While engagement ring designs are starting to get exciting—we see you, Kaley Cuoco, and your asymmetrical three-stone ring—manufacturers tell us those super untraditional looks are still a ways off from going mainstream.

“We’ve seen that traditional styles are still relevant, but there is a certain amount of growth towards the more modern looks,” explains Sam Hupp, vice president of sales and marketing for Paris 1901, a division of Prime Art & Jewel.

Contemporary styles include thicker shanks to accommodate larger center stones.

Prime Art & Jewel

“We are incorporating more stable mountings that support larger stones,” adds Hupp. “With the opportunity to purchase a lab grown diamond, women can get much larger stone looks for more approachable prices.”

Large center stones have been trending for years since lab grown diamonds have grown in popularity, but they’re also in demand among mined diamond shoppers.

“Most of our custom work is adjusting existing semi mounts to fit larger stones—usually 2 carats and up,” says Valerie Fletcher, vice president of design and product development, ODI. “We only sell natural diamonds.”

Theresa Namie, merchandise manager, Ostbye, has also been making designs to fit larger centers. Styles in her Forever Elegant line feature easy-to-adjust peg heads while others have larger crowns. Ostbye sells both mined and synthetic diamonds.

“Our collection of lab-grown bridal sells well in the simple designs but is a small percentage of our bridal business,” she explains.

Hupp, meanwhile, is all in on lab-growns. “Our position for engagement rings will only be lab-grown given where the market is and where our national retail bases are,” he says.

Besides larger center stones, other desirable engagement ring designs are executed in yellow gold. Namie reveals that her accounts ask for bold gold designs with retro-inspired 1980s–1990s rings—“Yellow Gold has been great for the last two years,” she says—while vintage looks also have some appeal. For those buyers, Namie has boho-inspired styles with leaf and floral motifs.

ODI’s Fletcher is also moving yellow gold engagement rings, particularly “yellow gold rings with fancy-shape side diamonds and non-traditional scattered diamond looks,” she explains. And Hupp, too, is upbeat on yellow, insisting that it “is his leader in metal color.”

Mixed metals aren’t too far behind. Namie sees it, as does Surbhi Jain, marketing director, Shefi Diamonds. “[Mixed-metal] rings are in high demand,” she notes.

And because of the value of platinum’s price now compared to karat gold, some manufacturers are moving more in that metal. “Non-halo platinum classics are doing well, as are channel-set cathedral mountings, delicate micro-prong looks, and heavy solitaires,” notes Fletcher.

      Ostbye

Jain, too, notes the popularity of cathedral settings among her buyers. “Paired with matching bands, they offer a sophisticated and enduring style,” she says. Other clients still ask for hidden halos, though demand for halo styles overall is diminishing.

When it comes to center stone shape, fancy shapes have truly taken off. Shefi Diamonds’ Jain says emerald cuts are faves among her buyers and Asscher cuts are making some inroads. Others are also moving emerald cuts, as well as ovals, elongated cushions, radiants, and pears. And what of rounds? You know they’re still tops. “Rounds will always be the queen,” insists Hupp.