So without further ado, if you didn't note my engagement ring from my "inspiration" boards, here it is:
I've had this ring for just shy of a year now, and it far exceeded any hope/expectation I'd had for an engagement ring. Fiance spent months working on the design with one of his Co-Best-Ladies and then having it custom made by a local Philadelphia jeweler. After a few rounds of review, he was able to pick up the finished product while I was away in Australia and presented it to me just a week or two later (of course, I couldn't just have it. I first had to agree to marry him). It's a princess cut stone in the center with a trillian on each side, set in a triple trellis setting. The 2.5mm platinum band is more flat than round and tapers to a knife-edge as it mounts the trellis.
For quite some time, I envisioned this as my wedding band, complete with responsibly mined sapphires and recycled or responsibly mined platinum. This lovely piece is from Brilliant Earth who are a major player in the realm of eco-friendly jewelery. I've had some trouble with loose stones on my e-ring, but a channel setting like this one doesn't rely on prongs, and rarely has any problems. One jeweler I spoke to referred to channel setting as "virtually indestructible." However, this particular ring would leave a significant gap between itself and my e-ring, due to the width of my stones in comparison to the band. It is possible to get a channel setting contoured to curve around the shape of an engagement ring, and I tried on a few with diamonds, today.
The last time I was having my setting tightened, I found this beauty from Hearts on Fire. Hearts on Fire is mostly about their special cut of diamond, which isn't especially relevant to me, since I want sapphires, but this setting really appeals to me. It's called the Felicity Queen Anne band, and it's meant to contour around the matching "solitaire" engagement ring which is shaped very much like my custom ring! 
See the contour here. I only wish I weren't so enamored with the idea of a "virtually indestructible" setting. Also unfortunately, my wedding band will need to be platinum, if I plan to wear it with my e-ring, because any other metal would cause the two rings to gnaw at each other.
Fiance, however, has no such restrictions, and will probably wind up with something lighter, harder, and cheaper than gold or platinum. Sapphires were his idea in the first place, so he'll definitely have some as well. The first number on the left is from Absolute Titanium which has a fun selection of tension settings in addition to more traditional settings. Tension settings are actually one of the major benefits of going with a non-precious metal, since it requires a metal much harder than gold or platinum to safely hold a stone that way. 
For example, this is a stainless steel ring from Teno which is quite lovely, modern, and still masculine.
My most recent discovery is TitaniumRings.com which has a great selection of - you guessed it - titanium rings. My favorites so far are the Cassandre and the Krystalle for tension settings and the Mars and single stone Facia for simple settings. All four are available with sapphires, though they're pictured with clear stones.
Anyone have any recommendations as we go through our ring search? Time grows short!
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