engagement rings

Diamond engagement rings are the stuff dreams are made of for brides-to-be across much of the western world. Beginning in the 1930's with a strong ad campaign from the diamond industry, these often quite expensive beauties have become the typical sought after prize for those who have nodded yes to the age old question. So today, the quest for the biggest rock for the least amount of money is an ongoing adventure for most male suitors, and if they are savvy, will pick out the ring ahead of the proposal. If not, and the hunt for the perfect ring becomes a couple's joint expedition, the possibility that the actual ring chosen will be far beyond the man's original budget price is quite real. Expensive gem rings are worn by 80% of women in the United States who have nodded yes, and by many single women who have been convinced by slick ad campaigns that they deserve to at least wear a diamond solitaire on their right hand in an apparent declaration of self love.

Giving makeityourring diamond engagement rings may have been given the impetus needed to become a recent social phenomenon with two critical events taking place; one was manufactured and the other one was legal in nature. The first was the diamond industry's brilliant move to encourage Hollywood starlets to wear large diamonds on their hands, thus creating a "gotta have it" atmosphere among young admiring women. The second was when US courts began saying no to breach of promise lawsuits brought on by jilted engaged women whose fiances backed out of promises to marry. The monetary investment that a man made in the form of an expensive gem ring appeared to satisfy most untrusting young women. After those two big twists in social awareness took place, the giving of rock studded engagement rings took off like a rocket.

Diamonds are actually almost as common as dirt, but one would never know it by the ad campaigns of suppliers and the jewelers that sell them. In the nineteen forties and early fifties, stones set in a solitaire setting for engagement purposes bubbled around eighty dollars, not leaving the jewelers with a very big profit margin. So the industry began hinting to the young men and women reaching the age of permitted marriage that the bigger the diamond engagement rings stone, the more love was represented. It's still a very unsubtle advertising message sent out today and apparently continues to fall on many unsuspecting and receptive ears of pre-wedding consumers. But proving one's love with average three thousand dollar diamond engagement rings misses the mark completely when it comes to proving love. Instead of a ring, how about the novel idea of displaying genuine love to a person over a period of time? "Charity (love) suffereth long and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up...doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil." (I Corinthians 13: 4, 5)

If the average starry eyed young man listens to the jeweler's incredibly presumptuous spiel, he should spend at least the equivalent of two or three months of his total income on a diamond in order to truly prove his love. That's the rule of thumb manufactured by the industry and is about as nauseating a marketing ploy as has ever been contrived by Madison Avenue. And of course, according to the retailer of diamond engagement rings, a nearly flawless stone ought to represent that flawless love, despite the fact most flaws can't be seen by the naked eye and is going to cost a lot more than the one with a few flaws that can't be seen except under a microscope. Of the three "c's" of diamond buying: color, cut and clarity, clarity might be the most visual of diamond flaws and may only eliminate a few diamonds that should be more suited for a cat's collar. That's why picking out a ring ahead of time is a fair way of getting a very good price on a flawed stone that only the young man need know about. Not all secrets have to be shared.

Makeityourring Diamond engagement rings can vary in price from a few hundred dollars to literally tens of thousands. Most are purchased already designed and put together in a beautiful setting, but jewelers are happy to custom design a ring to the demands of the customer. White or yellow gold are the two choices in gold color and many shapes of diamonds are available, with some shapes more expensive than others. Of course, retailers offer credit programs that allow rings to be paid over a period of several years. Some retailers offer remorse insurance, allowing a diamond to be returned within a certain period of time should the relationship end before the wedding takes place. Trying to sell an engagement ring can be a very difficult thing to do, and often when it is accomplished a big loss must be assumed.

Sadly, most couples who marry spend about 1/20 of the time being counseled before marriage compared to wedding planning hours. Often there is no counseling ahead of time, yet countless hours are spent poring over diamond engagement rings and bride's magazines. Since about half of marriages end in divorce in the US, one would think that more time would be spent on the most important pre wedding activity a couple can ever engage in (counseling), yet the diamond and wedding planning industries continue to win out. The true test of a couple's love is not in yellow or white gold or platinum diamond engagement rings, or in the size of the wedding party or the cost of the honeymoon, but rather in the extent to which unconditional love is practiced between the duo.

For more information: http://www.christianet.com/jewelry