High Set Engagment Rings and Low Set Engagement Rings

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First the terminology. If you are new to the subject of ring settings, you might be excused for wondering what exactly is meant by high set and low set. Followed by the question of what exactly is its significance when it comes to a person’s purchasing decision.

Consider this Education page an introductory post, as this is a relatively new subject area, as we will follow this up with another page discussing the pros and cons of going for one engagement ring set over the other.

What is Meant by the Terms ‘High’ and ‘Low’?

To start by clarifying some of the terminology surrounding these engagement ring designs. The terms high set and low set refer to how the centre stone is placed on the band of the engagement ring. The terms of the high and low setting refer to what is known as the ‘profile’ of the ring. With low-set ring engagement rings you have the head of the ring at the top, and the gallery area, where the lower part of the centre stone, notably the culet sit, lies closer together.

In high set or high profile engagement rings the scenario is reversed. Here the crown area of the ring which contains the centre stone (or centre stones in three-stone or multi-stone is noticeably elevated. Elevated in structure to a point where the centre stone or stone stands noticeably apart from the shoulder area of the ring.

Right, so that is the simple breakdown of the differences between low and high-set engagement rings. However, there is more to them. Especially if you delve a bit into the technicalities that surround the ring design when it comes to both these ring settings. Which we shall get to.

What Defines a High Set Engagement Ring?

When discussing the subject of high and low set engagement rings the focus traditionally shifts to their visual character: that is how a low vs a high set ring looks when viewed from whatever angle. This is fine. However, what is often lacking in many of these blogs and other sources that engage the subject is what makes an engagement ring a high or low set in terms of how it has been made.

What defines a high set or high profile engagement ring is the structure of the shoulder is designed in a way that allows the head and the gallery that is attached to the centre stone to rise a level or two higher. In an almost artificial way where the centre stone sits in an elevated position. Made possible by the noticeable gap that exists between the top part of the gemstone and its culet.

Much of the visual character of the high set ring is determined by the underlying setting: which is to say on the visual character of the ring style is determined by the way the centre and sides if there are any are held in place. Such as the cathedral setting, trellis setting and the popular prong setting.

The differences between these ring styles in terms of how they feature in the high or low set ring will be discussed when we engage the pros and cons of the two. For now, let us move to the next section. a

What Defines a Low Set Engagement Ring?

The low set engagement ring essentially builds on the same concept, but it is in reverse. The difference, in this case, lies in how the shoulders of the engagement ring are pointed lower or remain level with the rest of the ring band. This allows the crown which holds the main gemstone to just sit atop it. Without any added elevation producing the low profile.

When it comes to the low set engagement ring this low profile look can be achieved in two ways. One is where the shoulder part of the ring is level or is inclined lower in the engagement ring. (As a related point: if the reader is having any confusion regarding the meaning of these components of a ring, please check out our post on the Anatomy of an engagement ring).

Or in some cases the head of the ring: that is the part which actually holds the centre stone is smaller in that the prongs or trellis are not as long so as to keep the main gemstone closer to the band level of the engagement ring as possible.

When it comes it comes to distinct styles for low set engagement rings, the solitaire style and to a notable extent the bezel set engagement rings tend to dominate. These specific ring settings and how they relate to the low set ring setting will be discussed in our dedicated Education page on the pros and cons between these two ring settings.