Weddingbee Blog

I think your engagement ring stone is a matter of preference. I personally love diamonds partly because they are my birthstone. I think diamonds have gotten a bad rap in the last few years to the lack of conditions for the miners. If when buying diamonds you are responsible enough to ask it is easy to find non conflict diamonds today. This article was interesting because is talked about the origins of why diamonds are so desired as engagement rings. But I feel that it really all comes down to personal preference. Also I totally disagree with the quote “But it’s also the case that a murkier truth lies within its brilliance: Women still measure their worth in relationship to marriage in ways that men don’t. And many are looking for men who will bear the burden of providing for them, while demanding equality in other ways.” Looking at my female friends and relatives this judgmental statement is extremely outdated and untrue in my opinion.

While I do like sparkle, all I can think when I see a diamond is African blood. It’s easier for me to assume that the people I see with shiny clear rocks are wearing fakes than to think that they handed money over to DeBeers.

I’m not going to beat people up for wearing it, I am just going to do my part by not contributing.

I also have a fake diamond.

Why? Because I thought it was foolish to fork over so much money to DeBeers. I would have been happy with a gemstone ring or just a band, but ended up with a diamond simulant to appease the judgemental snobs in my fiance’s field. They would have looked down upon him and it would have stunted his career. A sad reality.

Anyway, instead of forking over tens of thousands to the diamond cartel, we donated it to a charity of my choice. Money well spent, in my opinion…

By the way, in case you were curious… We run in social circles with some very rich people, and they cannot tell at all that it’s a fake! (It’s a very good fake)

I have a diamond and I love it. It was my fiance’s grandmothers ring and she wore it for 50 years, 40 of which she was widowed. I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

I have a real diamond, purchased by my fiance, and I love it. I’m not going to get into the politics of real vs. fake, but the poll DID get me thinking about a different topic — is it strange to ‘upgrade’ a ring after several years? Are people attached to the sentimentality of ‘this is the ring with which he proposed’ and thus do not want to change it? I just ask because when my fiance gave me the ring (a GORGEOUS 1.5ct asscher stone with .5 ct asscher side stones), he commented that it would be upgraded to a larger ring once his medical school debt was paid off. It’s a lovely ring and I would certainly wear it forever, but would it be frowned up to actually upgrade it later (at his suggestion)?

Just wanted to point out that “fake” diamonds and “synthetic” diamonds are not the same thing. “Fake” diamonds are cubic zirconia or other cheap, man-made materials. “Synthetic” diamonds are man-made, but are molecularly identical to diamonds, hence they are still pricey.

Personally, I want a natural sapphire due to my moral/political misgivings towards the diamond industry. Natural sapphires are also quite rare and are 2nd in hardness to diamonds… but cost a fraction of diamonds.

Well, there are a lot of companies that do unethical things. This is just one industry. We can’t blame these guys for having a good ad campaign, can we?
But I completely respect people who don’t care to have a ring, for moral/ethical reasons.
I love my diamond, but we each have to make a personal decision that we are happy with.

I have a diamond ring, and I like it, and I’ll keep it forever. I’m happy with that!

As for the article…
“For those who aren’t bothered by the finer points of gender equity, an engagement ring clearly makes a claim about the status of a woman’s sexual currency. It’s a big, shiny NO TRESPASSING sign, stating that the woman wearing it has been bought and paid for…”

Bullcrap! I wear mine as a sign of love and commitment, not as a sign of his ownership. So it also lets others know I’m taken, but it’s true, I am… not owned, but taken and happy.

I answered the poll as best fit me, but it isn’t quite accurate. I wanted sapphires and diamonds from the start, and I chose a band ring with alternating sapphires and diamonds… though my grandma bought me diamond ring as well later. I’m wearing them one on each hand and my plain wedding band will be stacked with the engagement ring.

I didn’t want my fiance to spend too much, and since the ring has small stones, if didn’t cost very much. He wouldn’t have minded spending somewhat more, but this was the one I liked within the price range.

A girlfriend once commented that she was sad to see how “small” her diamond was, and that now that they’ve been married 12 years and had 4 kids she would like an “upgrade” but could not afford it. Well, there’s a lot to be said for enjoying all those years together and welcoming those beautiful children into the world. They married young and worked hard together to build a great family and life; the ring is a reflection of where they started, and it’s very sweet. There’s a lot of sentiment in the original ring, especially because they are very religious and like that it was blessed.

My grandmothers’ modest-sized but great quality mid-WWII rings speak volumes of times and the the military men they married.

It’s fair to say that those who marry older, more often than not, have been working longer and can afford a more expensive engagement ring; but that’s not what matters.

P.S. There’s someone at my workplace who is wearing a very large very obvious faux engagement ring and I’m afraid it is the topic of much water cooler chatter. Not in a good way.