Tips: How to choose a wedding or engagement ring? with Pauline de Gemmyo

Today, we decided to open up to a new subject that had never been tackled until now: jewelry .

We will also address the question of feminine jewelry that you will most likely have to offer one day to your girlfriend/fiancée/wife . The issues around these jewels are often very important (marriage proposal for example...), and yet, you have difficulty making a choice.

How to choose a wedding ring? Or how to choose an engagement ring ? What to watch? What is useful and relevant information to know? What are the preferred designs for a ring? We were lucky enough to come across a very educational - and fascinating - person to answer all these questions.

We therefore interviewed Pauline, co-founder of Gemmyo - the first tailor-made jeweler online only - who will be our guide in the discovery of this universe that we ultimately know little about. This is the first time I saw a custom jewelry company exclusively online, so I didn't know at all what to expect...

Through five videos, she will answer all our questions, and give us all her advice for buying jewelry (and more particularly an engagement ring ).

I insist on the fact that she responds with a lot of pedagogy and conciseness: it is real useful and applicable information that will be useful to you. It’s a bit like the BonneGueule of jewelry 😉

Gemmyo also offers a service, both in terms of advice and the personalization offered to you: you can almost make your custom jewelry, the right size and personalized. I leave the floor to the person concerned, who will tell you about it better than me.

Note: the transcript of the videos is at the end of the article.

Presentation of Gemmyo, the first online jeweler

In this video, you will discover:

• What is Gemmyo's story?
• Which is her concept ?
• How can we view the jewelry market in France?
• What is the difference between a wedding ring and an engagement ring?
• What is Gemmyo’s entry-level offer?
• What is the range of prices offered?

What is quality mounting for jewelry?

We are now getting to the heart of the matter!

• How to recognize a quality wedding ring?
• What is a crimp? What are the different types of settings?
• Train your eye to easily recognize good editing.

How to recognize a quality wedding ring?

Let's not be mistaken: quality assembly does not necessarily imply that the quality of the materials (metals and stones) is there.

In the same way as clothing, we can distinguish the quality of the assembly from that of the materials used.

In this third video, Pauline tells us more:

• How to recognize a quality wedding/engagement ring?
• Which precious stones to choose for a wedding ring?
• How can you be sure of the quality of a diamond? and what does a GIA certificate mean?
• What is the content of the GIA certificate?
• What are the conditions for issuing a GIA certificate?
• Where do the diamonds used by Gemmyo come from? What are their extraction conditions?

Gemmyo explained to us that he chose the HSI diamond rather than GVS, for the simple reason that no difference is visible to the naked eye, the proof in images:

Which metal to choose for your wedding ring?

After reviewing the intrinsic qualities of jewelry, let's focus on a second dimension (perhaps the most important for your loved one), which is the purely aesthetic aspect.

And as the first step in creating a ring is the choice of metal, we asked Pauline:

• What are the different metals possible for an engagement ring?
• What are their advantages and disadvantages?
• What are the different kinds of gold?
• How to recognize 18 carat gold?

What style of wedding ring should you choose?

Finding the right metal isn't the only choice you'll have to make, it's just the first!

Design remains one of the most important criteria.

And if you think that solitaire is the only possible form, you should watch this video.

• What style of engagement ring should you choose?
• What ring designs should you avoid or favor?
• How to determine the size of the ring for your fiancée (I warn you, it is not a question of XS or S)?
• What to do when you're afraid of making a mistake on the ring?
• What are the engraving possibilities?

Now, it's your turn to play ! A big thank you to Gemmyo for his welcome.

PS: watch out for marriage proposals in the middle of the street.

Transcription of the interview with Pauline de Gemmyo

Presentation of Gemmyo, the first online jeweler

Can you introduce us to Gemyo?

