Diamond Engagement Rings: Simple Guide to Choosing the Best

Diamond Engagement Rings became a very popular choice in the 1940’s and are still considered traditional today. Diamonds have always been sparkling and gorgeous. From infancy we love things that catch our eye and, for many of us, that love never goes away.

Of course, you can get diamonds set in any type of jewelry you’d like and they can be worn with absolutely anything! My personal favorite is dressing up a fantastic pair of jeans with gorgeous jewelry, a dressy top and a pair of low heels.  That’s my Okie styly of dressing up for sure!

Diamond Engagement Rings: A Little Interesting History

The first diamond engagement ring was a long, narrow row of diamonds in the shape of an M from Archduke Maximilian of Austria to his betrothed, Mary of Burgandy. They were married until

Still, diamond engagement rings didn’t become popular until the 1940’s when De Beers launched their commercial campaign with the slogan, ‘A Diamond is Forever.’ Crazy how marketing can change the perspective of entire societies, isn’t it?

In 1949, the song ‘Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend‘ was performed for the first time by Carol Channing in the Broadway musical Gentleman Prefer Blondes. From there it just became a normal phrase that everyone used. While we may not all know where it came from, we certainly know the phrase!

Choosing the Right Stone in Diamond Engagement Rings

There are ten shapes of diamonds: round, princess, oval, cushion, pear, radiant, emerald, Asscher, marquise and heart. According to the International Gem Society, the different shapes impact the price of the diamond. If you follow the link above, they give a great breakdown of average prices and sizes for them at varying carat weights, along with pros and cons of the different cuts.

It’s also a very personal thing, some people have a preference over cuts as not every one fits every person’s style. For example, the stones that stick out drive me crazy because they catch on things and I’m always doing stuff with my hands. No time for that nonsense! Princess cuts are gorgeous, but they are notorious for catching on things and chipping.

The Four C’s are a big deal in diamond choosing and include cut, carat weight, clarity and color. However, I’m not going to go into the other three. Specifically because, in my personal opinion, those things don’t matter to most people. If the ring catches your eye, passes your scrutiny when you critically examine the stone closely and fits the rest of your checklist, then it’s go time! That being said, for further research, you may enjoy a website called Beyond 4Cs. While they do say that they aren’t selling anything, I honestly don’t know. What I do know is they seem to be sharing a lot of good information.

Choosing the Right Band

After you select the stone you’ll want to get the right metal. There may be allergies to consider as some people are allergic to certain metals. We learned on our wedding day that my husband is allergic to gold. Before our vows were complete, his hand started swelling, turning red and itching. I still tease him about being allergic to marriage but, at the time, it wasn’t so funny. He kept having to take it off, then put it on for wedding photos, then off again.

There’s also fashion taste. Some women love rose gold, others are silver kind of girls and there are those who love gold all on it’s own. If you are trying to surprise her by picking out the ring without any input, I recommend paying attention to what she normally wears.

Ethically Sourced Diamonds

Ensuring that the diamond you purchase is ethically sourced is very important. No one wants to find out their engagement ring hurt people or funded war among innocent people. Many have heard of “conflict” or “blood” diamonds and no marriage should start out with a symbol from one of those sources!

Most sites and jewelry stores have a policy statement on their diamonds as it is a huge deal. There are various organizations who set out to prevent inhumane and environmentally harmful practices in mining them, such as the World Diamond Council. Whatever acompany’s guarantee is, be sure and research it to make sure that it is indeed a legitimate, ethically sourced stone. Do your homework. It’s worth it!

So It Is…

Once you’ve chosen and have begun your wedding planning journey, any stress you felt while choosing the perfect engagement ring will dissipate. At the end of the day, as long as it’s ethically sourced, nothing else really matters. We couldn’t afford an engagement ring or an expensive wedding set. Once though, I lost my wedding band (with a minute little stone in it) and I spent days crying and taring my house apart to find it. The only thing that mattered, I soon realized, was that it was the ring my husband bought for me and being without it was heartbreaking.

Of course, it’s been quite a few years now and I’d be okay with a replacement since my ring can’t be resized and I now have to wear it on my middle finger.

Image Credit for Rose with Engagement Ring: Herm from Pixabay
Image Credit for Ring on Tray: Terri Cnudde from Pixabay