WHAT ARE ETERNITY RINGS?

So what really is an eternity ring?

Is it just another diamond band? Is it an anniversary ring?

Yes and No!

It is all that, plus some. Eternity rings always bring a little confusion with them. Some believe that eternity rings have a certain number of diamonds in them…

Others believe it stands for a certain anniversary; like the 50th anniversary. Still others believe that it’s an anniversary band that you add-a-diamond to each and every year until it’s full. But I assure you, it’s not.

Eternity rings only have one certain criteria:

The diamonds go all the way around the band (see picture).

Just like a clock, the diamonds start at the top and work their way all the way around, only to end up back where they began. It’s a full 360 degrees of diamonds. How thrilling is that. Or as the name implies, an eternity of diamonds. Endless diamonds like your endless love for each other. It just goes on and on.

The best looking eternity rings:

Some eternity rings have diamonds really close together, side by side, almost touching edge to edge. Those are the best looking ones, because they leave very little gaps (see picture again).

I have seen some eternity rings where the diamonds are spaced farther apart, but those look odd. It’s done to save money, but it makes it look tacky. Plus it allows dirt to drop down in the gaps and it make them look gross and nasty. So when you’re out looking at eternity rings, buy ones where the diamonds are closer together.

Close, but NOT TOO CLOSE!

Now keep in mind, really close together does not mean overlapping.

If your diamonds are touching or overlapping in any way, they can chip and break easily. Jewelers even have a habit of breaking them during setting just because they’re so close together. I would always recommend using a 10x jeweler’s loupe and looking at the diamonds before you buy it, just to be sure they aren’t broken.

Now we get into the impossible part of eternity rings…

The actual ring size.

You see, with diamonds running all the way around the circumference of the band, it leaves no room for a sizing bar. That non-stop flow of sparkle and diamonds leaves no spot or spacing for a jeweler to size the ring. And you know what that means?

The real deal about sizing eternity rings…

You can’t size the ring because of the diamonds!

Which means, unless you get lucky and she just happens to be able to wear that eternity ring that was in the jeweler’s showcase, you’ll have to special order it in the right size to fit.

They’ll have to custom design an eternity ring just for her specific finger size. Eternity rings cannot be sized (or should I say, shouldn’t).

The jewelers will have to get her ring size, pick out the right size of diamonds that you want, then custom make that ring from scratch.

Not all eternity rings will come out perfect.

If you have an odd sized finger or want a certain carat weight, you may end up short on the closing gap. The area where the diamonds finally meet back up is critical. The diamonds have to be spaced appropriately around the band, and a lot of times, they don’t join up evenly.

It’s a pain to get it right. If the diamonds are 3.5 mm and her ring size is a 5, you may be able to fit 23 diamonds all the way around and have half a space left over. Somewhere around the ring, they’ll have to space the diamonds a little farther apart to make it look good and work good. That closing gap will have to be filled.

It’s a give or take

With eternity rings, jewelers try to get an exact carat weight or exact mm size, but often it all depends on the spaces and gaps left. They try to get close, but normally, it’s not perfect.

If it was me, I would skip eternity bands all together.

They’re tough to make and if you ever need to get it sized, good luck! Jewelers can do it, but they’ll have to remove diamonds in the process, size it, and try to put it all back together again. Trust me, you’ll see where it was sized. Plus you’ll end up being a diamond or two short. It ain’t pretty.

Resizing problems:

Resizing eternity bands just leads to huge problems and it’s a huge pain as well. Not to mention the fact that eternity rings take a lot of abuse.

Because the diamonds go all the way around the shank, every time you set your hand down you’ll be smacking those diamonds. Diamonds in these types of rings tend to loosen up and break easily. They take quite a beating.

Take my word for it, if you’re out looking for an anniversary band, get a standard one instead.

Buy her a 1.50 carat diamond ring that looks stunning (like this beautiful channel set band from James Allen). You’ll be able to size it up or down later with no problems or worries. You won’t have to pay extra money to have it special ordered either.

Because you know how long a special orders takes?

An eternity.

Cheers! :)