Hello, my name is Pauline Laigneau and I founded a jewelry store called Gemyo with my husband, Charif, and my brother-in-law, Malek, who are both here. We created this company because, in fact, I was proposed to two years ago now, it was in June 2012. And like many French people, we went to the jewelry stores. We went to Place Vendôme for a bit because we wanted to see a little. We also visited lots of small jewelry stores. And in fact, we realized that it was firstly not very pleasant because in fact, we were honestly not very well received – we have to tell the truth – in our budgets which are the budgets of average French people, we'll say, rather range. We didn't have a lot of choice either because it was super classic, always white gold, always diamonds and that's not at all what I wanted. So the experience was not at all what we wanted. And we said to ourselves: but it's funny, but what do people actually do when they want to buy quality jewelry, made in France, really at the best value for money, and not pay the margins of the big brands either? at the same time, something they really like. And in fact, we realized that it’s super complicated. That's why we said to ourselves that we were going to create the first jewelry brand exclusively on the Internet, particularly for reasons of cost and therefore the best possible value for money. And at the same time, we really wanted to be able to offer a huge choice so that people could really choose the best jewelry possible according to their taste and their budget. And so, that's why we created Gemyo, which today is the first custom jewelry brand on the Internet.

Can you explain Gemyo’s concept of custom jewelry to us?

All jewelry is customizable. So each time when you choose a model on the website, you will be able to personalize it with 15 different stones: diamond, sapphire, ruby, emerald but also lesser known stones: aquamarine, amethyst, etc., and all the golds and precious metals possible so silver, white gold, yellow gold, black gold, pink gold, platinum. So, each time, depending on what you choose, you will really be able to play with your budget. So, for example, a silver ring is really going to cost a lot less than a platinum ring. This is why on our website, we really have an extremely wide choice, I think the widest that exists, since we range from around 80 euros for the cheapest silver jewelry, to 100,000 euros almost.

What is your view on the jewelry sector in France?

Today, the jewelry sector in France is made up of the big brands: Cartier, Boucheron, Tiffany which really have a monopoly in fact on the very, very high end, which in fact, in reality do not really sell to French people because most French people in fact will go and look at what is being done and then have it reproduced elsewhere in small neighborhood jewelry stores. And everything else in fact, it's a sector that is very fragmented between lots of small players who are neighborhood jewelers. And that's really the big part of the market, it's around 50% in value. In fact, what's interesting is that in fact, they all have slightly different prices, they have merchandising that is often a little bit outdated, they have jewelry that is outdated. . I'll give you a number that's quite interesting. This is because in France, a jeweler keeps a piece of jewelry on average before managing to sell it for 646 days, that is to say it takes more than two years before successfully selling a piece of jewelry. So obviously, all of this is very expensive and that's also why there isn't a lot of choice, because he doesn't want to have a lot of stock, as he knows he can't sell it. So, that's why today, the jewelry sector is quite dusty and quite outdated. It's very difficult to actually sell models because there isn't a lot of volume. And so, that's why we chose to be only on the Internet and to manufacture to order as we do because we can allow everyone to have a lot of joy, but without burdening us. stock price.

What is a “wedding ring”?

Wedding rings are often called wedding rings. So, it's really, well that's it for example, a little ring that we're going to put on and which symbolizes union. And that's quite different from the engagement ring. It generally costs less and is around 600 euros, it really depends on everyone's tastes and colors. Symbolically, the engagement ring is really the moment when you are going to put everything you have, specifically guys, into making them say yes. So, it has to be quite magnificent, and it has to be quite opulent, it has to look pretty. After the little extra, it's generally when you'll succeed in ensuring that it matches your tastes. If, for example, you know that she likes blue, it's not bad to go with a blue stone. If you ever know it's classic, maybe go with something classic. So really the engagement ring is a moment to express a little bit how you feel about the person. It's actually a little more creative than the alliance. Usually it's just a gold ring either with stones or without stones but it's not very complicated.

What is the average price of an engagement ring?

It's a bit of a taboo question because in fact, in France, we never say how much to buy. In the United States, they are quite smart. In fact, they said: To determine how much to pay for an engagement ring, you take three months' salary. Three months' salary and that's the rule. In France, we generally put less money into the engagement ring than that. So, in fact, we can estimate that one to two months' salary depending also on what is possible for you. This is probably what needs to be done.

What do we find at the entry level?

