Design Diamond Engagement Ring?
I looked on the alt.wedding homepage to make sure this hasn't been
covered, and there's only a link to the International Colored Gemstone
Association, which doesn't really help.
My fiance and I are looking for 'the ring', but I dislike diamonds. I
have a couple of questions for everyone out here in alt.wedding land:
1) Can anyone share stories of finding non-diamond engagement rings?
2) Does anyone know the pre-diamond history of the engagement ring? I
was surprised this wasn't in the alt.wedding homepage. I know the
obsession with diamonds is mostly the result of a bunch of _really_ skillful
20th century ad campaigns, but what was the tradition before that?
We decided on sapphire for our engagement rings (for both of us),
and had an incredibly easy time finding them! In fact, at the Mall
of America (slightly ashamed) we looked at rings in seven different
jewelry stores. Rubies and emeralds are easy to find too, as are
many semi precious stones such as amethysts & garnets.
My advice is to just start looking. It's a lot of fun, especially
when you start thinking "outside the box" of diamonds!
The engagement ring can be traced to Ancient Rome, where the future
husband gave his future wife his pledge--a ring--which at first was
nothing more than a plain iron circle.
As rings evolved, so did colored stones: rubies, emerald, sapphire, etc.
It wasn't until the 14th century that diamonds were included in jewelry.
They were both faceted and set. Diamond was prized for its hardness and
its mystic properties.
For info on colored gemstones, write or call the GIA and ask for their
bookstore catalogue. There carry many books on colored gems that you
won't find in libraries. (# in NYC: 212-944-5900. # in Ca.
310-829-2991.)