Diamonds may be a girl's best friend, but who says other stones can't capture the spotlight in an engagement ring? These days, alternative and colored gemstone engagement rings are in demand.

Moriarty's Gem Art has seen an uptick in interest recently in color gemstones. Up until about five years ago, diamonds accounted for 99% of engagement rings sold at the Crown Point, Indiana, jewelry store. Then came the pandemic.

"During COVID, we started seeing a transition to colored gemstones instead of diamonds," says Jeff Moriarty, marketing manager at the family-owned jeweler. "Speaking to many of our customers, they told us they started having more time to research at home and didn't know so many colors of stones existed."

Last year, 15% of their engagement rings were colored gemstones, and this year, about 1 out of 5 engagement rings is a colored gemstone. The top choices are tanzanite and sapphire.

*What to Consider

"It's important to remember that an engagement ring is a piece of jewelry worn every day -- that means it needs to be durable," says Betsy Cross, founder of Betsy & Iya. "Diamonds are the hardest substance on earth, a 10 out of 10 on the Mohs scale. Sapphires and rubies are a nine, and there are many other beautiful options high on the hardness scale."

She says softer stones might be better suited for necklaces, earrings or rings worn on special occasions.

"The hardness of the stone is important," says Moriarty, noting buyers should consider the cut, clarity and color they want. "Some stones just won't hold up in a ring, especially in an engagement ring (because of) too much wear."

According to Stephen Silver Fine Jewelry, one of the world's leading jewelry houses specializing in extremely rare and precious colored gemstones, red spinel -- a red gemstone that's often mistaken for a ruby -- is a great stone for an engagement ring. It has a hardness of eight, making it a scratch-resistant gemstone candidate that will hold up well for everyday wear. The jeweler handmakes pink sapphires in-house and says the stone has scratch resistance and hardness, second only to diamonds.

Adriana Perez-Nakamura, an editor for Clean Origin, a lab-grown diamond jewelry brand, says emerald, opal and moissanite are some more popular non-traditional engagement ring stone options.

Emeralds, which are eye-catching, range in color from bluish-green to pure green and pair well with many different metal colors. She says opal has an "iridescent, rainbow-like sparkle that people love" and is budget-friendly but notes they're soft and easy to scratch. Moissanite, which was first discovered in a meteor crater, is rare and therefore almost always created in a lab. It's durable and has the shine and sparkle of a diamond but at a lower price.

Cross says salt and pepper diamonds, which have inclusions, have been a strong part of their collection. Another popular look is a cluster of diamonds instead of a solitaire.

"This allows them to have multiple types or colors of stones, a fresh mix of cuts together in the same ring -- a little playfulness," she says.

While some couples avoid diamonds because of ethical concerns, lab-grown diamonds are a good option. "They're ethical as well as environmentally friendly," says Perez-Nakamura.

*Metal Choices

There are different options when choosing a metal to complement your gemstone.

"Yellow gold is the more traditional metal," says Perez-Nakamura. "But white gold is also growing in popularity. Rose gold is fairly trendy."

She says 14-karat yellow gold is stronger than pure gold since it's mixed with yellow gold and other metals. White gold -- a combination of yellow gold, silver palladium and nickel -- is also strong. But wearers may have an allergic reaction if they're allergic to nickel. Rose gold is a mix of yellow gold with copper and silver. Note that it can oxidize over time and take on a darker look.

"We encourage folks to buy based on what they love and not on what's trendy at the time," says Cross, who's selling a lot of 14-karat yellow gold these days.

Protect your investment. You want your engagement ring to last a lifetime, so make sure you take care of it, and consider a post-purchase care plan or warranty from your jeweler.