In jewelry, what is generally expensive is really the materials, even more than the manufacturing. And so, quite simply what you are going to have is materials that cost less than those you will have for a ring costing 5,000 euros. I'm generalizing a little but that's often what will happen. For example, a diamond is very expensive. So a medium-sized or small diamond, for example two or three millimeters, we will be able to have it for a ring at 1,000 euros. So we have a ring for example that we sell with a 4 millimeter diamond, it's already a pretty nice size of stone, it allows you to have a pretty gold ring for 1,000 euros. Afterwards what we will be able to do is adapt, take a less expensive stone. For example, sapphire, emerald, aquamarine. These are stones that cost a little less than diamonds, sometimes even significantly less expensive than diamonds. And so, this will allow you to have a pretty ring with a nice stone size because girls often like to have a fairly large stone. And as a result, this will allow you to sometimes have a piece of jewelry around 800 euros, 600, 500, even sometimes 400 euros.

That's aquamarine. It's a pretty stone since it's six millimeters. And there, it's white gold. And that’s around 400 euros for us. So, you can absolutely have a very solitaire in a pretty stone at a very competitive price. If you ever want something really, really good quality, you're going to have to at least go between 2,000 and 5,000 euros. That’s for sure high-end, we’ll say. The very high end is over 5,000 euros. And below, we're going to be looking at beautiful, pretty jewelry in general. But it is still a lower price range.

What are the prices offered by Gemyo?

Compared to major brands, we are generally half the price. Compared to small jewelers, we will be – it depends – 30%, 40% cheaper. It depends on the stone and metal on a case-by-case basis. We are particularly good at all colored stones because we have no intermediaries on them. We actually have one of our associates who is really specialized in this and who speaks, she is bilingual, she tells me she will really negotiate all the prices directly with the Indians. So, this allows us to have excellent prices on stones. And what's more, as I was telling you just now, in fact, we only manufacture to order. That is to say that in fact, all the costs which are traditional jewelry costs, the stock, that's what is expensive for jewelry companies, insurance costs, personnel costs, boutique costs , we don't have any because we only sell on the Internet. So, it really allows us not to offer the same margin because we don't need it. And so, in fact for the same quality, we manufacture in the workshops that work for Place Vendôme, for a better quality of stone sometimes, I can say, and well in fact, we offer prices which are lower.

What is quality mounting for jewelry?

How to recognize that a piece of jewelry is well assembled?

This is probably the hardest part to understand and decipher. You need a little knowledge of jewelry to know this. There are a few little tips I can give you. Already, in fact, try to find out where the jewelry is made. It's not always easy to know, but if you ever go to a jeweler, try to ask them, try to understand if they really make in France or not because what you need to know today is is that there are very few jewelers who actually manufacture in France. Because manufacturing costs in France are very expensive and as a result, people tend to relocate a little. And it's a shame because the jewelry know-how in France is truly excellent. So that's the first point: try to know a little about the origin of the manufacturing, it still has a big impact on the quality.

The second thing we can look at is what we call polish. So, it’s really the mirror effect of jewelry. In fact, when you look at a piece of jewelry, you will simply try to detect if there are micro scratches. So you look very, very close, and you see. If it is perfectly smooth, perfectly smooth, that means that the polish is simply perfect. If you ever see, and it looks quite good, here for example it's a piece of jewelry which is a piece of jewelry in stock that we used in demonstration, so it has small scratches. There, it’s visible right away. It has already been worn several times, it is not necessarily perfect. So, this means that the jewelry is simply not perfect. So, you have to be careful to simply look at the smooth part to see if there are any small scratches.

The second thing and probably the most important thing is to look at the seam. What is expensive in the manufacture of a piece of jewelry is what we call the setting. Here, I brought out this ring for you because it is particularly beautiful and it is quite expensive to make because there is a lot of work. First, you have four claws here. So the claws are what will really hold the stone. You have to try to see if the prongs hold the stone well because when you pay for a diamond of this size, I can tell you that you don't want your girlfriend to lose it. So, the claws must still hold well. That's important. A little tip I can give you is that you can hold the stone close to your ear and tap it. If you feel it playing, that means that the stone is moving a little bit. If you hear a little plop, plop, that means there is a risk that it will loosen. So, absolutely report it to the jeweler at this time so that he doesn't make you leave with a stone that risks falling apart. That's the first thing: really, look at the strength of the main claws.

