7 Engagement Rings With Main Character Energy
The new rules of engagement? There aren’t any. These nontraditional engagement rings put individuality front and center.
The engagement ring hasn’t lost its meaning, but it’s definitely losing its rules. Love and commitment are still the whole point. What’s changed is everything else. More and more couples are embracing customization and personalization, making nontraditional engagement rings the natural choice for a generation that values individuality over convention for convention’s sake. Sharmit Shah, the Founder and CEO of Sunshine Diamonds Ltd. said, “The shift I’ve noticed over the past few years has been pretty dramatic. Couples aren’t just obsessing over the center stone anymore — the setting itself has become the place where people express something personal.”
Fie Isolde, Founder & Creative Director of Fie Isolde, says, “The setting has become a reflection of personal style. Clients are considering silhouette, metal weight, texture, bezels, proportions, and how a ring feels on the hand. Increasingly, they’re choosing rings based on design first, with the diamond serving as one element within a larger creative vision. I believe the future of engagement rings will be less about following tradition and more about creating something deeply personal. Our designs resonate because they balance individuality with longevity – pieces that feel distinctive today and will still feel relevant decades from now.”
Meet the Experts
Emily Kuvin began designing jewelry in high school and has spent years refining her aesthetic and craftsmanship. She holds a BA and a JD from Cornell University, an MSJ from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, and has completed coursework at the Gemological Institute of America (GIA). Today, she designs from her New York City studio, where she lives.
Fie Isolde is a Danish-born designer who founded her eponymous fine jewelry brand in 2019. Guided by a deep fascination with gold, diamonds, and precious gemstones, her work is defined by sculptural forms, balanced proportions, and a design language that feels both powerful and timeless.
Sharmit Shah is the Founder and CEO of Sunshine Diamonds Ltd., a British jewelry company based in London’s Hatton Garden. The brand is known for its customizable, ethically sourced diamond and gemstone jewelry.
From East-West settings to bezel to the swoon-worthy Toi et Moi, these ring styles are everywhere right now. Here’s how they’re reshaping what a unique ring can look like for couples who want something different.
East-West Settings
The East-West setting is a popular choice, and one increasingly marketed as gender-neutral thanks to its sleek, low-profile look that steers away from a traditional prong solitaire. It simply turns elongated diamond cuts—like emerald, oval, pear, and marquise—horizontal. It somehow feels modern while staying timeless.
A recent, prime example is superstar Zendaya’s engagement ring from actor Tom Holland. She debuted the ring at the 2025 Golden Globes: a 5.02-carat East-West-set cushion-cut diamond, rumored to be designed by British jeweler Jessica McCormack, featuring a Georgian-style cut-down setting in 18k white and yellow gold. The horizontal placement gives the vintage-inspired cut a distinctly modern edge. Kate Hudson and Joey King also have East-West engagement rings.
“East-West ring settings are the perfect marriage (pun intended) of traditional and contemporary style. Setting a stone horizontally is literally, but subtly, turning a traditional engagement ring on its head. It is a respectful nod to a classic ring, but with a contemporary vibe,” says Emily Kuvin, Founder of Emily Kuvin Jewelry. “The best cuts for an east-west orientation are the ones that are long when set north-south …They are elegant and just a little sassy when set this way.”
Shah agrees that part of the appeal is just how different a familiar shape can look once it’s rotated. Depending on the cut, she notes, that horizontal placement can even make the diamond appear larger or more distinctive on the hand than a traditional vertical setting would. “It reads more modern, a bit more relaxed, without losing any elegance.”
Bezel Settings
For the practical modern couple, the bezel setting—which surrounds the center diamond with a thin metal rim—offers serious protection, making it a dream come true for anyone with an active lifestyle or nagging anxiety about damaging their ring. Bezel settings come in two main styles: full, where the diamond is completely encased in metal, and partial, which maximizes light and enhances brilliance (more on that style in a bit).
That extra metal isn’t just practical, according to Kuvin: “There are several factors at play in the new love for bezel settings. A bezel setting requires more metal than a prong setting. Since gold has become so expensive, using more of it means a more expensive ring and therefore reads as more luxurious. A bezel also has a clean, simple geometric look to it, which feels contemporary and design-forward.”
Miley Cyrus offers a recent example: her engagement ring from Maxx Morando, a cushion-cut diamond set in a chunky yellow gold bezel, gives the piece a sculptural, modern presence that stands apart from a traditional solitaire. Dua Lipa’s ring from Callum Turner also embraces the trend, with a round diamond set low in a semi-bezel on a bold, chunky gold band. And Zendaya’s ring itself blends both looks—an East-West orientation set within a bezel frame.
Half-Bezel Settings
The half-bezel setting is another popular alternative, and a natural next step from the full bezel. In this style, only part of the diamond is enclosed, allowing more light to pass through and enhancing the stone’s brilliance. It still offers the security of a bezel setting, just with more sparkle. Half-bezels also accentuate the diamond by hugging its curves or straight sides, depending on the shape.
That shift from purely functional to fashion-forward is exactly what draws Shah to bezel settings in general: “They started as a practical way to protect a stone, but jewellers have gotten so much better at refining that look. It can feel sleek and intentional now, not just safe. People assume a bezel kills the sparkle, but that’s not really true in my experience. Done well, it actually frames the stone and can make the depth more noticeable, not less.”
