7 new alternative engagement ring trends to try in 2021

I got engaged over 18 months ago and I am still on the hunt for the perfect engagement ring. My problem? There is just too much choice. I, like so many people these days, am shunning the traditional white diamond solitaire in favour of something a little different - and the alternative ring options out there have never been cooler.

Alas, I am still yet to decide on The Ring - my own quest rumbles on - but with Valentine's Day around the corner, I've put my extensive research of the capital's jewellers to good use.

After something chunkier rather than dainty? Want 10 stones rather than one? Looking for the perfect gemstone for you? I have you covered. Below, some of London's finest alternative engagement ring designers share the styles and cuts to know for 2021.

Salt and pepper diamonds

Rachel Boston, founder of her eponymous East London-based boutique jewellers, says she has noticed clients asking for bolder, statement designs with quite sizeable stones in the last few months. “Maybe this reflects our need for a little bit of escapism and glamour in our daily lives of lockdown,” she observes.

Salt and pepper diamonds are one of Boston's signature styles, and they're increasingly popular with clients. "We've also been using quite a lot of fancy grey diamonds, and champagne and cognac ones too: they're still recognisable as diamonds, but their rich colours make them decidedly unique," she says. "We have also seen a lot of mixing of grey and white diamonds to wonderful effect, and I think this will continue."

Rich textures with stacking options

In Muswell Hill, Laura Kay, director of Tomfoolery, who started the jewellers' hugely popular Alt.Bride section, has seen an uptick in customers looking for bespoke rings. "Buying an engagement ring is no different to buying a painting, it's something you look at every day but you don't want it to be something that's in every household. It needs to feel like like it was made for you.” As well as selling unique rings from a range of top designers, Tomfoolery also offers a service whereby clients can gift a stone to their loved one so that they can be involved in the design process from start to finish.

Trend-wise, Kay notes dynamic layouts, mixed textures, unique colour groupings, engraving details and stacking options. “Customers love the possibilities of building your own series of rings, mixing textures, gemstones, and some go for half shields, giving you the option to dress up up or dress down your stack.” Look to designers like Polly Wales and Ruth Tomlinson for new granulation details cast against antique cuts, she suggests.

Meanwhile, Ellis Mhari Cameron's molten gold ring with sunken cognacs (above) plays with texture on a wider band.

Balanced asymmetry

Jeweller Michelle Oh says: "More and more people are asking us for rings that look and feel unusual, as far away as possible from the standard single-diamond 'solitaire' style that has dominated the engagement ring ideal for such a long time. Rather than have one single main stone, 'you and me' rings often showcase two stones with equal emphasis. The stones are usually selected to represent each half of a couple in the relationship.” The bespoke ring above features a 2ct pear cut yellow sapphire and a 0.15ct round brilliant cut white diamond on a yellow gold band.

Another bespoke creation, the design above combines mixed cuts of teal and green sapphires, tourmalines, and white diamond.

A pop of colour

Lucy Crowther, founder of Minka Jewels, has some of the most stunning coloured gemstones I've come across, as illustrated in the Athena electric green tourmaline cocktail ring above. "More than ever clients are searching for something different to traditional engagement rings. The brief is often for a piece which will stand out from the crowd and coloured stones do this perfectly," she says.

Modern, chunky rings

London-based jeweller and goldsmith Jessie Thomas has designed a range of cool, chunky gypsy rings (as above). "I think the trend for statement, gypsy set rings will continue. I love the bold, sculptural aesthetic of them. They feel more unique and make for a cool, wearable statement piece, yet remains a ‘classic’. You can wear these rings all day every day and they’ll survive which is what you need in an engagement ring - plus it’s a great way to set a large stone if you feel you don’t want it to be too showy," she says.

Crowther offers her own take on the gypsy ring style in her latest collection with an added flash of colour, as illustrated in the pink blue tourmaline above. "Last year we saw the revival of the gypsy ring, I think this design will continue to be popular with the chunky jewellery fans and I’m looking forward to seeing more tourmalines featured." 

Thomas predicts pear and oval cut stones will be making a comeback in 2021, but with a modern twists. "I love using pears, they are interesting yet don’t have the harsh feel of more square cut stones, they also hide imperfections well (as with brilliants)," she says. "I like to set them in delicate white claws to show them off. I also love working with oval cut diamonds, they bring the same feeling of softness for me as a pear, however, you have to be careful when choosing an oval, a badly cut one just looks like a potato (known as the bow-tie effect)."

Above, Boston combines a pear diamond with a wide yellow gold band giving it a contemporary look. "For 2021, we foresee beautiful, unusual stones, paired with playful wider bands or double bands," she says.

Geometric shapes with baguette diamonds

Geometric shapes are big news for 2021, according to the experts I spoke to. "We've definitely seen a resurgence of Art-Deco inspired rings with modern twists. Lots of unusual geometric cut stones, radiant and emerald cuts, baguette side stones and bands, rubover settings," Boston says.

At Tomfoolery, Kay is also seeing plenty of antique throwback and statement stone cuts, such as half moons and baguettes.

The alternative trilogy

The three-stone ring trend inspired by Meghan Markle's engagement ring is still going strong, Oh says, "but we're noticing people putting their own spin on it by going for diamond and coloured stone combinations, or unusual shaped stones and non-traditional settings.  Our Anika ring is a good example, mixing oval and rectangular shapes for an updated look to the traditional three-stone silhouette."

Sapphires continue to reign supreme, she adds, and predicts this will continue well into 2021. The Danja ring (above) combines geometric design details to deliver a fresh take on the trilogy. "Another way to update the three-stone style is to stick to the classics with most of the elements but choose to go bold on just one or two features which can create a beautiful marriage between the old and new," she adds.