The Timeless Allure Of The Tiffany Engagement Ring

Easily the most well known diamond engagement ring, The Tiffany Setting, by Tiffany’s is an iconic masterpiece. Created in 1886, this diamond engagement ring still has women swooning over it with many modern day designers mimicking it’s effortless and timeless design. So what exactly is the allure of this ring? After all, the ring itself is quite plain, just one diamond elevated on a band and surrounded by six prongs…

Original Tiffany Setting from Tiffany’s (photo Tiffany & Co.)

However, it is exactly the ring’s simplicity that sets it as the standard for all engagement rings today. When the ring design first launched it was a very avant garde style since most engagement rings at the time were set with a bezel (metal surrounding the stone showing only the top crown portion of the diamond). The reason for elevating the diamond and holding it with prongs was to allow more light to pass through the diamond crystal, resulting in greater brilliance and sparkle. The combined brilliance along with being able to visually see more of the diamond created more of a romantic and artistic expression that women particularly love. Hence the reason why so many women still covet this ring.

The iconic Tiffany Engagement Ring always has the following details:

• 6 prong head that sweeps very low showing the full pavilion of the diamond
• Culet of diamond sits very close to band allowing for a low setting on finger for more comfortable wear
• Knife-edge band draws eyes to center stone without the need for added melee side-stones or other distracting details
• The head fits nicely onto a smooth base creating seamless lines with beautiful fluidity

The ring itself is easy to wear, and compliments nearly any wedding ring which gives even more reason as to why this particular setting has stood the test of time.

Modern Day Tiffany Setting Copies

The Tiffany Setting is so popular that today it’s name has become synonymous with any solitaire engagement style ring. Many people describe their solitaire engagement ring with four or six prongs simply as a ‘Tiffany Setting’. However, despite what many people may refer to the style, Tiffany is very adamant that no ring can be called a Tiffany Engagement Ring without it being specifically from Tiffany’s. This is clearly illustrated with a lawsuit Tiffany launched against Costco on Valentine’s Day in 2013.

Images courtesy: “Costco in Mayfield Heights, Ohio” (CC BY 2.0) by Nicholas Eckhart and “DSC_0211” (CC BY-SA 2.0) by n0nick

At the time, Costco was selling diamond engagement rings with the word ‘Tiffany’ on signs in their jewelry cases. Two years later Tiffany won the lawsuit as they successfully proved that Costco knowingly infringed on Tiffany’s trademark. This sent a message to all jewelry designers – don’t sell your solitaire diamond rings and call them Tiffany!

Yet, as mentioned earlier, many designers do sell their own versions of Tiffany’s popular solitaire style. As long as there are notable differences to the original design there is no worry of attempting to infringe on Tiffany’s copyright. In fact, there are some very beautiful settings that rival the original design!

Tiffany Inspired Designs – Cost Less AND Higher Quality! 

Tiffany’s jewelry is no doubt beautiful, but they definitely come at a cost. For example, a simple one carat solitaire in their classic Tiffany setting will cost a minimum of $12,600. Ouch. Keep in mind we do not know what the quality of the diamond is (cut, color, clarity) so this is simply a starting price. Of course, you are also buying the name and the brand, so the psychology of having a Tiffany ring also has it’s price.

However, it must be said that from purely a quality perspective, there are better made and better looking solitaire diamond engagement rings outside of Tiffany’s. If you aren’t heart set on a brand name then I always prefer to point my savvy readers to a little boutique shop located in Houston, TX. This is where a 5th generation diamond cutter known as Brian Gavin lives and works. His diamonds are the highest quality you can find and his settings are simply gorgeous. (Read my Brian Gavin Diamonds Review for more info).

For example, instead of paying $12,600.00 for a 1.00ct solitaire from Tiffany’s, a much smarter financial option would be to spend just $8,000.00 for a super ideal H&A diamond from BGD in his ‘Classic Style Knife Edge‘ setting:

BGD’s Classic Knife Edge setting has six prongs just like the original Tiffany design however his version has delicate ‘claw’ prongs lending to a more refined look. This is in contrast to Tiffany’s clunky and old-fashioned prongs. In BGD’s design, the six prong head sweeps low showing off the full pavilion of the diamond allowing maximum light to enter and reflect within the diamond’s internal facets. Of courese, the beautiful knife edge still surrounds the entire shank of the ring. The fine line subtly indenting each prong leading up to the crown is a unique subtle accent found only in BGD’s design.

Of course the biggest difference between Tiffany’s and BGD is the diamond itself with BGD’s being a super-ideal H&A ‘Signature’ Round. If you aren’t familiar with this, then be sure to read up on the precision cutting techniques of hearts and arrows diamonds. Diamonds of this cut caliber represent the top 1% of all cut diamonds in the world – taking up to 4 days to cut and polish!

All of BGD’s have earned an ideal cut grade in light performance, polish, and symmetry from the American Gemological Society Laboratories. This lab is known for it’s cutting edge technology in light performance and cut analysis. They created their proprietary performance based Diamond Cut Grading System using the ASET (Angular Spectrum Evaluation Tool). All of BGD’s have an AGS report to accompany their diamonds. This is in direct contrast to Tiffany’s diamonds which are graded in-house. The lack of a 3rd party non-biased lab to grade diamonds is where Tiffany falls short. Anonymity and objectivity with strict protocols to grading standards is paramount in diamond evaluation and assessment.

By now you should be able to see that if you are willing to forego a brand name, you can in fact get an even superior product while also saving significant cash. If however, you aren’t keen on the original solitaire setting style you can always play with BGD’s Pre-Selected Engagement Rings tool to see what your total budget will get you. Take a look and see what different diamond and setting combinations you can come up with to find the perfect match for you. There is even a chance to ‘upgrade’ the selected diamond if you wanted to get a bigger size, better clarity, or better color:

Just plug in your budget and BGD will show you different diamond and setting options for your budget. Once you select your preferred setting style, the tool finally asks you if you wish to ‘upgrade’ your selected diamond based on size, clarity, or color. It’s an easy way to see what you could get for your budget while not compromising on cut quality – as BGD are the best super-ideal H&A diamonds you can buy.

If you have any questions or would like help in choosing a diamond for your engagement ring, please feel free to contact me. I look forward to hearing from you!

Happy Diamond Buying!