And then what you have to look at is the quality of the paving. So, what is paving? These are the little diamonds that we are going to put all around the central stone to enhance it a little, to really make it stand out even more and really make it even more beautiful. And what you need to look at is simply the size of the claws. What are claws? That's what I told you, it's the little points that will hold the stones. If you have claws that are not harmonious, that are all different sizes, that are not symmetrical, a priori it is not very well done and the stones can also become loose. So you really just have to look closely enough to see if the stones are set well and if the setting, in fact, is harmonious. These are really the two elements to look at, I think the most important.

What are the different types of settings on a ring?

What is a crimp? It is the way of carrying the stone, of holding the stone. There are different types of setting. There is what I am going to show you, so the claw setting, these are the points like that, the spades which will hold the stone. This is probably the most traditional setting and it highlights the stones the most. So if you really want a highlighted stone, this is the one to get. There is what we call the bezel setting. The bezel setting is here. It is the metal that will surround the stone, encapsulate it. It's more modern, it's quite contemporary, it actually costs more to make because it takes more metal too. On the other hand, honestly, it is less pleasing because quite simply, it highlights the stone less. And the third thing that we can look at is, for example, on this jewel, you see, there is a rail on each side made of stone. In fact, it's simply called a rail setting. In fact, we're going to hold the stones in two rails like this. So these are a bit like the three main types of setting that we will find. There are others actually in jewelry, but these are the three main types that we will look for.

What I actually advise is to look in particular if you are making a claw setting at the quality of the claws, so really once again, look if they are very straight, if they are harmonious, if they are all perfectly symmetrical . This is really how we will know the quality of a setting. Because in fact what you need to know is that in jewelry, almost everything is made by hand. So it's really someone with a magnifying glass who will look and set the stones. The more time he spends on it, the more symmetrical it will be. The better it is, the more symmetrical it will be. So, you really have to look at the detail to see if it's done well.

How can we educate our eyes to recognize a beautiful piece of jewelry?

Typically, it's quite an interesting exercise to do in my opinion. If you were ever looking for your engagement ring, and what I wish for you, you go to a brand that sells in a shopping center, you look at the setting there. And the setting with them, already the quality of the metal and the stone is not the same because often they are not very good quality diamonds, the metal is often 14 carats or 9 carats, but you look . So you look at the setting, you will see that the setting, it is not symmetrical, it is not very harmonious, it is always a little bit different, there are stones a little to the left, a little to the right, it's not perfectly straight, it's not very straight. This, a priori, means that the jewel will perhaps twist and that the stones will perhaps jump. That's the first thing. Then, if you typically look at Place Vendôme, but even at a very large local jeweler, you will see that there typically, if they do things well, normally the setting is perfectly aligned, perfectly straight. And above all you will see that the claws, even if they are absolutely tiny claws measuring one millimeter, they are perfectly round for example. And you immediately feel that there is a real difference.

How to recognize a quality wedding ring?

How do you recognize quality jewelry?

There are always three elements in fact in a piece of jewelry. The first element is stone. This is often what costs the most in jewelry, so you have to look at it first. Second element is metal. You actually have to look at what type of metal it is. And third element is the finish.

How to choose your precious stone?

Depending on your budget, you will be able to choose which stone you want. The diamond, unsurprisingly, is the most expensive. They say that it costs the most, it's that this piece of diamond jewelry costs around 6,000 euros. In aquamarine, it costs 400 euros. So there's a huge difference and it's completely exponential. The diamond, depending on the quality you choose and the size of the stone, if you ever take a large size stone of excellent quality, it will sometimes cost tens of thousands of euros, so it is really something that is very expensive. So, what to say about diamonds, if I can give you some advice, if it's really the stone you want because it's true that it's still the reference stone for wedding rings. engagement, you have to say to yourself that either you are going for a nice stone cut, therefore an important size, or you really symbolically want to have an excellent quality.

