Weddings are a once in a lifetime event, something to be celebrated and remembered for a lifetime. It is also a time of big decisions, and involves virgin territory for many. Selecting the right engagement ring, navigating through the various options when it comes to wedding rings, and of course not forgetting gifts can be enough to make anyone’s head spin.

Fortunately the people at Islands Companies can help guide those who find themselves a little bit lost at sea.

Engagement rings

According to Marsha Bryant, director of merchandising with Island Companies, selecting an engagement ring should be a joyous moment for couples.

“When you deal with building your own ring it really helps form a bond between you and your future partner where it’s one of the first and most important purchases that you’ll ever make in your union and it really becomes a very special event. A good consultant will give the tools in which to speak about but they also are not intrusive in the discussion that is taking place because it is a special time,” she says.

It is all part of creating an experience rather than just selling a product, something that is central to the Island Companies philosophy.

Although some might rush into picking a ring based on the perceived value due to the carat, cut, clarity and colour, the last thing a groom should do is tell his bride to be that he managed to get a great deal on the ring. It has to have emotional value for the couple.

“A lot of couples nowadays want something that is a very unique expression of how they feel about each other,” says Marsha.

In order to make it easy for couples to create a ring that is uniquely their own, Island Companies stores like Diamonds Direct carry diamond-less semi mounts so that couples can choose the centre stone.

“It could be a diamond, it could be a sapphire, it could be a beautiful piece of tanzanite, even a ruby, which stands for loyalty which is a pretty nice thing to have in your engagement ring, and they can really create something that is unique for them and works for them,” says Marsha.

Styles

According to Marsha, the solitaire setting remains a very popular choice when it comes to engagement rings.

“For someone who just really wants to highlight a bigger stone that’s the perfect choice because they’re classic and they’ll last forever,” she says.

One of the most popular choices right now is the halo setting, where the centre stone is encircled with diamonds and the ring usually has a diamond pave setting on the side of the ring.

“Because the halo ring has just the four prong centre you can pick and choose any size, any shape diamond you’d like, any coloured stone you’d like,” says Marsha.

“Island Companies has skilled craftsman that will set the piece for you and there will not be another one like it, so it is a very unique expression.”

According to Marsha, there has been a resurgence in more romantic, vintage or almost Art Deco style designs recently.

“Everything old is new again – it can go out for ten or 15 years, but when you’re talking about wearing a piece of jewellery for a lifetime, what is ten or 15 years?”

In addition to the art deco style there are styles where diamonds are actually encased in the prongs that will be holding the diamond.

“Sometimes you see a little tulip shape or there could be a little heart shape in the actual head, which is what holds the stones. It harks back to another time when romance was romance and through there’s always that customer who will like that clean, efficient look, more times than not they’re opting to go the other route right now,” says Marsha.

Cuts

When it comes to buying a diamond, the cut of the stone is every bit as important as any other consideration.

“It could be a lovely colour, it could be relatively clear, but if the diamond hasn’t been cut properly there could be an actual visual hole that you could see or a dark spot within the diamond, and it’s not a carbon, it’s not any type of internal flaw, it’s simply the absence of light being able to pass through, and it makes a huge difference,” says Marsha.

Island Companies offer a number of speciality cuts, including Marsha’s favourite, Hearts On Fire.

“Hearts On Fire diamonds are the most perfectly cut diamonds in the world, cut at 100 times the industry standard magnification level. We have a saying amongst ourselves that you can spot one of those diamonds five tables away in a restaurant because they are so brilliant and they look so fabulous. Again, it just depends on what the consumer is looking for – if they want something that is just truly spectacular, that’s the route to go,” she says.

Metals

Although much attention is lavished on the stone – and rightly so – the choice of metal is also an important one.

As styles have changed, so have the choices in colours and metals. Long gone are the days when 14 carat gold was the only real choice, with many now choosing white metals like white gold or even platinum.

“Platinum is a wonderful choice for an engagement ring – it is a much more dense metal and the chances of breaking a prong and losing your diamond are diminished significantly because those are the strongest things you can get to hold your diamond. For someone who works with their hands a lot I wouldn’t recommend anything but a platinum piece because it will stand the test of time,” says Marsha.

Island Companies stocks a wide range of platinum rings, including rings by Tacori, a brand known for creating some of the world’s most sought after diamond rings.

Alternative metals have also come to the fore recently through the rise in commodity prices, with metals like palladium coming to the fore. These metals allow discretionary purchases to celebrate those little moments in life without resulting in a big budget discussion as might be the case with gold or platinum jewellery, delivering the same ‘feel good’ factor without the price tag.

However, according to Marsha there is still nothing quite like a 14 or 18 carat gold ring or ultimately a platinum ring.

For the boys

Once of course the engagement ring is taken care of the groom’s ring really needs to be taken care of. Island Companies is one of the few jewellers that has a selection of blank men’s ring mountings that can be customised for the individual.

“Our store The Mansion is one of the premier engagement ring stores for us and they do some beautiful work over there,” says Marsha.

Although men tend to view themselves as rather easy going when it comes to their approach to style, Marsha says this is generally not the case.

“They are quite classic in their style. The men’s bands are not as elaborate as the ladies’ ring styles, but particularly when you have a couple that’s building the man’s wedding band they definitely speak up and tell their fiancée exactly what they want and if that ring is too wide or too thin, which is good,” she says.

The classic six millimetre plain gold band remains one of the most popular wedding rings for men, but more and more men are selecting rings that are customised for them.

Lifestyle can have a big influence on the choice of ring, especially when it comes to the type of metal and the mounting or any stones.

“Here in Cayman, people love to boat and they dive and there are a lot of outdoor sports and activity and what we have found when men want to have a ring designed for them they want to see the stones flush with the actual mounting so that they don’t experience as much wear and tear,” says Marsha.

One of the most popular and durable settings available at Island Companies is one that doesn’t even have prongs on it where the diamond is set from the back and then set into the ring and it is virtually indestructible. Another option is diamonds channel in a men’s band, and again because the diamonds are set flush with the mounting they have a much better chance of wearing that ring for a lifetime without having any issues.

Marsha finds that when men decide to go for a gold band, they generally tend to prefer the yellow gold over the white. However, that is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to men’s rings.

“You have your tungsten, you have your carbon rings, and those all have a silver greyish cast to it or a darker hue, so if they’re going to go with a whitish colour metal it won’t necessarily be in 14 carat gold, although we also do in certain instances for very discerning customers the plain bands in just solid platinum and its magnificent. They are very heavy, you can tell a platinum ring by the way it feels because of the density of the metal.”

Gifts

Of course, weddings go well beyond just the rings, and Island Companies is perfectly poised to help with the selection of a gift for the bride or groom, or gifts from the groom to his groomsmen or from the bride to her bridesmaids.

The most popular gift for grooms and groomsmen remains watches, which are, pardon the pun, a timeless gift. With its watch boutiques Island Time and Watch.Me, Island Companies has a selection of watches to suit the style of every groom and best man.   WH

To view a selection of rings and diamonds, visit Diamonds Direct in The Island Plaza on the George Town waterfront, The Mansion in Camana Bay, or any of the other Island Companies jewellery stores on Island. For more information, visit islandcompaniesltd.com.