Katie Warren/Business Insider
Wegman inspects a diamond through a magnifying glass at Ring Concierge's NYC office.
- Nicole Wegman is the founder and CEO of Ring Concierge, a company that designs and sells customized engagement rings ranging from $10,000 to well into the six figures.
- Wegman and her team say it's important to choose a ring style that matches your lifestyle, because some designs are more high maintenance than others.
- If you tend to be hard on jewelry, you should avoid styles with micro pave set diamonds on the band and go for a more minimal style.
When it comes to engagement rings, many people are obsessed with finding the perfect, colorless, flawless diamond.
What they don't always consider is choosing a style that matches their lifestyle, according to Nicole Wegman, founder and CEO of Ring Concierge, a company that designs and sells customized engagement rings ranging from $10,000 to well into the six figures.
If you know you're hard on jewelry or you don't take your ring off at the gym, you should consider a lower maintenance setting, Wegman says.
"A zero maintenance setting is our Whisper Thin, as there are no micro pave set diamonds on the band," Wegman said. "It's easy to keep clean and goes with everything when it comes to stackable jewelry and wedding bands."
Katie Warren/Business Insider
The low-maintenance Whisper Thin, one of Ring Concierge's most popular ring settings.
The Whisper Thin is one of Ring Concierge's most popular signature ring settings.
What Wegman wouldn't recommend for certain lifestyles are rings with many tiny diamonds.
The setting on Ring Concierge's Devon ring, for example, has "three rows of diamonds, and if you think about the size of the prongs that hold each diamond, they're microscopic," Wegman said.
Ring Concierge
The Devon floating oval engagement ring with three rows of micropave set diamonds.
"We sell this all the time, and it's fine, but if you know you're the type of person that's never going to take your ring off when you're at the gym, the likelihood of you knocking one of these prongs is pretty high," she said. "We fix them [for free] - it's not a big deal - but it's just inconvenient for you to say, 'I knocked another one out.'"
And if you want something sturdy but still has plenty of sparkle?
"Let's say you travel quite a bit and want something you can wear comfortably without sacrificing that sparkle," Wegman said. "Eternity bands are an excellent go-to. They're easy to wear anywhere and every day, you truly never have to think twice about this style!"
Ring Concierge
An emerald cut eternity band from Ring Concierge.
Ring Concierge previously told Business Insider that many people neglect to take off their engagement rings when they're exercising, which can lead to damage and potential stone loss.
Another place you should never wear your engagement ring is in the ocean.
"You go swimming in the ocean, your fingers get cold, they shrink, the water acts as a lubricant, and your ring is gone," Wegman said. "When you say it out loud, it sounds like common sense. But people are just, they're packing up to go to the beach and they don't think to take it off, and then what are you going to do with it? Drop it in your beach bag?"
If you tend to be hard on jewelry, a lower maintenance setting should be a top priority as you choose an engagement ring, Taylor Lanore, a diamond expert and Ring Concierge's PR director, told Business Insider. But of course, that shouldn't keep you from choosing your dream ring.
"In the end, the majority of our clients prefer to go with their very favorite looking setting design (after all, we want to make you your dream ring!) and then they adjust their habits and lifestyles every so slightly to accommodate the designs by removing their rings before heavy activities, cleaning and sleep," Lanore said.