What we offer at Gemyo is HSI quality diamonds. There are two elements. There's the letter, it goes from D to Z. D, it's the best color, so it's the letters, the best diamond color. D, that means the diamond is perfectly, perfectly white. It is a color that is very difficult to obtain, which is very rare, which is therefore very expensive. Then, the two letters that follow, SI, mean Small Inclusions, and therefore it is the level of purity of the stone. For example on HSI, H that means that we have a very good color of stone where we can in certain conditions see that it tends a little bit towards yellow, but it is really in certain very specific conditions and it You have to be a gemologist to see it. And IF, that means that under a magnifying glass, with a magnifying glass magnifying 10 times, we will see small inclusions inside. That means it's under a magnifying glass. So with the naked eye, you don't see anything. That's why pay much more for a diamond when with the naked eye, you can't see anything, that's what we think anyway. Afterwards, if ever symbolically it is important for you to have a higher quality diamond, it is entirely possible, you just need to ask for a diamond for example GVS. So G, it's going to be a color a little higher than H, a little whiter still. And VS, Very Small Inclusions, so even smaller under the magnifying glass. And there are certain diamonds that are completely Flowless, what we call, that is to say that there are no inclusions even under a magnifying glass and the color is perfect. And the price is another story.

We believe that it is the best quality/price ratio in terms of HSI diamond because we do not see any difference with the naked eye when we are a neophyte, when we are not in the conditions very specific; and at the same time, it allows you to have prices significantly lower than the quality that we will offer in particular at Place Vendôme. So, that’s really what we’re proposing today. And we can be certain of that with a little certificate like that, which is the certificate from the reference organization which certifies the quality of the stones. It's super important to have it.

If I can give you any advice, whether from us or from any jeweler, you absolutely must ask for a certificate. Unfortunately, there are jewelers who say: it is such and such quality. If there is no certificate to show it, it is a little complicated to really be sure.

In fact, it's really what is going to be certified by an independent organization that the diamond you are purchasing is a diamond of the quality that the jeweler told you it was. Since what we need to understand is that the jewelry sector is a sector that is not very transparent. Sometimes we don't know exactly what we're buying. So this will allow you to be 100% sure that you have exactly what you are buying, and therefore that you have not been cheated, if I may say so.

What can we find in this certificate?

So, it's quite technical as you will see. So there is the file. Every diamond in fact that is certified to the GIA really has a registration number. It truly is the ID card of the diamond. So there's going to be the shape of the diamond, exactly its rating. So, we will be able to know exactly how it is cut. There will be four major elements which are the weight in carats, that is to say the weight of the stone. This has a very significant impact on the price. We're going to have color. So that's what I was telling you about how white it is, and the whiter the better. We will have clarity. So clarity is inclusions. It is the fact that there are more or less small impurities inside. And that, these inclusions, we will even be able to see them here. In general, they are indicated inside the jewelry so that we can know where they are, identify them even if in real life, we cannot see them. So these are the elements that we will be able to see in this little identity card. The last element and which is very important is what we call the cut, the size. How is the diamond cut if it is well cut?

So in fact, in general when we buy a diamond, we look at these 4 elements which we call the 4 Cs: the color, so I will say in English because it is normally in English. So color is Color; size is Cut; clarity, therefore it is the inclusions, it is Clarity; and then we're going to have the Carat, so it's simply the weight. And so, these 4 elements must be as good as possible for the diamond to be the most beautiful.

Where do your diamonds come from?

So, diamonds very often come from South Africa. After today, especially when we have a certificate like that from GIA, we are 100% sure of not having what we call blood diamonds, there is a fairly well-known film on this, it is i.e. diamonds that have been mined under complicated conditions. And so, we obviously also work with this type of diamond which are diamonds certified by the Kimberley protocol, which is therefore a protocol which protects the extraction of stones and in particular the people who work in diamond mines.

Do all diamonds have a GIA certificate?

This is actually reserved for all diamonds that are above 0.3 carats. So 0.3 carats is about 4 millimeters in size. 4 millimeters in size is a bit smaller than that, so it's not a very big stone either. Obviously, for small diamonds which are for example the diamonds that we will see on the side of the jewel like that, we will not offer a certificate because the certificate is quite expensive to produce. And we're not going to offer it to you for diamonds that don't cost very much for a certificate. But beyond 0.3 carats, if you are not offered a certificate, there is a problem and you really need to ask for it.

What are the alternatives to diamond?

