The Diamond Expert

Ideas & Inspiration

The Diamond Expert

As a five-time winner of Seattle Bride’s Best Engagement Rings category, Emerson Robbins, the founder of E.E. Robbins jewelry stores, knows a few things about matching couples with the perfect diamond ring. We asked him to share his wisdom on the jewelry of a lifetime.

How did you become an engagement ring expert?
Many of my older customers remember Ben Tipp Diamonds, the jewelry and appliance store my grandpa used to own in Seattle. I was planning on becoming a professor when my dad gave me one of his stores and told me to run it my own way. He saw something in me I wasn’t aware of, and his hunch was right: I love the business and working with couples and sharing their happiness. The symbolism of a diamond engagement ring and the never-ending circle and enduring strength of the diamond is so meaningful to me, and inspired me to focus my business entirely on bridal. I opened my first store in Belltown in 2000.

What is a little-known fact about diamonds?
A diamond’s appearance is affected by the quality of light it is seen in. We display our diamonds in natural lighting and encourage couples to take rings outside so they can get a real idea of how it looks. Because light hits the earth differently at different longitudes, a diamond can even look different in other parts of the world.

How do couples go about setting a preexisting diamond into a new band?
When resetting a diamond, brides should make an honest assessment of their own personality. Maybe they want something avant-garde or feel something classic and unadorned would be better. Brides should also be aware that some diamond shapes, like an emerald cut, can sometimes be difficult to fit into a round setting without altering the band.

Tell us about the hottest new styles in ring pairings.
Most couples are happiest getting their own unique ring styles, but we do offer distinctive pairing options. California-based jeweler Michael Daniels crafts his-and-hers rings via mokume gane, a Japanese process that fuses different metals together to achieve a natural, wood-grain or marbled pattern. Daniels is one of only a few metallurgists in the world who can produce this style. Studio 311, also based in California, offers matching wedding bands in earthy, Gaelic designs.

What advice do you give couples for learning to feel comfortable wearing wedding bands every day?
Most women are accustomed to wearing rings, so their challenge is finding a band that fits closely with their engagement ring. If the [engagement] ring’s crown, or the part that holds the diamond, sits flush against the bride’s finger, some vendors make bands with a slight contour that fits snugly against the crown.

For grooms, wearing a band is a matter of personal preference. Some men become used to the band and enjoy wearing them, and others don’t. Most men feel best with a band 5 to 6 millimeters thick. My own wedding band has a comfort-fit design in which the inside of the band is rounded, but I still prefer to remove it when I coach soccer or exercise and wear it mainly for work and social events.

What’s the most important thing to consider when buying wedding jewelry?
Make sure you feel a connection with the salespeople and the business and enjoy being there. You’ll return countless times throughout your life to have jewelry cleaned, resized or repaired, or to purchase something else, so the relationship you have with the store continues beyond that last financial transaction.