Engagement Ring Guide

Engagement Ring Guide

Your engagement ring tells a story. Not the one jewellers want to sell you, the one that's actually yours.

This guide walks through what matters most: diamond shapes, the 4Cs, how your engagement ring and wedding band fit together, and why lab-grown diamonds make more sense for Ottawa couples every year. We're not telling you which one is better. Just providing clarity.

Whether you're starting from scratch or refining what you already know, this is built to help you make decisions that feel right.

Table of Contents

• How to Choose an Engagement Ring
• How to Find the Perfect Wedding Band Pairing
• What Are the Different Diamond Shapes?
• Understanding Quality and Certification
• Ethical & Lab-Grown Diamonds in Canada
• Summary: Your Ring, Your Way

FAQs

References

How to Choose an Engagement Ring

Start with what feels right for you and what you need — not what's already made and sitting in a showcase.

Choosing an engagement ring comes down to three things:

1. What speaks to you visually
2. What fits your hand and your day-to-day lifestyle
3. What quality this ring is made of and what you can count on long-term

For a deeper look, we've written a separate How to Choose an Engagement Ring guide that goes deeper. But here are the fundamentals.

1. Understand the 4Cs

The 4C’s are, Cut, color, clarity, carat. They all matter, but not equally.

The most important factor is cut, that's where light performance comes in. A well-cut 1-carat diamond will shine brighter than a poorly cut 1.5-carat stone and look much better. Color and clarity are important, but not as much as cut. Most differences aren't even visible to the naked eye.

2. Choose the Right Metal

Yellow gold feels warm. White gold and platinum look cooler and modern. Rose gold sits somewhere in between.

Let your feelings guide you. For example, our 18-karat gold is alloyed in-house to be lighter, that's what people enjoy more. We always recommend 18-karat gold, and we make ours lighter in-house while still giving you the quality and technical advantages you need.

Think about how your engagement ring and wedding band will sit together.

3. Carat vs. Visual Impact

A slightly smaller diamond with an excellent cut looks bigger and better than a larger stone with a mediocre cut.

If size matters to you, that's fine. But cut quality is what people actually notice.

At Vero Diamonds, we choose to only work with a minimum of VVS2 clarity and E colour, and always excellent cuts. That's our minimum. That's the Vero standard.

4. Ring Setting & Lifestyle

Solitaire, halo, pavé, bezel, your setting defines how the ring looks and how it holds up.

If you work with your hands, a lower setting or bezel might work better. If you prefer height and presence, prong settings give you that lift and embrace the style of the ring. Embrace what you like. It's gotta feel good. Sometimes less logic, more feeling is best.

5. Certification & Assurance

Only buy certified stones.

At Vero Diamonds, we only work with IGI for our lab-grown diamonds and GIA for our natural stones. That's just how it should be. More details can be found in our guide on how to choose and engagement ring.

How to Find the Perfect Wedding Band Pairing

Your engagement ring and wedding band should feel like they belong together. More importantly, they should feel good to you. That doesn't mean they have to match perfectly.

We've written a full wedding band pairing guide if you want more on this, but here's what to think about.

Mix or Match Metals

Mixing different tones of metals is wonderful, and we see it all the time: platinum with rose gold, white gold with yellow. It shows confidence with design.

The only thing we always recommend is to match the carat, the purity of the alloy. If you have an 18-karat yellow gold engagement ring, we don't recommend going with 14-karat yellow gold for the band. It just looks different when it wears over time. But there's no rule against mixing tones. Embrace it and enjoy it.

Shape Compatibility

If your engagement ring has a high centre stone, most bands will sit flush underneath without any issues. But if your stone is lower, you get to have lovely contoured bands which come in different forms. You can go for something exactly fitted, or you can go for something with a slight wave to fit.

At the end of the day, at Vero Diamonds we work with custom, we can make it exactly the way you want it, from the height to the profile to everything else. Come in and enjoy the process.

Modern Custom-Fitting

At Vero, we use 3D scanning to design wedding bands that contour perfectly to your engagement ring. We work with you to create exactly what you're looking for.

Balance Style and Versatility

A lot of couples want a wedding band that works on its own too, which we highly recommend. Something you can wear every day. A slight wave or a slight contour is also lovely and confident. Enjoy the style.

What Are the Different Diamond Shapes? 

The shape of your diamond defines its personality. It also affects how much it sparkles and how durable it is.

Ratio matters too. This is something we work with each individual on, how it fits their hand. Not every diamond is the same, and we pick them specifically for our clients. That's something we're pretty proud of.

We have a separatediamond shapes guide that goes into detail on each one. Here's the overview:

One thing to know: Shapes with points, marquise, pear, heart need protective prongs or bezels. Round and cushion cuts are the most durable for everyday wear.

Understanding Quality and Certification 

Certification isn't optional. It's how you know what you're actually getting.

When you're choosing a diamond, you should see a grading report from GIA (Gemological Institute of America) or IGI (International Gemological Institute). These reports confirm the cut grade, clarity, colour, symmetry, and fluorescence.

At Vero, our GIA Graduate Gemologist works with you and walks you through what those reports actually mean. We're here for your needs.

Here's what sets us apart: at Vero Diamonds, we choose to only work with a minimum of VVS2 clarity and E color, and always excellent cuts. We specifically focus on light performance for each individual diamond. This is our minimum, and it's non-negotiable. That's the Vero standard.Ethical & Lab-Grown Diamonds in Canada 

Lab-grown diamonds are chemically and physically identical to mined diamonds. Same carbon structure, same hardness, same sparkle. The difference is just how they're made, and what that means for the environment and your budget.

Lab-grown diamonds are:

Conflict-free and fully traceable. No mining, no ethical grey areas.

Certified by GIA or IGI. Same grading standards as natural stones.

More affordable. You can get higher quality for the same price, or the same quality for significantly less.

For couples in Ottawa and Gatineau who care about transparency and getting real value, lab-grown makes a lot of sense. That's why most of our clients choose them.

Summary: Your Ring, Your Way 

There's no such thing as a perfect ring. But there is such a thing as the one that's right for you.

Every choice you make, the shape, the metal, the setting, the stone, reflects what matters to you. At Vero Diamonds, we don't push you toward inventory. We design with you and source specifically for you. That's what custom means to us.

FAQs 

(Include schema for FAQs if possible in Shopify:https://schema.org/FAQPage

1. How early should I start looking for an engagement ring?

If you're doing custom, give yourself 2–3 months. If you're working with an existing design, you can move faster. Either way, it's worth taking your time.

2. Are lab-grown diamonds available in all shapes and sizes?

Yes. Every popular cut — round, oval, emerald, cushion, all of them — is available in lab-grown, with the same durability and brilliance as natural diamonds.

3. Can I mix metals between my engagement and wedding rings?

Absolutely. Mixing metals has become really common, especially here in Ottawa. Platinum with rose or yellow gold looks great and intentional.

4. How do I know my ring size is accurate?

We measure in-store, or we can send you sizing tools if you're working with us remotely. Just keep in mind that your fingers swell and shrink depending on temperature and time of day. We take that into account.

5. What's the most durable diamond shape?

Round and cushion cuts are the most forgiving and durable. Shapes with points — like marquise, pear, or heart — need protective settings, but they hold up fine with the right design.

References 

Gemological Institute of America (GIA)Understanding the 4Cs

International Gemological Institute (IGI) Lab-Grown Diamond Reports

Canadian Jewellers Association (CJA) Ethical Standards in Canadian Jewellery

Vero Diamonds – Local expertise in diamond education and custom design