Engagement & Bridal

For thousands of years, engagement rings have symbolized love and commitment between two people. The presentation of an engagement ring represents a formal commitment to future marriage. As the engagement ring tradition has evolved throughout history, the rings themselves have changed as well. Diamond engagement rings once dominated the bridal jewelry market, but other gems have recently begun to emerge in engagement jewelry as well. On this page, we’ll explore this and other trends and explain some of the fundamentals of engagement rings. Jeweler.com is your one-stop resource for authoritative and helpful information on engagement jewelry.

History of the Engagement Ring

According to some, the engagement ring tradition dates as far back as prehistoric times. Allegedly, cavemen would tie their women’s arms and legs together to prevent them from escaping. Eventually, the man would untie the woman’s legs, and if she didn’t attempt to escape, she would only have to wear a cord tied around one of her fingers. Some credit this practice as the inspiration for modern-day engagement rings.

Ever since, engagement wedding rings have existed in some form in almost every culture throughout history. The ring is supposedly worn on the third finger of the left hand because of the ancient Egyptian belief that the vein of this finger, vena amoris (vein of love), runs directly to the heart. During the Middle Ages, wealthy Europeans began presenting their future brides with a diamond engagement ring because the mineral is the strongest on Earth, a perfect symbol for the eternal commitment of marriage. Diamond engagement rings exploded in popularity in the late 1940s in response to De Beers highly successful “A Diamond Is Forever” campaign.

Budgeting for an Engagement Ring

Jewler.com can help you find the perfect engagement ring on any budget. Typically, the standard for engagement-ring budgeting is two months’ salary. This suggestion was created by De Beers several decades ago. Though this is a good rule of thumb, your primary concerns should be the value and quality of the ring. Some rings may offer the quality you want for well under two months of your salary, while others may cost significantly more.

Engagement Ring Trends

Classic diamond engagement rings will always be in style, but they don’t have the corner on the market that they once did. Several new trends in engagement jewelry threaten to unseat the diamond engagement ring from its throne. Jeweler.com has summarized all of the latest engagement jewelry trends below.

• Rings with colored gems. Beryl, sapphire, and ruby are all becoming more popular in engagement rings. Gems with neutral coloring are especially trendy.
• Diamond-encircled rings. Diamonds aren’t just for solitaire settings anymore. Engagement rings with diamonds all around them are another hot trend. Rings with diamonds encircling the center stone are popular, as are rings with diamonds all around the band. As an added bonus, a diamond border will give the illusion of a larger center stone.
• Bands with a twist. Twisted engagement ring bands are very trendy right now. These rings may have subtle metal twists or ornate interlocking diamond bands.