a 1CT diamond (with side rubies) on a 13-gauge puzzle ring – heaviest weight.

DCF 1.0

Celtic engagement ring: 1CT diamond Athena Royale puzzle ring with accent rubies.

This is the same ring on the bride’s hand, before we added the rubies and changed the setting to the custom-Triskele style.

 

 

Wedding Band Width and Weight
Any of the heavier weights of puzzle ring will work with a wedding band about 2mm thick.  So we call that the profile or the depth of the ring, and then the dimension across the ring is the width.

The band shown immediately below is only made in larger ring sizes, Celtic 9 and up.  It is just over 5mm wide, with a 2mm profile, and so it works well for heavier puzzle rings.  So it is not an option for smaller ring sizes.  (The set pictured here is a medium weight with a diamond under 1/2CT, but the ring size was 9 or greater, so that’s why the band is wider.)

Marquise diamond puzzle ring with recessed Celtic eternal knot band

Marquise diamond puzzle ring with recessed Celtic eternal knot band in the over 5mm width

Below is the Juliet puzzle ring with about a 3/4CT diamond. Somehow we made this one on the medium weight puzzle ring, even though we usually prefer not to.  Some women today prefer their wedding band to be a bit narrower than the puzzle ring.

Your main job right now is to decide on the diamond size – below 3/4CT or up to 1CT.

Then we’ll talk about selecting or designing a wedding band in a width, and weight to look beautiful with it.

3/4CT diamond puzzle ring in Juliet style with Latin I am my Beloved's poesy ring

Celtic Wedding Set: 0.70CT diamond puzzle ring in Juliet style (with Triskele diamond setting) with Latin I am my Beloved’s poesy ring. The wedding band is about 4.7mm wide.

*******************
This was posted by Mandira Feldvebel of crystalrealm.com
For more information about Celtic-inspired puzzle engagement rings and bridal sets, please call toll-free within the U.S. and Canada 1-866-573-7381 or outside North America at 505-898-1107. Many thanks for visiting!

Unique Engagement Rings – How do we make a Celtic-Inspired Puzzle Ring with a Custom Shadow Band?

Thanks to Jamie from Minneapolis for writing to ask, “How do you make one of these bridal sets with a puzzle ring and a matching wedding band?”

It’s a great question about a fun creative process.  I’ll walk you through the steps we took with a recent bridal set ordered by a client in Canada.

Chris knew his beloved wanted Tanzanite, a gemstone with strong trichoism: that is, the color varies with the angle of viewing, and it tends to vary from blue to purple to sometimes even burgundy.  That is, in large size Tanzanites.  Smaller ones tend to be light blue to lavender, with flashes of other colors.  Chris settled on a 0.58CT princess-cut tanzanite.

Princess-cut Tanzanite gemstone

Princess-cut Tanzanite gemstone with color typical of sizes under a few carats

He decided to have the stone set in a Guinevere style, Celtic-knotwork-inspired, puzzle engagement ring.  And, because he planned to have a shadow band made to go with the puzzle ring, he opted for an open puzzle ring weave. This means that the center loops (at the north and south points of the stone) are open to the point that you see air between the loops and the stone setting.

The next step was for us to order the stone and the palladium materials for the ring.

For a ring like this, we literally take palladium round wire and hand-weave it into a puzzle ring that really does come apart and go back together.  The trick with engagement rings is that we have to weave them differently than rings that will not bear stones.  We weave it in such a way that the stone setting and gemstone nestle into the puzzle.  Still, you can easily disassemble and assemble your puzzle ring, as it is fully functioning.

Celtic-knotwork-inspired Guinevere puzzle engagement ring with 0.58CT tanzanite

Celtic-knotwork-inspired Guinevere puzzle engagement ring with 0.58CT tanzanite. The image does not show how much the stone sparkles.

The ring was done, shipped to Canada, and Chris proposed. She accepted. Congratulations, Chris!

Now for the wedding ring.  At this point, Chris put me in touch with his fiancée.  Julianne had seen a ring at crystalrealm.com, that she really loved, and she wondered if we could do something similar for her wedding band. This is the ring she had seen:

Yellow gold Spanish poesy ring with wording "no tengo mas que darte"

Yellow gold Spanish poesy ring with wording “no tengo mas que darte,” meaning “I have nothing more to give you than my heart”

Now this Spanish ring is under license from the Ulster Museum in Belfast, Ireland.  You see, this ring is a reproduction of a 16th C. ring found on a sunken ship off the coast of Ireland.  It is a copyrighted design, so we would never copy such a ring.  However, it is legitimate to be inspired by a such a ring and to create something entirely new that is at least 30% different from the original.  How to measure 30%?  That’s a judgement call, but let’s roughly allocate the major design elements: Shape of ring 1/3; lettering on ring 1/3; and design of hand holding heart 1/3.  We decided to change two of the three elements: the shape and the front design of the hand holding a heart.

