I Don't Think I Want A Diamond Engagement Ring. But What Else Is There?

That special someone has been asking what kind of engagement ring you'd like. And to be honest, you don't really know. What you do know, is that you want something different. Not like all the other rings out there right now. After all, you don't need it to scream, "I'm so 2016!" 20 years from now. But what's a gal (or guy) to do? You might want to consider a vintage or antique colored stone engagement ring. Why, you ask? Well, I'm glad you did. Here's why:

Reasons to choose a colored stone engagement ring:

1. If it's good enough for a real live

Princess

, then it's good enough for me and you. Let's not forget that our favorite soon-enough-to-be-Queen (

Princess Kate

) has an engagement ring that has a ginormous

sapphire

as the center stone, surrounded by

diamonds

. Oh and it was also good enough for her now deceased MIL (That would have been 

Princess Diana

, for those of you too young to remember getting up at 7am to watch the

Royal wedding

, like I did). 2. You won't see your ring on the woman walking down the street next to you. When I was married the first time (yes, it's true. It was my mulligan. I got it right with my next tee shot (for those of you that don't golf, sorry for the reference)), I noticed a woman in Chicago standing at the same crosswalk, and she and I were wearing the exact same engagement ring. <loud gasp> Being a gal who usually steers clear of trendy things, let's just say that I was less than pleased. 3. You're a color kind of person. You can't help it. You've loved color all of your life. White and black don't exist in your wardrobe. And the thought of wearing something completely devoid of color just doesn't

feel

like you. It's just not who you are. If there's any one piece of jewelry that should speak to your inner self, it's your engagement ring. Embrace color here, just like you do elsewhere in your life. 4. Blush and "nude" colored stones make your fingers look longer. Just like the pair of pumps you have that match your skin tone perfectly make your legs look longer, so too will a ring in the same shade. It's just the science of color. Sapphires comes in all kinds of colors, and topaz can range from the palest of blush colors to the darkest of browns. 5. They often are a bit easier on the wallet. If your special someone is a bit budget constrained but you're really hoping for a statement piece for an engagement ring, colored stones are the way to go. There are many options that will be much less expensive than a diamond of the same size and quality. You could say that you really get a bang for your buck when it comes to colored gemstones. 6. Buying an antique gemstone ring is a very green thing to do. Ok, well, this isn't specific to just colored gemstone engagement rings. It applies to all vintage rings in general. It takes a lot to mine a stone, cut it and manufacture a ring. Much of the process isn't very green at all. So, in honor of 

Earth Day

today, you can stick with the

reduce/reuse/recycle

mantra and "reuse" an already existing (and often stunningly made) antique ring. Keep in mind some stones (like pearls, opals, emeralds and tanzanite) are too soft for every day wear and therefore not really cut out (see what I did there?) to be engagement rings, unless you don't plan on wearing it every day. For some help in picking out the right gemstone, I recommend reading up on them.

The Smithsonian Handbook: Gemstones

is a great reference guide to help you pick just the right kind of stone for you, so you can then start searching for the right ring. Of course, we at Katie Callahan & Co. hope you start and finish your search with us.