Diamond engagement rings profess a message of love and fidelity that no other form of ring ever could. It is not that such rings are novel, since diamonds and gold have been the standard raw materials for engagement rings for many years, but there is now a much wider range of colors and designs available.
The hip hop music scene, and the bling that has arisen from it, have given rise to a style that is unmistakenly brash, but also beautiful at the same time. The style is typified by masses of diamonds which give rise to the term iced up', which in turn gave rise to a brand new style of jewelry where, rather than solitaires set in classical settings, jewelry pieces are composed of masses of small round and princess cut diamonds, sometimes invisibly set, to give the appearance of the dazzling beauty of masses and masses of diamonds.
The round cut diamonds in particular offer more sparkle for the buck than most other diamond cuts, so that just a few diamonds intelligently set, can offer the sparkling appearance of many more, and are absolutely ideal for the bling style, whether used in rings or any other form of jewelry.
Diamond engagement rings are also available in such bling styles, as well as in the more traditional form of engagement ring. A typical example of the latter is a solitaire diamond of just over a carat within a four-prong setting, with round cut diamonds and baguettes to another carat or so on either side, all set in a 14 carat gold ring.
You can also get engagement rings in 18 carat gold, but the higher the carats the purer and hence softer the gold. Keep in mind that this ring should last a lifetime, so the harder wearing 14 carat is a good compromise between the cheaper 9 carat and the softer 18 carat. In the alternative bling style you can have 1.5 carats of diamonds round cut and invisibly set in 14 K yellow gold. This is serious sparkle, and it will out-glitter most other diamond engagement rings around. Be careful that the guy's ring doesn't outshine his fianc's or he will be in deep trouble!
Although people may claim that they buy a particular diamond engagement ring for a number of different reasons, effectively it comes down to just three basic ones. The first of these is, of course, simply to give to their fianc to signify the engagement. This is traditional in the Western world, and also now in most other countries in the world. If this were the only reason, then one might presume that any ring would do, so the second reason is to buy the best that they can, particular of the man for the woman. The subconscious, and likely traditional, reason for that is likely that the value of the ring signifies the worth of the potential bridegroom and his ability to look after his wife.
Some have suggested that the traditional diamond engagement ring is waning in popularity, but nothing could be further from the truth. Diamond rings are every bit as popular as they have ever been, and in many ways they have grown in popularity. It is perhaps largely due to the increased availability and range of styles that a diamond ring has to offer, and also to the revived status that diamond jewelry of any kind has been enjoying. It could also be that young people have more money to spend than a decade or two ago.
Whatever the reason, an increasing number of couples are spending more and more money on diamond engagement rings of all kinds. Some contain other stones, such as emeralds, sapphires or rubies, while others consist of white diamonds mixed with diamonds of other colors, some enhanced to make them more vivid. White gold, pink gold, yellow gold and platinum are among the more popular metal options available.
Nothing expresses the impression of style and elegance of a diamond ring and a ring on that left hand's third finger indicates more than just that the woman or man wearing it is spoken for. It indicates the commitment to eternity that diamonds signify, and a signal of everlasting love.
There will always be discussion over why a particular ring was chosen, but diamond and gold have become traditional materials for engagement rings, and so in the final analysis, there would likely be little choice: the man either purchases the selected ring himself to present to his girl, and spends what he thinks necessary to impress her, or the girl chooses her own, and selects a ring that that she thinks looks good on her finger. The two choices of diamond engagement rings are unlikely to be the same!
