Forget that traditional diamond-encrusted gold band – now millennials are embracing a new trend to show off their engagement: a diamond embedded inside a soon-to-be bride's finger.
"We notice a lot of people coming looking for that," Sam Abbas, who owns NYC Ink Studio in the West Village, told New York's WCBS-TV 2.
However, the trend comes with health risks, he said.
"You're dealing with the blood, so you got to be very, very safe," Abbas warned. "What we do, we sterilize everything."
TRENDING: Greatest Show on Earth: The Hur report hearing
When the diamond is embedded, an artist marks the location with a pen. Then the location is cleaned and sterilized. A portion of skin is removed from the customer's finger with a tool. The artist then inserts a gold or titanium anchor into the finger. The gem is mounted into the anchor.
The process costs about $100, not including the purchase of a diamond, and takes roughly 10 minutes.
And, yes, getting a diamond embedded into your finger is painful.
"You're going to feel it," Abbas told the station. "You're getting pierced. It is a little bit painful. But people did it, and I have a lot of people who say, 'Oh nice, it's nothing. I expect more.'"
A woman named Cynthia Rivas told WCBS-TV 2: "I think it looks nice, but if you really think what it's doing to the body – and you can have scarring – it's so many complications that can happen from it."
Dr. Monica Halem, a dermatologist, told the station she's concerned about the safety of the diamond-embedding process.
"First of all, these procedures are not being done by a doctor, and it is a surgical procedure," she said. "There are a lot of important structures that sit right under the skin that can be easily damaged, like tendons."
And what happens if the stone catches on an object and is torn from the finger?
"That's sitting right above the skin, that's easily caught on something and can do a lot of damage," Dr. Halem explained.
The healing process after a diamond is embedded takes as many as 20 weeks.