Engagement Ring Trends: The Styles We Can't Stop Staring At

Yellow gold engagement rings are the place to start, because once you've seen a big diamond sitting in warm yellow gold, it's hard to go back. Jewelry historian Marion Fasel points out that yellow gold took over everyday jewelry first and the engagement ring followed, and of course it did. If your hoops, your chains and your favorite signet ring are all gold, a cool white ring looks like it wandered in from someone else's jewelry box.

Gold makes everything look a little richer and a little more romantic, and it flatters pretty much every skin tone. Picture a fat oval on a plain yellow gold band and try to tell me that isn't the ring. If you love the warmth but want your diamond to stay icy white, ask for a two-tone setting, which pairs a yellow gold band with white gold or platinum prongs so the gold doesn't tint the diamond. If you're going warm on the stone too, skip it and let the whole thing glow.

If yellow gold is the color of the moment, the bezel is the setting. Instead of little claws holding the stone up, a bezel setting wraps a smooth rim of metal all the way around the stone, like a gold frame on a tiny painting. Taylor Swift's old mine cut (opens in a new tab) in a yellow gold bezel had everyone zooming in on their phones, and Fasel has been watching bezels climb right alongside thicker bands.

A bezel is one of the coolest modern engagement ring styles out there, sleek and a little architectural, and it's secretly the practical friend of the group too. It sits low, never snags your sweater or your hair, and protects the edges of the stone, which you'll appreciate the first time you knock your hand on a doorframe. The one tradeoff is a touch less sparkle, since less light sneaks in from the sides. Want the look with more fire? Ask about a whisper-thin micro bezel or a half bezel, which hugs just two sides.

An east-west engagement ring takes an elongated stone (an oval, emerald, marquise or pear) and turns it sideways so it stretches across your finger, and it's the ring that makes people grab your hand. Zendaya's elongated cushion (opens in a new tab) brought it into the mainstream, and it looks especially good in a bezel or a low, clean setting on a solid gold band.

The east-west engagement ring trend is for the person who wants a big stone that doesn't look like a big-stone ring. It's unexpected and chic, like someone with great taste made the call on purpose.

The round brilliant is the little black dress of diamonds, and it's never leaving, but the shapes with all the energy right now are long and lean: the oval, the emerald cut, the marquise and the elongated cushion. As Fasel puts it, "Rounds are still No. 1, but the oval is everywhere." Designer Lorraine West puts emerald and marquise right behind the round in her own ranking, and Katelyn Meche, director of bridal at a fine jewelry manufacturer, says emerald, marquise and elongated cushion are the shapes picking up the fastest. And if you're wondering whether oval engagement rings are still trendy, they are. At this point the oval is a modern classic.

Every one of them has its own personality. The oval is the easy one, flattering on just about every hand. The emerald cut is all long, glassy steps, like looking down into a swimming pool at a great hotel, and it's unreal in yellow gold. The marquise is pure drama, a little retro and a little royal. And the elongated cushion is the romantic, with soft corners and a pillowy sparkle.

When you fall for an oval, pear or marquise, look out for the bow tie, a darker band that can show across the middle of the stone when light doesn't bounce back evenly. Almost every elongated stone has a hint of one, and the best ones keep it faint. Hold the stone face-up in daylight and you'll spot it right away.

Chunky gold engagement rings are what happens when the band finally gets some attention. The barely-there pavé band had a long and lovely run. Now think thick, solid gold carrying one big stone, the kind of ring that looks like it came from a glamorous grandmother's jewelry box, if your grandmother were also a bit of a rock star. Fasel has been tracking thicker bands alongside bezels, and the look is one big stone on a heavier band, not the wide cigar bands that had their own moment.

It's the most fashion-forward way to wear a classic stone. A simple oval or round on a substantial gold band suddenly looks sculptural, and it looks amazing with a slim wedding band tucked next to it later.

And then there's the one I keep seeing more and more of: the floating stone. Instead of perching on prongs on top of the band, the diamond looks like it's hanging in a curl of gold, with the band sweeping up and around it like a ribbon caught mid-twirl. Sometimes the metal barely touches the stone at all, so it reads less like a setting and more like a tiny piece of art that happens to hold a diamond.

It works best with pears, ovals and marquises, since a long stone gives the gold something to wrap around. It's more of a statement than a solitaire, so think about the stack early. A shape this sculptural usually wants a band that follows its curve, or nothing beside it at all.

Toi et moi means "you and me" in French, and a toi et moi engagement ring sets two stones snuggled side by side, usually in two different shapes or colors, like a pear next to an emerald cut or a diamond next to a sapphire. It's the most sentimental ring design there is, since each stone can stand for one of you. We're fully on board with that kind of sappy. It's also a beautiful way to bring a family stone into a brand-new ring.

If the vintage engagement ring trend had a mood board, it would just say heirloom. The old mine cut is a hand-cut, cushion-shaped diamond from before modern cutting machines existed. The facets are big enough to actually see, there's a tiny flat window at the bottom you can sometimes peek through, and the whole stone glows like candlelight at a long dinner party instead of flashing like a disco ball. Its round cousin is the Old European cut. Swift's ring is an old mine, too. Because every one was cut by hand, no two look quite the same, so this is a stone worth seeing in person before you fall for the paperwork.

You can hunt down a true antique stone or buy a new one cut in the old style, and a good engagement ring designer can source either. Either way, the ring looks like it has a story, like it's been passed down through three generations of women with excellent taste. Put one in yellow gold, or in a bezel, and try not to swoon.

Who says an engagement ring has to be white? Color keeps turning up on celebrity hands, like Scarlett Johansson's light brown diamond (opens in a new tab). Picture a deep blue sapphire, or a champagne diamond that looks like it was dipped in honey. Warm-toned diamonds, the champagnes, cognacs and soft yellows, seem to melt right into warm gold.

Two quick reality checks before you fall all the way in love with a gemstone engagement ring. Sapphires and rubies can handle everyday life, but emeralds and a lot of softer gems need some babying on a ring that goes everywhere with you. And colored stones can look completely different under jewelry-store spotlights than they do in your kitchen, so ask to see yours by a window.

The most timeless engagement rings keep it simple: a round or oval stone in a classic four- or six-prong solitaire setting, on a slim band in whatever metal you'll love longest. An emerald cut on a plain band has the same staying power, with a little extra cool. And if you've scrolled this far thinking, these are fun, but I want a ring I'll love just as much when I'm eighty? Same.

The best news is that you don't have to choose between classic and trendy. A classic solitaire in yellow gold, or a round stone in a slim bezel, feels completely current without leaning on the moment. And if you're itching for something bolder, you can always let the wedding band have the fun and keep the engagement ring classic.

Nobody thinks about this until the wedding is close, but your engagement ring is going to need a roommate. The stack is where engagement band styles get playful. A bezel or east-west stone can sit flush against a straight band, while a stone that sits high or wide often needs a contour band, one that curves around it like a hug. A chunky engagement ring often looks best with something slimmer beside it, and mixing gold tones on purpose looks so much more considered than an almost-match. Stackable bands, where you add a second or third slim band over the years, are a lovely way to keep the story going. If you're still working out what the band itself should look like, start with our guide to wedding ring design.

Last thing. Try the ring on with your real life. Put on your everyday hoops, your watch, your favorite chain, and hold your hand out in daylight the way you'll do about four hundred times the first week. If it looks like it belongs with everything else you love wearing, that's your ring.