Engagement rings come in many shapes, sizes, and styles. Nowadays you have a plethora of options to choose form, depending on your style, your loved one’s style, your lifestyle, your budget, and in general what you feel suits you best as a couple.
One of those beautiful options is the three stone engagement ring. As anything it can mean a lot to a couple, and plenty of people have ascribed a special meaning to those three stones, in fact it’s their selling point !
So let’s take a look at some three stone engagement rings, see what they mean, and what you should know before you purchase one.
Three stone engagement ring meaning
The three stones in an engagement ring are usually meant to represent the couple past, present, and future. This is a way to mark the passing of time, the growth of the relationship, and the hopeful future the couple aspires to. It’s full of romantic symbolism.
This is the most common meaning assigned to the engagement ring, though there are other meanings that are less common. For example in the case of a couple that already has a child and will not want to have another, the three stones in the engagement ring could symbolize the parents and the child. This goes beyond romantic and represents the family as a whole.
Or, others couple may view the three stones as the Holy Trinity. This way the engagement ring is a constant reminder of their faith and their love for God.
Abd in some cases the the couple’s birthstones may be used, and the third stone could be the month they became engaged in, or the month they will be wed, or any other significant event.
In truth the three stones are anything you want them to be. Most people look at them and feel they represent the time the couple has spent together and will continue to spend, so if you feel that meaning speaks to you, it’s likely what you will think of the ring as well.
What are three stone engagement rings called ?
Three stone engagement rings are usually called trinity rings, trio rings, trilogy rings. In some cases they could be described as side-stone rings, though those often have more than three total stones. Then again some trilogy rings may have several stones going down the sides of the ring, with only the center three standing out.
These rings started becoming popular somewhere in mid 1900s, but they were a thing long before that. The most common trilogy rings are found in the Art Deco era as they really go well with emerald cuts, and the era’s love for symmetry and geometry.
Some of the most famous three stone engagement rings belong to Meghan Markle, Jessica Simpson, Nicole Kidman, Christina Ricci, Demi Lovato, among others.
Read also: Pearl Engagement Ring Meaning
What stones can you use for a three stone engagement ring ?
The stones usually found in a three stone engagement ring are endless, though there are two main types. If you’re buying pre-made, you have less options there and less stress as well. you simply pick what speaks to you.
However if you’re getting a custom engagement ring, choosing the right stones can be both exciting and terrifying. Here’s the lowdown on the most common stones.
Gemstones
Gemstones are the colorful gems you see in many rings, not just engagement. The upsides to a gemstone ring are lower cost than a diamond, better color options, and the possibility of creating an incredibly unique ring.
The downsides to using gemstones is that they’re not all very durable, and mixing too many colors can be a bit much for some people.
The best gemstones to use in any ring are sapphires, rubies, morganite, emerald, alexandrite, topaz, aquamarine. These all rank at least 7 on the Mohs scale of hardness, which means they will be pretty resistant to scratching and chipping. For a ring you’ll wear every day, this is pretty important.
In terms of color don’t be discouraged. You can find sapphires in any color except red, those are called rubies. Topaz comes in many colors, as do alexandrite and topaz. Morganite ranges from pink to orange to champagne to near golden. Aquamarine comes in various shades of sky blue and sea blue, and emeralds are always, always green. They’re the same family as aquamarine, actually !
A nice way to use gemstones in your three stone engagement ring is to use birthstones. So you can mix the three months of your birth, your fiancee’s birth, and the third stone can be anything: the month you wed, the month you became engaged, the birth month of your child, or another significant event.
Diamonds
Diamonds are a classic choice for engagement rings, and a three stone engagement ring is no different. This means that here you’re going to look at cut and clarity more than you’d look at color. Of course, there are colored diamonds known as fancy diamonds. They range from yellow to chocolate to sometimes a pop or red or blue, though those are very rare.
If you’re going the classic route – three white diamonds – we recommend taking the side diamonds a size smaller than the center one, to create a dome effect and a graduation. You could then continue with even smaller pave diamonds down the sides of the ring, or just use the three diamonds.
A mix of gems and diamonds
And of course, you can always opt fir a mix of diamonds and gemstones. This option ensures you get the sparkle you want from the diamonds, and the pop of color from the gemstones. Here you have an endless array of options to choose from, and you can still incorporate birth stones if you like.
Before you buy a three stone engagement ring
If your heart is set on a three stone engagement ring, the go right ahead and look for one that speaks to you. Or go and find the perfect stones for your ring, whether they’re diamonds or gemstones or a combination of both. whatever you end up choosing, try not to go with with the trend, go with your heart.
Your engagement ring, or the one you plan to give to your fiancee, is a lifetime ring. Hopefully this is the ring that sits next to that wedding ring forever, and you need to make sure it’s a style that speaks to you. You’ll be staring at it always.
So choose wisely. and remember that a any engagement ring that deviated form the standard solitaire ring may need a special wedding band. If your stones are set pretty high then a basic bad will sit nicely with it, but if the ring has a special shape you will need a different wedding or a bespoke one.
I’m the main author for jewelrymaterialguide.com. I started this site after we did tons of research before our wedding and noticed that there is information about rings, jewelry, and so on that is really hard to find on the internet.
