Glam Slam: Will You Marry Me?

Did you know that 10 percent of couples get engaged on Valentine’s Day? That is a lot of marriage proposals… and rings! Simon Ghanimian, head designer for Simon G. jewelry (Lindsay Price, Christina Ricci and Amanda Seyfried are fans) gives us five big bridal bling trends.

BOLD BRILLIANT COLOR
Color is in and the trend is going only one direction – up! For a woman with an untraditional style, a colored diamond engagement ring is a good bet. Celebrities, of course, realized this long before the rest of us and a good part of the modern trend toward engagement rings with colored stones can be traced back to Jennifer Lopez, who during her engagement to Ben Affleck flaunted a ring with a six-carat pink diamond. $1.2 million is beyond most of our budgets but there are a bevy of less opulent choices including tanzanite, rubies or sapphire in pretty much any color you can think of.

ROMANTIC RETRO
Proposing with a vintage ring always gives a romantic edge to your engagement. Whether it is a family heirloom or a new piece crafted using modernized vintage techniques, a vintage engagement ring has character, history and warmth. New vintage-inspired rings are being meticulously designed to be just as beautiful as their successors. Platinum is the metal of choice, but white gold is another option for vintage styles, which are best suited for cool metals. Vintage and vintage-inspired rings say the person is passionate, optimistic and hopelessly romantic. Celebrities such as Kate Walsh, Christina Aguilera and Jennifer Love Hewitt love vintage styles.

HALO SETTINGS
A halo setting is a center stone encircled by smaller stones, which creates, you got it, a halo effect. This gives a very rich look to the ring, so you can opt for a smaller center, yet still have a bold look, because the outer ring of stones creates an optical illusion that makes the center stone appear larger. The precious stones forming the halo portions of the ring do not necessarily have to be diamonds themselves. You can add some color by incorporating a favorite stone including rubies, blue or pink sapphires, yellow diamonds, emeralds or any other gem that you would like to use.

TWIST RINGS
Engagement rings with a little more swing are definitely catching on so much so that it has been named a trend for 2010. From swirling diamond bands to more streamlined metal twists, you’ll be enamored with this smooth move. Twisted or swirling bands are a modern choice and these can be symmetric or asymmetric to the central stone. A very contemporary look is a smooth metal band intertwined with a diamond-studded band.

SPLIT BANDS
An increasingly popular alternative to the eternity band, are rings featuring a split-band, where the band is divided into two or even three parts. A split band helps to emphasize the center stone and complements both square and round gems. Depending on taste and budget a split band can be plain metal or can be embellished with a halo setting and tiny pave stones along each band. Celeb fans of this style include Jennifer Hudson, Nicole Richie and Katie Holmes.

For more information, visit www.simongjewelry.com.

FEEL GOOD FASHION
Need a Valentine’s Gift that’s truly from the heart? February is American Heart Month and Storksak and Babymel will donate 20% of online sales this month of two styles of bags to the American Heart Association. Help fight Heart Disease, which is the #1 killer of women AND help an expecting mom or new parent look chic all at the same time! Go to www.storksak.com and www.babymel.com for all the details.