What you need to know is that there are many stones other than diamonds. Precisely, for reasons of budget but also of taste to want to change a little bit, if you want to go elsewhere, there are other stones which are magnificent and which are very popular for really very good quality/price ratios. For example a sapphire, so it is a stone that is blue, it is the second most appreciated stone in fact by women. So if you don't necessarily have a budget for diamonds, go for sapphire. It really is a stone that is very popular, which goes with everything, which is both classic, timeless, and which is of excellent quality. It is truly a very precious stone. So this is the second stone to choose.

Then there is what we call emerald. So, the green stone. A little more difficult to wear. It is perhaps a little less popular because green is not necessarily a color that is always popular. But it is also a magnificent gemstone. So, it may be a good choice.

A very pretty stone and one that is very popular for engagement rings, that's what I showed you earlier, it's aquamarine. So aquamarine is a very light blue. And this is an excellent quality/price ratio. You will be able to have very large stones for prices that are very competitive. We, for example, have a stone about this size, so a large stone measuring eight millimeters. In aquamarine, we have certain jewelry in size of eight millimeters which cost 1,000 euros. So for a very large stone, you ultimately have an excellent quality/price ratio. So aquamarine can be a great choice too.

Which metal to choose for your wedding ring?

What are the possible metal choices for an engagement ring?

In metal, there are three choices: there are silver, gold and platinum. I don't recommend silver a little for an engagement ring even if it's the cheapest thing. Quite simply because over time, silver often oxidizes and therefore turns black. And so, it requires a lot of maintenance. So it's very good for people who have a very small budget, and at that time, I recommend it to them. But let's say for anyone who wants to say to themselves well my engagement ring, I want to keep it, in any case I want my girlfriend to keep it for a very long time, I do not recommend silver because she will be disappointed, the jewel will turn black and well, it's always a little annoying to have an engagement ring that turns black. So what I recommend is more white gold or platinum because it's quite good value for money compared to platinum, which costs less than platinum even if it costs more than silver . It's perfectly white, so it's very easy to wear. It goes with everything, it goes with all stones, whether diamond, sapphire, ruby. It will go with it. And the immense advantage of white gold is that it scratches relatively little. So really, it's something that doesn't require a huge amount of maintenance.

There is a small disadvantage to white gold though and I have to say it, it is that white gold will develop a patina over time. It will yellow a little. Because in fact, white gold is just gold, 75% yellow gold. That's why we call it 750 thousandths gold, so 75% or sometimes we call it 18 carats too. And the rest are alloys of other metals. For example, there's a little bit of copper, there's a little bit of silver in there that will give it this white color. But over time, moreover, on top of that, we also add what we call rhodium plating, so it's a small surface treatment which will really give it its white tint. The thing is that over time, the surface treatment fades a little. That's why it leaves a little bit of yellow underneath. It won't turn completely yellow like yellow gold, but it will yellow a little bit. We can re-rhodium it, put a surface treatment on it but you still have to know it a little bit.

That's the big difference with platinum because platinum is a metal that is intrinsically white. Platinum is completely white and that will never change. So if you ever know that you want an engagement ring that stays perfectly white over time, you have to go for platinum. But what you need to know is that platinum already costs more than gold and it is 40% heavier than gold. So not only does it basically cost more but also for this same piece of jewelry, you need more platinum than gold. So it really costs significantly more. So you just have to know it. Third thing for platinum is that you should know that unlike gold, it scratches quite a bit.

So, everything is never perfect in jewelry. Either we take white gold to summarize, and the white gold will yellow a little but will remain perfectly smooth; either you take platinum, it will remain white but on the other hand, you will know that it will scratch a little. Afterwards, there are obviously other golds. There is in particular the yellow gold that I show you here. This way, we can clearly see what it is. It's very yellow. Today, it's a little less appreciated than before because it's seen a little bit as traditional, let's say. Afterwards, there are women who love yellow gold. For me, for example, it's true that I like yellow gold because it looks pretty good on brunettes. If you have ever identified that your girlfriend often wears yellow gold jewelry, or even yellow gold jewelry that she likes, you can go for yellow gold. Otherwise, frankly I advise against it and I advise you to go for white gold or platinum.

