“I should have gone full bling,” said my husband, laughing, as we honeymooned in Barbados in May 2022, examining the new wedding bands on our fingers. The matching rings by Patcharavipa, in ropes of twisted yellow gold, were identical save for one detail: mine featured a 360-degree dusting of pavé diamonds. I’d committed to a chunky band that was more ostentatious than your average sliver of plain precious metal, because before tying the knot, I’d decided to wear one ring as a symbol of marriage. It felt more equal and more intentional than wearing an engagement ring. It also helped that long before I was officially off the market, I’d decided that Patcharavipa’s ring was the One.
Today, women are seeking individualistic engagement rings that conform less and less to the convention of a diamond solitaire. Interest in colored stones, cognac diamonds, antique cuts, east-west bezel settings, mixed metals, and sizeable bands is rising thanks, in part, to the less-than- traditional engagement ring choices of A-listers, such as Taylor Swift, Zendaya, and Miley Cyrus. “There really is no precedent and so much more freedom in expression,” says Lylie founder Eliza Walter, a London- based jeweler who has not just seen increased interest in art deco-inspired design, angular clusters of stones, and “bigger, bolder, chunkier pieces,” but brides investing in a one-and-done ring. She attributes this, in part, to an increase in heterosexual couples designing their wedding bands together, instead of women waiting around for a down-on-one-knee proposal.
“I wanted something simple and modern, but with a serious wow factor,” says jewelry PR Rosie Lillis, who, after six years of marriage, swapped her engagement ring and wedding band for a bespoke design by London goldsmith Jessie Thomas. Lillis has always had an unconventional approach to marriage jewelry, choosing to wear her original engagement ring, a gobstopper Chanel Camélia design, on her left hand and her wedding band on her right, stacked with other pieces. “After two kids and a kitten, it felt the right moment to take the plunge,” she says, smiling, of her upgrade: an 18-carat gold curved design, anchored by a floating 1.5-carat pear-shaped diamond.
While affluent couples may choose to throw two budgets at one ring, others are more economical. Walter refers to two of her clients: a couple who, after maxing out their wedding budget, opted to exchange vows using cheap rings, before romantically upgrading their single bands as first anniversary gifts. Recent surges in the cost of precious metals can also cause engagement rings to fluctuate in price. Fortuitously, more affordable lab-grown diamonds allow couples to invest in heftier, statement-making alternatives.
Fellow jewelry PR Anna Beesley is forgoing a wedding band for jewelry that nods to her fiancé’s Indian heritage. “Traditionally, a mangalsutra is tied around the bride’s neck by the groom at their wedding. It is a sacred necklace made from black beads, believed to protect the couple from evil, and gold, which represents love and devotion.” It helps that her engagement ring requires absolutely no adornment. Beesley’s husband proposed to her on a late Sunday night in 2025 with a box housing a loose antique Asscher-cut diamond. The stone became the hero of an art deco-inspired bezel-set ring, haloed by baguette diamonds, set in yellow and white gold.