Open Rings Settings
Open ring settings sound exactly as described and are the ultimate style for fashion-forward brides or grooms, since they let you see the full architecture of the ring. As the name suggests, the setting has a gap or opening that leaves the bottom of your diamond exposed. It’s an interesting design choice, but it’s also just practical for people who keep their hands busy day to day. The diamond sits lower in the setting, so there’s less chance of knocking it into a wall or a glass.
From a design angle, that lower setting lets more light shine through the diamond, giving it a bit of a disco ball effect. And if you’ve ever washed your hands and gotten soap trapped under your ring, that’s a non-issue here. You can access the bottom of the stone and just wipe it clean.
That sense of openness is exactly what draws people to the style, according to Isolde: “The use of negative space creates visual lightness, giving a ring a contemporary feel without being trend-driven. One of our most popular designs, the My Ray Cushion Diamond Ring, features open sides that allow light to pass through the stone while showcasing its cut. The open design elevates the diamond and softens the look of our signature solid gold band, creating a balance between boldness and femininity. The best open designs introduce something unexpected while maintaining a sophisticated silhouette that will stand the test of time.”
Button-Back Settings
Though it’s often called a new setting, the button-back actually traces back 300 years to the Georgian era. A button-back ring has a collet (or cutdown) setting, a closed-back diamond setting technique that was popular during that time. The diamond sits in a precisely crafted metal cup, with the surrounding metal gently pressed over the stone’s crown, creating a sleek frame that offers both security and protection. Unlike an open-prong setting, that enclosed back gives the ring a softer look while fully protecting the stone. Fun fact: Marie Antoinette owned jewels set using this same collet technique back in the 1700s.
London jeweler Jessica McCormack is largely responsible for bringing this centuries-old technique back into the spotlight, and it’s the very setting believed to sit behind the previously mentioned ring on Zendaya’s hand. It’s a perfect choice for those who want something vintage-inspired, but also very functional and wearable.
Toi et Moi Settings
The button-back isn’t the only “new” trend with old roots. The Toi et Moi engagement ring setting shows the definition of a beautiful design with serious staying power. Toi et Moi rings (French for “you and me”) have been around for centuries, dating all the way back to 1796, when Napoléon Bonaparte proposed to Joséphine de Beauharnais with a ring consisting of two pear-shaped stones, a diamond and a sapphire, each weighing around one carat.
But it was First Lady Jackie Kennedy who brought new popularity to them in the 20th century. Her engagement ring was considered groundbreaking at the time (and was one of the first in this style to be heavily photographed by the media). It was also culturally significant, merging the worlds of aspirational American glamour and European sophistication.
That same blend of history and reinvention is what keeps designers coming back to the style, according to Kuvin: “The Toi et Moi ring is enjoying a renaissance and is a wonderful style with room for endless variation. Two stones perfectly represent two people coming together in marriage. These rings can be open or closed. They can use one stone to symbolize each partner, one heirloom stone from each family, and different cuts and colors. I have one that was my great-grandmother’s; the band is half yellow gold and half white gold, and the stones are a yellow sapphire and a blue sapphire. It is a ring that is more than one hundred years old, but feels very modern.”
That renaissance is playing out on red carpets today, too. Think: Megan Fox’s emerald and diamond Toi et Moi ring from Machine Gun Kelly, Kylie Jenner’s matching mother-daughter set featuring brilliant pear-shaped and radiant-cut diamonds, Emily Ratajkowski’s 2018 engagement ring pairing a 2-carat princess cut with a 3-carat pear cut, and Ariana Grande’s oval-cut diamond and ivory pearl ring, inspired by her grandmother’s heirloom.
Flush and Gypsy Settings
A gypsy ring, also known as a flush Set, is the ultimate vision of understated luxury and appeals to a minimalist aesthetic. This setting features a diamond set directly into the metal band, so it sits level with the surface instead of raised above it by prongs. This ring architecture has been around since ancient Rome and offers excellent protection since the diamond is fully secured by the surrounding metal.
You’ll notice some overlap with the bezel settings we mentioned earlier, and that’s not a coincidence. Both styles favor security and a low profile over height and sparkle, and in practice, a ring can straddle both categories. Miley Cyrus’s engagement ring from Maxx Morando is a good example: its cushion-cut diamond is embedded into a thick yellow gold band, giving it a sculptural, bezel-like frame while still reading as a flush, gypsy-inspired setting. Dua Lipa’s ring from Callum Turner falls in similar territory, with a semi-bezel that sinks the diamond low enough to sit nearly flush with the band.
That blend of practicality and polish is exactly why Kuvin sees the style sticking around: “Many people worry about a high setting being impractical to wear every day, as the stone might catch on clothing or while working. A flush setting all but eliminates the risk of catching and damaging the ring or loosening or even losing the stone. A flush set ring is not showy, but comprises all the elements of a traditional engagement ring. It can also incorporate multiple stones and combinations. Finally, it will sit well with a wedding band without any space or unevenness.”
The Future of Engagement Rings Is Personal
This shift toward non-traditional engagement ring settings reflects a broader evolution in bridal jewelry. There is no fixed formula anymore. Engagement rings have become an extension of personal style, and while the natural diamond remains the focal point, the setting is just as important. Today’s clients also come to the process with a much stronger design point of view. After years of saving inspiration on Pinterest, discovering independent designers on Instagram, and falling down TikTok rabbit holes about antique cuts and vintage settings, they’re looking for a ring that feels uniquely their own.
“Couples want a ring that feels like theirs rather than a version of what everyone else is wearing,” says Isolde.