Julianne and I had a lively email exchange of drawings, so that I could understand what was important to her.  In fact, she wanted a hand/heart design more typical of those found on claddagh bands, but without the typical crown. In other words, two hands framing a heart.

I showed her a design we had previously made into a wedding band for another client:

Wax from a previously designed set of wedding bands

Rendering from a previously designed set of wedding bands. Julianne loved the hands and the heart!

We decided to ask my wax hand-carver to create hands and a heart similar to the ones in the image above. Naturally, since Julianne’s ring would be a one-off, original, her hands and heart would be completely unique.

So we had achieved our objective of a design that would honor the original ring but be different enough to be uniquely her own.

I had Julianne ship her puzzle ring on Crystal Realm’s shipping account to us in the U.S., while I finalized design details.

Upon receipt of her ring, we created a hand-carved wax based on the design we specified. Each detail was meticulously carved, and then the wax and puzzle ring were photographed for approval by Julianne.

January, 2018 update: We currently do not have a hand-wax carver skilled enough to replicate this ring. We are actively seeking such a talent, and we will update the page when that changes. 

The image I sent her:

Tanzanite Guinevere puzzle ring with hand-carved wax for approval

Tanzanite Guinevere puzzle ring with hand-carved wax for approval

Julianne and I felt my wax artist had captured exactly what she wanted, so we cast, polished, and engraved the lettering. The ring was thus made by the lost-wax casting method, in which a mold is made, then the wax is melted out, and the mold is filled with precious metal, in this case, palladium, a white, platinum-family metal that is non-allergenic and very durable, like platinum, but at a fraction of the cost.  Of course, once the casting is made, much polishing and finishing ensues.  The lettering is hand-engraved, which gives it much character when compared with other types of engraving.

Three weeks later, I got photographs of the finished set and shipped to Chris and Julianne in Canada.  I’m happy to report that Julianne is thrilled with her unique, Celtic-inspired custom puzzle ring bridal set.  Julianne will hand her heirloom-quality bridal set down to her grand-daughter some day.

This image better captures the sparkle of the 0.58CT princess-cut Tanzanite. It’s a gorgeous stone!

Custom Tanzanite Guinevere puzzle engagement ring with contoured wedding band

Custom Tanzanite Guinevere puzzle engagement ring with contoured wedding band

To talk to me (Mandira) about your own set, please call toll-free 1-866-573-7381 from anywhere in the U.S. or Canada.
Outside North America, please call 505-898-1107. Thank you for your interest in our rings!

Unique Engagement Rings – Celtic Blue Diamond Puzzle Engagement Ring

Ah, blue diamonds! We can get you a treated blue diamond for a little bit less than a white diamond of comparable specs. This Guinevere puzzle engagement ring bears a 1/2CT range treated blue diamond (0.48CT to be precise) with VS clarity. The ring is palladium, our favorite white, platinum-family metal. We do not currently have a reliable source for untreated blue diamonds. 

Guinevere blue diamond puzzle ring - puzzle engagement ring

Celtic Engagement Ring | Guinevere blue-diamond puzzle engagement ring

Unique engagement rings – Celtic puzzle engagement rings

Imperial topaz, a feminine, delicately colored gemstone, here shown on palladium, a white, platinum-family metal that is non-allergenic and durable like platinum but for the cost of gold. Okay, there are differences between palladium and platinum. Palladium is not as dense, so it’s not as heavy, and that’s why it is not as costly as platinum. And this lovely puzzle ring shows an imperial topaz that is quite pink. However, imperial topaz is not a reliable pink, it can be more of a beige/peach color, so if you really want pink, let us do your ring with pink sapphire.

Our unique engagement rings – puzzle rings all – are inspired by the endless knots of Celtic knotwork, and they provide endless fun and fascination as you disassemble and assemble your ring, to the astonishment of your friends and loved ones.

Unique engagement rings - Marquise imperial topaz puzzle engagement ring

Unique engagement rings – Marquise imperial topaz puzzle engagement ring. 

