One of the questions we always make sure to ask our clients is: how do you want your engagement ring to stack with a future wedding band? The answer to this question involves prioritizing between comfort, durability, and style, and it's important to know which look you want for your wedding stack before you commit to an engagement ring. Let's walk through it!
Flush fit engagement rings
Most of our clients are looking for a flush fit with no gaps between the rings, like this:
In order to ensure that an engagement ring and wedding band fit together seamlessly like this, the basket of the engagement ring (the part holding the stone) needs to be elevated high enough off the finger that a wedding band has clearance to slide underneath. There's a tradeoff here, though, which is that higher-set engagement rings are less comfortable to wear and more vulnerable to damage; it's easier for an elevated basket to catch on a dishwasher or a cabinet hinge than a basket that's sitting right on top of your finger with no space underneath. At Hera, we set everything as low as we possibly can while maintaing a flush fit, but the fact remains that a flush fit requires a high setting, especially if you want to have flexibility in choosing a taller wedding band, like an eternity band with diamonds in it.
We make three styles of flush-fit engagement rings. A traditional cathedral is the most durable because it has the most connection points between the band and the basket.
Low profile engagement rings
Now me personally, I'm a low profile girl. I love the comfort of a ring that lays right against my finger - they don't snag on stuff, it's easy to put my hand in my pocket or put my hair up, and I love the unfussy look of a low setting. The downside to a low profile engagement ring is that it won't stack flush with a wedding band the way a higher setting will.
Low profile rings with ring gap
A low setting works great for me because I also happen to love "ring gap," or the gaps in between a low profile engagement ring and a wedding band. To me, there's something so chic about not being so fussed about how your diamonds fit together - a little sprezzatura never hurt anyone, right? In my opinion, a gap gives your stack character and makes it look like something that was truly curated by you, or maybe inherited from your stylish grandmother. Here's a great example of stylish ring gap below. I've written a blog post all about styling ring gap if you want to get inspired!
Ring gap looks best with a low set engagement ring that has a lot of finger coverage - split shanks, side stones and tapered shoulders are all great examples of ring styles that minimize the negative space between the rings. A really large center stone will do the trick as well! I've got a blog post with more guidance on styling ring gap stacks here.
Low profile rings with contoured wedding bands
If you want the comfort, durability and practicality (yeah, I am indeed a fan!) of a low profile engagement ring, but you're not a fan of ring gap, you have more options! There are wedding bands that have a curve, V shape or some other kind of contour so that they follow the lines of your engagement ring and stack flush against the exterior. We offer a few different styles of contoured bands, like our Curve band, V band and Drift band. Our contoured bands can be sold "off the rack," or are available to be customized to exactly fit the contours of your Hera engagement ring. Here's an example of our Curve band with our low profile Ava Round ring. Our contoured bands still look great on their own, so you still have the versatility of wearing your wedding band without the engagement ring if you ever want to.
Low profile rings with open wedding bands
We created our Gap band as a solution for clients who want both the look of a straight band that stacks flush, and the practicality of low set engagement ring. Every one of our gap bands is custom-made to precisely fit the basket of your Hera engagement ring.
We can also customize most of the wedding bands in our collection to have an opening for a low-profile engagement ring. Here's one of my recent favorites - our Audrey oval paired with our Athens band customized with a gap.
Still aren't sure what's right for you? You can always get in touch with us to request photos of ring stacks you're interested in, book a virtual consultation to talk more, or visit one of our showrooms to play around with stacks in person.
