Castiel Supernatural inspired engagement ring

A tribute to our favorite blue-eyed angel Castiel on Supernatural. Custom engagement ring exclusive to Distinction Jewelry.

Gemstone:

► Montana Sapphire
► Approximately 5.5mm round, light blue, roughly .80ct.
► Natural with possible heat treatment to enhance color.
► Sourced with care through our network of small businesses, miners, artisan cutters, and labs. Fairly traded gems support individuals and small businesses worldwide.
► Imaging: Ring images are CGI renders, not photographs. They don't tend to represent colored gemstones accurately, so we've included a photograph of the actual gem. 

Accent Diamonds:

► Sixteen round cut champagne diamonds, ranging in size between 0.8 and 1.8mm, with a total carat weight of 0.16 carats.

Band:

► Solid precious metal. 100% recycled; refined, alloyed, and cast in the US. "New" gold used by many major jewelry retailers cuts costs but supports toxic, environmentally destructive mining practices and in some cases, slave labor.

A Gemstone Engagement Ring?

Glorious colors at a fraction of the cost of a diamond? Yes, please! We don't just offer gemstone engagement rings, we revel in them - and we have some battle-hardened words of advice. Not all gems are the same when it comes to durability, and an engagement ring needs to be more resilient than any other piece of jewelry. You're ideally going to wear this for a lifetime, and pass it on to loved ones long after that - but many gems will see worn-down facets, cracks, and chips tarnish their beauty after time takes its toll. 

Key question: Are you going to get attached to the gem you were engaged with?

Some people buy a less expensive stone as a placeholder until they can responsibly splurge on something more extravagant later on. Others like change, and some simply aren't attached to the center gem. If this is the case, buy whatever you feel like! The only risk you have is that the gem will be damaged before you're prepared to pay for another one - but the relative affordability of colored gemstones means that in many cases, even that wouldn't hurt the wallet too badly. But if you can tell it's going to make you (or your SO, if you're shopping in secret) grieve if you have to replace the gem, then listen carefully to the advice coming up.

What gems are hard enough for engagement rings?

To cut to the chase: Moissanite, Alexandrite, chrysoberyl, sapphire, and ruby. None of these are as durable as a diamond (though Moissanite comes really close!), but they outrank all others by a wide margin. They are also more likely to see damage due to facet abrasion than chips and cracks, meaning that if they start looking rough in a decade or two, you can have them re-polished instead of replaced. 

Cautionary note 1: If you're doing your research, you'll see something called the Mohs scale of hardness. It runs from 1-10 (diamonds are 10, sapphires and rubies are 9). You'll find lots of gems that look almost as hard on the Mohs scale and think, "Ohhh, that's 8, that's almost as good as a sapphire at 9!" Nope. It's a ordinal scale, which has no standard of measurement for differences. In terms of absolute hardness, a diamond (10) has a hardness of 1500, while a sapphire (9) has a hardness of only 400! This little fact should give you some insight into why diamonds are so popular and why it's dangerous to use the Mohs scale as a guide without knowing much about gems.

Cautionary note 2: Just because a website or jewelry store labels something an engagement ring does not mean the stone in it is durable enough! It's a little rage-inducing to see pearl and opal "engagement rings" in particular, because a pearl has roughly the hardness of your fingernail, and opals crack if you look at them snarky. We ONLY tag rings set with diamonds, Moissanite, chrysoberyl, Alexandrite, ruby, and sapphire as engagement rings, because we're not money-grabbing cave goblins with a desire to see brides-to-be cry. I mean, if that's your thing, go for it - we'll role-play too once we have your informed consent. Also, no gem is indestructible. Your sapphire isn't going to look amazing after your nephew plays with it with a belt sander, and if you're into slamming your fingers in car doors, you might want to take your ring off first.

But - but - I want this one!

