Two tone jewelry is becoming more and more popular, and so much so that it has now entered the realms of engagement ring styles. Two tone engagement rings are a contemporary look that adds a new style to the ring market, giving even more choice than before.

Two tone rings are usually made from either yellow, white, rose gold or platinum, though any precious metals can be used. Aside from it being a different look, a two tone engagement ring can also solve a problem if the wearer owns items of jewelry in different precious metals. White metals aren't usually worn with other colors, but with a two tone ring you can match both white and yellow or rose jewelry to it. It enables a bit of jewelry mix and match!

Style wise you have pretty much the same setting options for a two tone engagement ring as you do a single tone one. Examples to the right show a varied pick of two tone rings, so by choosing this option, you aren't limiting yourself in the style stakes.

Most two tone engagement rings are set with either white (clear) or yellow diamonds, but if you want a different gemstone you could always buy a two tone ring setting and choice of gem separately.

When looking for a two tone engagement ring you should be aware of the amount of gold you are getting for your money. The gold karat denotes how much gold is in an item of jewelry, if it's anything less than 24K the gold will have been mixed with some other metal, such as copper or silver. 24K gold jewelry isn't that common, and is the most expensive of all.

• 24 Karat gold is gold in it's purest form, no other metal has been added. It is 1000 parts gold though sometimes due to natural impurities, it has to be classed as 999 parts.
• 22 Karat gold is 916.6 parts gold out of 1000.
• 18 Karat gold is 750 parts gold.
• 14 Karat is 585
• 9 Karat is 375

Obviously, the higher the karat the better quality gold you are getting. This of course also means the more expensive.

Platinum will have a 3 digit number as a hallmark. This refers to the platinum parts per thousand, just like gold, but a karat system isn't used here.

Platinum hallmarks you will see:

• 999
• 950
• 900
• 850

Always look for hallmarks when buying any kind of jewelry. It's easy to get ripped off if you don't know what to look for, or unable to understand it when you do.

Happy engagement ring shopping!