The last metal that we offer and which is interesting is rose gold. It's this one, we see it. It's a bit like yellow gold but it's softer. It's a little more discreet, we'll say. And that's a new trend that's very popular because it's an alternative to white gold, it's more original. And at the same time, it allows you to have something softer, a little less old-fashioned, let's say, than yellow gold. So, it’s really something that works a lot. The advantage of rose gold and yellow gold is that unlike white gold, they never lose their color. They are inherently this color, so that means that really, it will stay pink like that for life. And yellow gold, the same, it will remain yellow all life.

What are the different qualities of gold?

Many people think that there are different qualities of gold and there are. In fact, there is what we call 18 carat or 750 thousandths gold, that's what I was telling you. It's actually, it contains 75% pure gold, yellow gold and the rest is alloys. If we used 100% pure gold, it would be too soft and therefore quite fragile. The jewelry could become twisted. So, that's why we use this alloy of 75% pure gold, what we call 18 carat. Then there are other alloys. For example, you may have heard of 14k gold, 9k gold. And in fact, that simply means that there is less pure gold in the total alloy. This means that there is less gold and there are more other metals like silver for example. And so in fact, it allows us to have lower prices because what is expensive in the metal is gold, not silver. And therefore obviously, this allows for cheaper prices. But also the quality is less good because if there is more silver, there will be more of the chemical properties of silver. And what is the chemical property of silver? It’s because it blackens and it’s because it gets scratched. So obviously, a piece of jewelry made from 9 carat gold or 14 carat gold will darken much more and scratch much more than jewelry made from 18 carat gold. You have to be careful when you buy your gold engagement ring that it is 18 carat gold.

How to recognize 18 carat gold?

What you need to know is that all jewelry in fact, whether 18 carat, 14 carat, 9 carat must be hallmarked by the State. And today, the French law, the legislation is that all jewelry is hallmarked. So we concretely, all the jewelry that leaves our home, we take it to customs, they give a little punch after checking that it is indeed 18 carat gold to certify that it is gold 18 carat. And so, you will have like here a little eagle's head which certifies that it is 18 carats. For platinum, for example, it's a little dog's head. For the money, it's a little owl's face. So there you have it, customs are having a little fun with the jewelry and putting little animals everywhere, but that certifies that it's good quality.

And the other thing to note though is for the little jewels. So, small fine jewelry that weighs less than 3 grams. You won't have a hallmark because it distorts the jewelry so it's normal. Don't worry, if you ever have a very fine piece of jewelry or small earrings, you don't need to have a hallmark. But for all other jewelry, be careful to have this little diamond shape because it certifies that you have 18 carat gold.

What style of wedding ring should you choose?

How to choose an engagement ring?

An engagement ring, despite everything, must be relatively classic because you want to wear it all your life and it symbolizes something. We need to see that it's an engagement ring. And that's why very often, we see, we say to ourselves that people still have a fairly classic piece of jewelry as an engagement ring. This is because you actually don't want to have an engagement ring that doesn't look like an engagement ring. When you're a girl in general, you want everyone to know that you're engaged, and so you really want it to be noticed. And so, typically, I brought it out to you because it is really the very symbol of the engagement ring. It's 6 claws, so it's something very traditional with a solitaire that's 6 millimeters, so it's a nice size of stone, and it allows you to buy it for example in sapphire. In diamond, it's a little more expensive and it's a ring that is quite fine. So it's still quite delicate, it's quite feminine. This is really typically the kind of ring that is very popular for an engagement ring.

Afterwards, if you know that your future fiancée has tastes perhaps a little more atypical, she does not necessarily want to have the great classic, we can have fun taking a classic and adapting it a little bit, to put a few more little details. So, for example, we are going to put paving on the sides. This is the case for this engagement ring, which is a more modern ring. There are only two prongs, so it really highlights the stone. There is a paving, so there is diamond on the sides. This is for women who have tastes that are perhaps a little more graphic, who will like to wear clothes that are a little more rock, that kind of thing. You'll like it a lot more.

