Engagement Rings: Channel Setting

Should you decide on a channel setting for your engagement ring? It is a bit of a diversion from the traditional engagement ring with a rock in the middle and a slender metal band. However, if you were to look at it from a practical point of view, it makes a lot of sense. We asked Samara James, reputed jewellers what they thought about this trend. They were all for it. Not that they felt that the traditional design had run its course - far from it. That would always be in vogue. However, if a woman had to go to work and did a lot of the chores at home herself, it would probably be more practical to get a channel set ring.

How does the channel setting make engagement rings different? For one thing, they told us, the setting was a lot stronger - it is made like a channel into which the diamonds are placed. So the strength of the whole band protects them. In a solitaire prong setting, you have to depend on the four slender prongs to keep that expensive diamond safe - so regular check ups at the jewellers will have to be done. Taking that into account, a channel-set ring makes better sense.

That being said, there are inherent weaknesses in the channel setting as well. Because it is the combined pressure of all the diamonds set that provide the structural integritiy. So if one diamond in the setting goes then the relative pressure for the whole setting drops and there is a greatly increased chance of losing more diamonds. Whereas in a grain setting for example if one of the rings goes it does not effect the structural integrity of the rest of the diamonds. It is easy to think of this in terms of christmas lights, with lights that run on DC if one light goes, the entire set goes, whereas on AC if one light goes, the rest will still receive power.