Modern, Unique Touches You Can Add to Your Engagement Ring: Compass Prongs & East-West Settings

While traditional engagement ring designs are longstanding for good reason, adding modern touches, both subtle and bold, to your engagement ring allows one to showcase their unique style, personality, and love story. Two modern design choices that are currently trending in the engagement world are compass prongs and east-west setting engagement rings. Both choices have positives and potential drawbacks – here’s more expert information to decide if they’re the right design choice for your dream engagement ring.

Compass Prongs

Compass prongs are perfect for those seeking a unique yet subtle detail to add to their engagement ring.

Engagement ring prongs are the pieces of metal that extend from the ring’s head to hold a stone in place. For example, the prongs of an engagement ring hold its center diamond.

While the standard engagement ring typically features a traditional four-prong setting, where the prongs hold the diamond at diagonals, compass prongs have a distinct look. Instead of holding the diamond at four diagonal points, compass prongs secure the stone like the points of a compass, holding the diamond at its north, south, east, and west points.

Compass prongs are recommended for more rounded stones in order to prevent chipping, however they are just as secure as other traditional settings. They can even make a ring’s center stone appear larger. A famous example of this illusion is Hailey Bieber’s elongated oval engagement ring which featured compass prongs .

Overall, compass prongs are a great way to add a subtle but modern twist to an engagement ring. However, there are bolder design options one can choose when creating their engagement ring, like the east-west setting. 

East-West Setting 

East-west set engagement rings are rings that feature elongated cuts set into a ring horizontally instead of vertically (East-West instead of North-South). The center diamond lays across the finger rather than up and down it. While this is a bold choice, the east-west setting allows for a more bold, modern showcase of one’s style. It also allows for less snagging on objects than traditional settings, and it elongates not just the stone, but also the finger of the wearer.

East-west engagement rings can only be done with elongated cuts like oval cut, emerald cut, radiant cut, pear cut and elongated cushion cut. However it is a bold choice that allows the wearer to make a statement in their everyday fashion. East-west setting rings also provide plenty of room for further customization, from classic solitaires to bold bezels .

At Diamond Exchange Houston, we specialize in creating custom engagement rings. We’ve designed hundreds of custom rings, allowing our clients to create the ring of their dreams for a fraction of the cost.

If you’re looking to create a ring with subtle, unique touches like compass prongs or if you’re looking to make a bolder statement with an east-west setting, our team of experts will help you design the ring of your dreams, without compromising on quality or budget.

If you’re ready to shop at Houston’s top engagement ring store, simply fill out our contact form to get started or call us today at 281-623-1105 .