Ruby Engagement Rings

Why Choose a Ruby Engagement Ring?

The case for ruby goes well beyond how it looks, though the look alone is usually enough to stop people in their tracks.

• It's genuinely durable: According to the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), ruby belongs to the corundum family and ranks 9 on the Mohs hardness scale, with excellent toughness and no cleavage. That places it just below diamond and significantly above softer gemstones like emerald — making a ruby engagement ring a practical, wearable choice for everyday life, not just special occasions.
• It carries unmistakable symbolism: Ruby has long been associated with love, passion, devotion, and strength — which makes it one of the few gemstones whose meaning is almost universally understood. Choosing ruby for an engagement ring is a deliberate, emotionally resonant decision, not simply an aesthetic one.
• It stands apart from the conventional: A diamond solitaire is beautiful. A ruby and diamond engagement ring is beautiful and unmistakably individual. For someone who doesn't want to wear the same ring as everyone else, ruby makes that distinction immediately.
• It's a meaningful July birthstone: Ruby is the official July birthstone, recognised by GIA and Jewelers of America alike. If your partner was born in July, a ruby ring goes from a proposal to something deeply personal — a gift chosen with real thought rather than just chosen. It's also a traditional gemstone for the 15th and 40th wedding anniversaries, giving it a place across the full arc of a relationship.

Ruby and Diamond Engagement Rings

Ruby doesn't need company to make an impact, but when it's paired with diamonds, the result is extraordinary. The red and white contrast is one of the most striking combinations in fine jewellery — the ruby brings warmth and depth, the diamonds bring movement and light, and together they create a ring that reads as both luxurious and meaningful.

• Halo settings surround the ruby with a ring of smaller diamonds, amplifying the red stone's presence and adding a layer of sparkle that makes the whole piece feel more glamorous. Our ruby halo rings are consistently among our most requested styles.
• Trilogy designs set a ruby centre stone between two diamonds — past, present, future — in a design that's both visually balanced and rich with intention.
• Side-stone settings add diamond shoulders to a single ruby centre, giving more refinement than a plain solitaire without the full drama of a halo. The result is elegant and understated in the best possible way.
• Cluster designs gather multiple stones together for a fuller, more vintage-inspired look that suits ruby's bold character particularly well.

Popular Ruby Engagement Ring Styles

Our gemstone engagement rings collection spans a full range of settings so you can find the style that genuinely reflects the person wearing it.

Ruby Solitaire Engagement Rings

A ruby solitaire ring is an uncompromising design — one stone, completely exposed, with nothing else competing for attention. It suits someone who wears jewellery with confidence and wants a ring whose character comes from the stone itself. Round, oval, pear, and cushion rubies all work beautifully in claw settings across white gold, yellow gold, and platinum.

Ruby Halo Engagement Rings

A diamond halo around a ruby is one of the most visually striking combinations in coloured gemstone jewellery. The diamonds amplify the red without diminishing it, creating a ring that photographs brilliantly and catches the light from every angle. A ruby halo engagement ring is the right choice if the wearer loves something unmistakably glamorous.

Ruby Trilogy Engagement Rings

The three-stone setting carries its own quiet meaning — past, present, future — that resonates particularly well for an engagement. A ruby centre stone with diamond shoulders creates a romantic, elegant design that works equally well as a proposal ring or a significant anniversary piece.

Vintage Ruby Engagement Rings

Vintage-inspired design and ruby are a natural pairing. Milgrain edging, cluster settings, and floral-shaped crowns all suit the richness of red in a way that feels genuine rather than costume-like. If the wearer loves antique jewellery, Art Deco styling, or pieces with a sense of history, a vintage ruby ring is almost certainly the right direction.

Ruby Side-Stone Engagement Rings

A side-stone ruby ring offers more detail than a plain solitaire without the full presence of a halo. Diamond shoulders frame the ruby and add subtle sparkle, making this a particularly wearable option for someone who wants a refined, balanced design rather than a showstopper.

Choosing the Best Metal for a Ruby Engagement Ring

If you're unsure which metal suits the wearer's existing jewellery, our metal guide walks through how each ages, how much maintenance it needs, and how it reads against different skin tones — useful if you're buying as a surprise and trying to match what they already wear.