Another option which is an interesting option for women who have quite long hands, often they like to have rings which are quite large. So women who are quite tall like to wear big jewelry. And so at this point, you also need a big engagement ring. That can be a little small for a woman who is quite tall. For a girl who's quite tall, that means she's, I don't know, over six feet tall. Above six feet, I would go more for jewelry like that. So this one for example which, as I am a dwarf, is not going very well. But it's a ring that really grabs the finger. And so, it’s really very beautiful because it’s so visible. It looks very engagement ring and it has an art deco style that will please a lot. Typically, a woman who is a little taller, it's a piece of jewelry called the Anastasia ring, which is very popular with women of larger body shape because, quite simply, they know that they want rings that are visible. So this gem may be interesting.

Really, you have to try to adapt according to the woman's size. If it is quite small, take a ring that is also a little small, if it is larger, take a ring that covers the finger a little more. But overall, you still have to remain relatively classic in the engagement ring because it is a piece of jewelry that she will keep all her life and above all, think about it, she wants it to symbolically resemble an engagement ring.

What engagement ring designs should you avoid or favor?

You have all seen when you went to small neighborhood jewelry stores the famous daisy ring which is – I don't have one precisely because we don't make this type of jewelry – but it is an oval or a round, and around, lots of small stones like a small flower. It's true that it's still quite a ring from our grandmothers and so, well, it might please people. It's a bit like Kate Middleton's ring after all. So, it has become somewhat fashionable again. But it's still quite out of fashion, so that's not very popular. What we really like now is the fairly thin rings. This is why we, for example, like this model a lot because in fact, it really highlights the stone. Today, what we really like is having fairly thin rings. Either go for a fairly thin ring that will highlight the stone, or go for a fairly contemporary, fairly modern ring like this one that will cover the hand. Between the two, I'd say it's best to avoid.

How to determine ring size?

This is a ring sizer. This is what traditional jewelers use. So what is it? It's full of little rings that you will be able to put on your finger or different ones put on your finger to know the size of your finger, and indicate the size of your finger here. The problem is that it's not very discreet. So, what we did at Gemyo was to develop a ring sizer service. In fact, it's free on the site. Just ask, it's signposted very well. We are sending you two letters. The first is a letter explaining that you can use a small ribbon here. You put it around your finger like that. And so while she is sleeping for example, it can work, I have friends who have done it, you pass it around her finger and like that, you will know the size of the finger. You have lots of little numbers here. That's one way.

Otherwise, an even more discreet way to keep the surprise is this. It's just actually lots of little circumferences on which you have finger sizes. You must therefore discreetly steal a ring and place it on top. It's pretty well explained, you just need the finger size of the ring to go around here and that allows you to know the finger size. And it's actually a good way to still know the size of the finger knowing that we also offer re-sizing for free. So, we re-make the jewel if necessary, we resize it if necessary and you made a mistake quite simply because we know that it is complicated to know the size of the finger without messing up. the surprise.

What should I do if I'm really afraid of making a mistake?

If you are completely lost, you can call us because we love trying to help our customers because that's how we created the company in the beginning. It’s because we ourselves didn’t know how to buy an engagement ring. And above all, what you need to say is that what really matters when you buy an engagement ring is the story you tell with it. Obviously, it counts to have the biggest budget, the most beautiful stone, the biggest diamond. But if you ever say that you had it made by a jewelry brand, a custom piece of jewelry that you have had the headache of choosing between sapphire, diamond, white gold, that she feels that you you know about it and you have spent time on it, it is 100% sure that it will work. So in fact, in reality, we still have to put things into perspective a little. If ever, she is not happy with her engagement ring and she is really not nice to you, she should let you know, plus I think you need to ask a little questions. little about the girl, but what I can say is that you really have to go with the heart and tell a story and do it like, be sincere because that's what's going to work.

What are the engraving possibilities on a Gemyo ring?

Well, if you ever film our walls a little, you will see that in fact at Gemyo, we love our customers' engravings and therefore, we even display them on our nicest walls. So, we have some people who propose by indicating on the engagement ring: Will you marry me? Which is pretty cute though. But we have much more absurd stuff too. We got: Are you bald? We found it quite nice. But that's not I think on an engagement ring. In any case, it was a small reference, I don't know. But overall, it's very often the wedding date or a little secret that you told each other, well, a little note that you kept. Well, I don't know, a little reference in the couple you see. It's true that it's nice because she's the only one who knows who has this word. She carries it close to her heart. It's his life. An engagement ring is symbolic so you might as well go all the way. It's the story that counts.