 

Unique Engagement Rings – Athena diamond puzzle engagement ring in four colors of 14K gold

At Crystal Realm, we set our round diamonds in six-prong settings, rather than four, because six-prong settings are much more secure. Here is a half-carat round diamond on the Athena four-band, medium-weight, puzzle ring in four colors of 14K gold: white, yellow, green, and rose.  This ring is priced from 1/3CT, and we can place a diamond up to 0.72CT on a medium-heavy puzzle ring, as shown. Above that, and we need to go to a slightly heavier puzzle ring.

This ring, like all of our puzzle rings, is hand-woven by America’s most experienced hand-weaver of puzzle rings. Though others may try to imitate, only our rings contain several features that make for design perfection. We don’t just take a puzzle ring and stick a stone on the top. We hand-weave every ring for the very stone it will bear, its size and shape, and even vary every design according to the ring size. Only our rings are the original, hand-woven, puzzle engagement rings with a lifetime guarantee.

Unique engagement rings - Athena diamond puzzle ring in four colors of 14K gold

Unique engagement rings – Athena diamond puzzle ring in four colors of 14K gold

Planning a Marquise Diamond Puzzle Engagement Ring up to 2CT – A Letter Post to Clients

Greetings, Bill & Thelma,

Thank you very much for getting in touch about a diamond puzzle ring.  I’m excited to work with you on creating this beautiful ring.

Let’s start with the bridal set that started it all! Bill, thank you for persevering for three months and finding us after losing our link!  This ring is a heavy weight puzzle ring with an open weave. Notice how the four bands have “air between them” in open loops – this is the weave or style of puzzle ring that we usually use for larger diamonds.  It gives shape and definition to the sides of the puzzle ring, so it looks best with a wedding band that curves to fit. The diamond shown is a 1CT weight stone.

CT Marquise Diamond on 13-gauge, open weave, puzzle ring with optional, custom-fit, comfort-fit band

CT Marquise Diamond on 13-gauge, open weave, puzzle ring with optional, custom-fit, comfort-fit band

 

This next image shows you what a heavy, four-band puzzle ring looks like on the hand.  This ring has a 1CT princess-cut diamond, so it differs in that respect, but I think you can get a good idea of the weight from this image.

Laura's 13-gauge puzzle engagement ring with 1CT diamond in about a size 4

13-gauge puzzle engagement ring with 1CT diamond in about a size 4

 

Below is an image of a puzzle engagement ring with a 1.85CT light green emerald.   This is very close in size to the 1.87CT diamond that I sent you the image of.  This one is a bit longer and narrower, so naturally, your diamond would look a little different, if you opt to go for this size of diamond.  See how the “spaces” in this open weave puzzle ring are much bigger than those in the 1CT.  We can tighten up the spaces a little bit on yours, if you prefer.

Puzzle engagement ring featuring a 1.85CT light-green marquise emerald on a 13-gauge heavy weight puzzle

Thelma, you’ll see some of this information in the email series you’ll get over the next nine days.  But I’d like to reiterate it here for you, Bill.  Once we undertake to make a puzzle engagement ring for you,  we commit to working very closely to ensure that you are both thrilled with your ring.  Since custom rings are not returnable for refund, we make a pledge to you:  if you are not absolutely over-the-moon about your ring, you can return it so we can adjust it in any way, from changing the weave of the puzzle, to changing the metal, to swapping out the diamond for one you may like more (so far our record is perfect, we’ve never sent out a diamond that didn’t meet expectations!).   We are very proud of our record for ecstatic customers, and I want you to be completely delighted as well.

Now . . . not to get ahead of ourselves, but I’m guessing you will very likely want a matching wedding ring.  Let’s do the engagement ring first, and then if you want a  wedding band, we can do one like the one you first saw, Bill, that is pictured at the top of this post.  Or . . . we can create for you a made-to-order shadow band that will fit precisely with your engagement ring. Here are a few examples of sets we’ve done.  We can do any design you want including one with diamonds or gemstones.  I like to deliver the puzzle engagement ring first, to ensure a perfect fit, and to make sure you are thrilled with your ring and your diamond.

I know this ring shows a very long, narrow diamond – not to your taste, Thelma, but I want you to see the way the wedding band fits to the engagement ring.  This is also a much lighter weight set, and naturally the band we make to go with your ring will be perfectly scaled to suit it.

Celtic-knotwork-inspired puzzle engagement ring with 2mm custom, contoured, companion band

Celtic-knotwork-inspired puzzle engagement ring with 2mm contoured shadow band

 

Lettering is an option that many folks like.  We can do any lettering you want inside, outside, or both, as long as the shadow band is wide enough.