Ruby as a July Birthstone Engagement Ring

Ruby is the official birthstone for July, confirmed by GIA and universally recognised across the jewellery trade. That gives a ruby engagement ring an extra dimension that no other stone quite replicates for a July birthday — rather than simply being a beautiful ring, it's one that was specifically chosen for who the wearer is.

Ruby is also the traditional gemstone for both the 15th and 40th wedding anniversaries, which makes it one of the few stones that works at every stage of a relationship — from the proposal itself to the milestones that come after. Our full birthstone guide covers all twelve months if you're also exploring other gemstone options.

Ruby vs Diamond Engagement Rings — Which Is Right?

The honest answer is that it depends entirely on the person wearing it. Both are excellent choices; they just say very different things.

A diamond engagement ring is timeless, universally recognised, and virtually indestructible. A ruby engagement ring is warmer, bolder, more personal, and — because it's far less common as an engagement stone — more individual. If your partner wears colour, gravitates towards vintage or statement jewellery, cares about birthstones, or simply doesn't want to wear the same ring as everyone else, ruby is the stronger choice. If they prefer something more understated and classic, a diamond, or a ruby and diamond combination, may be the better fit.

Our team is happy to talk through this in more detail — by phone, online, or in person at our Hatton Garden showroom — if you'd find it helpful to see both options side by side before deciding.

Are Ruby Engagement Rings Suitable for Everyday Wear?

Yes — and this is one of ruby's most significant practical advantages over other coloured gemstones. At 9 on the Mohs hardness scale with excellent toughness and no cleavage, ruby handles daily wear far better than softer stones like emerald (7.5–8) or opal (5.5–6.5). For a ring worn every single day, that robustness matters.

That said, no engagement ring — however durable the stone — is truly indestructible, and a few sensible habits will keep a ruby ring looking its best for decades. Remove it before the gym, heavy housework, gardening, DIY, and swimming. Have the claws and setting checked by a jeweller every year or two, especially if you wear it constantly. And clean it regularly at home using the method below.

How to Care for a Ruby Engagement Ring

• Cleaning at home: Warm water with a few drops of mild soap and a soft brush is all you need for most ruby rings. Rinse carefully and dry with a lint-free cloth. The GIA confirms warm soapy water is always safe for ruby. Ultrasonic and steam cleaners are generally safe for heat-treated ruby, but should be avoided if your stone has fracture-filling or cavity-filling treatments — our team can tell you which applies to your specific stone.
• Storage: Keep your ruby ring in its own pouch or compartment, separate from other jewellery. Even though ruby is very hard, allowing it to knock against diamonds in a jewellery box can still cause surface scratching on the metal setting over time.
• Chemicals: Remove the ring before applying perfume, hairspray, or household cleaning products. These can affect the metal finish and, over time, the lustre of the stone.
• Professional care: An annual check at a jeweller is worthwhile for any engagement ring, both to clean it professionally and to verify that claws and settings remain secure.

Bespoke Ruby Engagement Rings in Hatton Garden

If you have a specific stone, setting, or design in mind that doesn't exist in a ready-made collection, our bespoke jewellery service lets you start from scratch. Working from Hatton Garden — London's jewellery quarter — our team can design a ruby engagement ring around your exact brief, whether that means handpicking a specific ruby shade, replicating a vintage design, or building in a matching wedding ring from the outset.

Bespoke is particularly worthwhile for ruby, since the variation in colour between individual stones is significant. Being able to choose the specific stone that goes into your ring — rather than accepting whatever happens to be fitted to a ready-made setting — makes a real difference to the finished result. You can start the conversation online, by phone, or in our showroom.

Why Buy from Sunshine Diamonds?

• Crafted in Hatton Garden: Every piece is hand-finished in London's jewellery quarter and hallmarked to UK Assay Office standards, so the quality is independently verified before it reaches you.
• GIA and IGI Certified Diamonds: All diamonds used in our ruby rings come with independent grading certificates, so you know exactly what you're getting alongside the centre stone.
• Complete Buying Confidence: Every order includes free, fully insured UK delivery, a 30-day returns policy, free resizing within 30 days, and a 5-year manufacturing guarantee on every piece.
• 0% Finance Available: Spread the cost of a meaningful engagement ring on qualifying orders without paying interest.
• In-Person Support: Visit our Hatton Garden showroom to see ruby stones in person before committing — particularly useful for a coloured gemstone where the specific shade and saturation makes a significant difference to the finished ring.