2 Carat White Gold Lab-Grown Diamond Engagement Rings, grown in light.

White gold blends gold with paler metals and typically receives a reflective plating, so it surrounds a colorless stone without tinting it. It weighs less than platinum and costs less too, freeing budget for the center. Beside a bright stone, it gives the ring a cool, clean finish.

• Round: top sparkle in a traditional outline.
• Oval, pear or marquise: stretched shapes that appear larger and lengthen the finger.
• Cushion, radiant or princess: squarish or oblong, with brilliant facets.
• Emerald or asscher: step cuts with a sleek, architectural feel.

The solitaire keeps a bare, rounded shank. Pavé shoulders add glitter beside the center, while the hidden halo tucks melee below it and runs pavé down the shank.

White gold's plating thins with wear and may reveal a faint warm cast after a year or two; a jeweler can replate it in an afternoon. Rinse it in lukewarm suds and keep it out of chlorinated pools and hot tubs, since chlorine can weaken gold alloys over time.