So, let's say purely hypothetically, that you've read all this and you have that pouty feeling in your gut because you fell in love with a ring that you cannot haz. The gem is just too fragile to survive you - you slay monsters for breakfast and scale mountains when you're feeling low. Never fear - everything we do is custom. That means we can help you pick out an appropriately hard-ass gemstone, and set it in the ring design you're lusting after. 

A Distinction Jewelry Exclusive Design

Embrace the real you with an exclusive, custom made, designer ring. Proposing? Your one-in-a-million deserves to say yes to a designer ring that will never be found on clearance in a smudged shop window.

Each ring is made to order in exactly your size using a combination of a sophisticated jeweler's CAD system, modern CAM milling technology and old-school hands-on artisan goldsmithing. With this technology you get a completely custom ring in just weeks rather than several months. It takes an average of only 3-8 weeks from the time your order is finalized.

Choose just about any precious metal - platinum, palladium, silver, gold from 10k to 22k, even exotic golds like rose or green gold. Engrave it in your handwriting, or choose a font and fill color (band width permitting). If our signature mirror polish finish doesn't do it for you, pick from eight different surface textures. Hammered and satin are the most popular. Just send us an email for non-stock options.

If nothing you see is quite right, and you want a ring that really sings to your heart, we can help. Custom design is what we do!

Why Distinction Jewelry?

It's easy to look at all of the things wrong with society, with business, and how 'things are done' and do nothing. As small cogs in a giant gear, it's easy to feel helpless. But we aren't. Small choices on the part of each of those cogs add up to something powerful and special. As a small business owner, I want to build something humanity can be proud of; a commercial endeavor that improves the lives of those it touches.

We are woman-owned and operated, a US small business, and we believe fair trade principles should apply to Americans, too. Our goal is to build a business that benefits employees with good jobs, buys from other quality small businesses, and refuses to join the race to the bottom. Distinction Jewelry will never be your cheapest option, because we don't exploit cheap labor or materials. Even mundane details like the polishing compounds we use are the best on the market, used by top luxury watchmakers and jewelers.

Respecting our customers, our employees, and our planet.

Customers:

We will always provide you with the quality and radiant beauty of clean, artisan-crafted luxury you can feel good about wearing. Bring the beauty of true fine jewelry into your life. We always put quality ahead of cost; the goal is an exquisitely crafted piece that will be admired by future generations.

As a design-focused company, we strive to present you with designs that are exciting and unique, with a fresh aesthetic that catches the eye and sets you apart. We design for lasting durability, not just a fast sale; we're not going to sell you a fragile opal in an engagement ring or a thin, hollow band that won't last.

We are a LGBT+ friendly jeweler and are proud to work with people of all orientations and genders to create meaningful jewelry to celebrate engagements, weddings, and other special milestones in your life.

Employees:

We want to employ Americans at living wages, with modern human-friendly working conditions like working from home, flexible hours, and bringing pets to the office. At Distinction Jewelry, customer service is a priority and an honorable profession warranting the best people and pay.

As we grow, we're eager to empower brilliant, keenly skilled people regardless of race, gender, orientation, education, or other subtle factors that disadvantage those who do not come from privileged backgrounds. Our dream is to lift people higher with jobs that are accessible, fun, and fulfilling.

Planet:

We use ethically sourced gems from small businesses and individuals around the world. If we buy from small American companies, and individual miners in Africa, and small family businesses in India, our purchases can boost more than the economy: they can boost people.

We use sustainable US-recycled and refined metals. Hand-collected, responsibly mined, and lab grown gems all minimize environmental impact. Our packaging is carefully selected to use minimal plastic, while being re-usable and recyclable wherever possible.

Can one small brand do that? Take a path long abandoned by profits-first corporations, in a fiercely competitive market? That depends on you, our customers. Will you buy that cheap megastore ring that supports toxic mining and slave labor? Or will you join us in building the world you want, one choice at a time?

~

Caveats and Addendums*

Custom made items such as this ring cannot be returned. Please be sure of details like metal and stone choices, size, etc. before you order. Thanks for your understanding!

All values for stone size and weight are approximate.

* Yes, that is a Firefly reference.