Celtic-knotwork-inspired diamond puzzle engagement ring with "Amor Vincit Omnia" contoured, companion band

Celtic-knotwork-inspired diamond puzzle engagement ring with “Amor Vincit Omnia” contoured, companion band

 

There is also the option of a gemstone-studded shadow band with diamonds, emeralds, sapphires, or any gemstone that suits your taste.

Marquise Emerald Puzzle Ring with Diamond Companion Band

Marquise Emerald Puzzle Ring with Diamond Companion Band

That concludes my photo story for you.  I’d love to get the sterling silver trial ring sent out to you, so you can try wearing it, Thelma, to make sure you love it.

One more thing . . . we can send out the diamond for you to look at before we set it on your ring, but . . . on the other hand, we usually figure you can get a better idea of what the diamond will look like on your hand if we put it in your ring and you can actually put the ring on your finger.  Namely, we’ll deliver the diamond in your finished ring.  So . . . all we ask is that when you get your ring, if you don’t absolutely love it, please let me know within 48 hours, so we can take it back and secure an alternate diamond for you.  My diamond vendor allows us to return a diamond (even though we never have) if we act quickly, so we would want the chance to get you another diamond within the window they provide.

Please contact me by email or toll-free at 1-866-573-7381 with any further questions or to arrange for the trial ring.  Of course, the $100 charge for the ring will be applied to the engagement ring once you order that.  And then you get to keep the trial ring, Thelma, so you can learn to take it apart and put it together using our excellent instructions.

Thank you again for contacting me, Bill.  It is a pleasure to work with you!

Celtic-Knotwork-Inspired Puzzle Engagement Ring with Contoured Shadow Band

Presenting a Celtic-inspired engagement ring with a custom wedding band, in your choice of metals and gemstone.  Shown with a diamond, the puzzle ring is available with a sapphire, ruby, emerald (or a green, emerald-like stone that is much more durable than emerald such as Tsavorite garnet), or almost any colored gemstone that you love.  Yes, this is a real puzzle ring that comes apart and goes back together with excellent online instructions.

Celtic-knotwork-inspired puzzle engagement ring with 2mm custom, contoured, companion band

Celtic puzzle engagement ring with 2mm a contoured shadow band

If you opt to have your wedding band a bit wider, then it can be inscribed with a Gaelic “poesy” or love sentiment (or, honestly, with a saying in any language you like!).  Here’s an example of such a bridal set:  the Avalon Puzzle Engagement Ring with Gaelic “I am my Beloved’s and my Beloved is mine” contoured poesy ring.

Custom Gaelic "I am my Beloved's and my Beloved is mine" with Aquamarine Avalon Celtic-Inspired Puzzle Ring

Custom Gaelic “I am my Beloved’s and my Beloved is mine” with Avalon Aquamarine Celtic-Inspired Puzzle Ring

And another set just completed for a couple who had a partner band made to match the contoured poesy ring.  Here is a Celtic-knotwork-inspired, marquise diamond puzzle ring with “Amor Vincit Omnia” poesy ring, which translates as “Love Conquers All.”

Celtic-knotwork-inspired diamond puzzle engagement ring with "Amor Vincit Omnia" contoured, companion band

Celtic-knotwork-inspired diamond puzzle engagement ring with “Amor Vincit Omnia” contoured, companion band

And here’s the tapered partner band, also in palladium with the Latin “Amor Vincit Omnia.” You can have whatever lettering you want, in whatever language you choose.  You are simply responsible for supplying correct wording and spelling.  Most of our custom rings are done in Gaelic, but the wording on your ring or rings is totally up to you!

Tapered "Amor Vincit Omnia" poesy ring

Tapered “Amor Vincit Omnia” poesy ring

Champagne Flutes – Celtic Designs in Toasting Flutes and Champagne Glasses

Announcing our Celtic Champagne Flutes, such as the Celtic Heart Champagne Glasses in purple amethyst pictured here.  Forming a heart when at rest, instantly separating in your hands, these heirloom-quality champagne glasses are solid, substantial, and comfortable in your hands.  And they come with affordable lifetime glass flute replacement.  You mail in your goblet stem and left-over glass, and you pay only a modest amount (currently $15.00 per glass) to have your flute replaced and shipped back to you. That’s a deal!

Celtic Heart Champagne Flutes in purple amethyst
Celtic Heart Champagne Flutes in
purple amethyst