Why We Use Engagement Rings These Days

Engagement rings are worn on the ring finger of either hand, depending on which country the bride-to-be is to be wed. For instance, in Poland, the woman will wear her engagement ring on her right hand's ring finger while in the West women will wear their engagement rings on their left hand's ring finger. Engagement rings are said to show the formal acceptance of the bride-to-be of her fiance's offer to get married.

A new tradition regarding engagement rings is for the woman to buy the engagement ring for her male fiancé when they get engaged. This new tradition is on the rise in Canada and the USA. An alternative tradition which is followed in Spain is for the woman to give an engagement wristwatch to her male fiancé upon her acceptance of the engagement ring from him.

It is believed that the diamond production company named de Beers is responsible for the growing acceptance of and use of diamond engagement rings in Western culture because de Beers has been advocating use of diamond engagement rings since the 1940s. Use of diamonds in rings (not necessarily engagement rings) has been a practice observed for centuries. The concept itself of using engagement rings per se can be traced to a decree by Pope Innocent III wherein couples that intended to marry should wait longer after being betrothed to one another. To symbolize this waiting period, engagement rings came into being.

However, in many countries it is not necessary to give out diamond engagement rings because engagement rings may use other colored gems rather than simply the commonly-used diamond. The diamond became accepted because it is the hardest of all the precious stones thus symbolizing enduring love. But if the couple accepts the use of other gems, the engagement rings given out may have rubies, emeralds, star sapphires, and sapphires instead of diamonds. And in certain countries, the engagement rings used may be just bands made of gold, silver or even titanium without any precious stones mounted on them. Semi-precious stones are also acceptable nowadays to be used in place of precious stones on engagement rings.

If you opt for engagement rings that are simply metal bands, do use gold or platinum since these are more durable and have higher value compared to other types of engagement rings that use other types of metals. Silver is usually not recommended for engagement rings because this metal is less durable than gold or platinum. If you do opt for a gold or silver engagement ring, the jeweler may advocate use of a platinum setting so that your engagement ring stays more durable over time.

The more contemporary types of engagement rings may use titanium or even just stainless steel because they are less expensive than gold, silver or platinum yet are stronger than the latter. One problem you may encounter with use of titanium engagement rings is that in a medical emergency the titanium engagement ring might be impossible to remove because of its sheer strength and because cutting tools in hospital emergency rooms are not usually equipped to cut through some grades of titanium. A gold ring is so soft, on the other hand, that your standard electrician pliers can cut through a gold ring within a second.

In the past, the groom-to-be was expected to select the engagement ring (or possibly engagement rings – one for his bride, one for him) by himself. Nowadays though, since many couples try to live together before marriage, it is becoming more of the norm for these live-in partners to select engagement rings together.

A woman who accepts an engagement ring is considered betrothed to the man who gave the ring. If she breaks the wedding engagement, it is generally expected of her to return the engagement ring to the man who gave it. If the man breaks the wedding engagement, the woman is not expected to return the ring. In extreme cases when wedding engagements are cancelled, the court has to intervene as to who owns engagement rings and why.

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By Ron Poul