It seems that the giving of engagement rings is a tradition that dates back approximately 5,000 years to the time of the ancient Egyptians. According to history and lore, it was around that time when the concept of the circle and the fact that it has no beginning and no end, was first associated with the idea of eternal love. As a result, today we still think of these precursors to wedding rings as being a suitable symbol to express love, devotion and commitment.

In later times, during the height of the Roman Empire, a young Roman man would offer a young lady a ring as his pledge to her and his declaration of his intent to wed her. When the young lady accepted such a ring, it was considered to be a legal and binding agreement and wearing such an engagement ring indicated that she was pledged in marriage and was not available to others who might want to court her.

In these olden times, the engagement rings were made out of the most easily available metal material, which was iron in most cases. Build on these long-held traditions, today’s rings used for proposing marriage are now items of fine jewelry and are usually forged from the precious metals of yellow gold, white gold, platinum or silver, and are often embellished with sparking diamonds.

Diamond engagement rings are available in a huge assortment of styles, from plain, simple and classic to big, glitzy and trendy, and every style in between. With such an enormous selection available, it can be said that there is a engagement rings for every personality, taste and budget.

The most basic of rings for an engagement are simple bands of metal and could be sterling silver jewelry rings with no gemstones of any kind. Often these simple rings also do double duty as wedding bands and this is quite acceptable for the couple who is short of money or who merely prefer to keep things modest and unpretentious.

And, while simple and basic can be an elegant and completely acceptable choice, the fact is that most are somewhat more adorned and embellished. The most often seen combination is a gold jewelry ring that also is set with one diamond, known as a solitaire, or with a variety of cut diamonds. If there is more than one diamond, then often there is one larger stone with smaller gems encircling it, or there is an arrangement of small diamonds of the same size set into a channel.

In recent years, platinum has also become a popular choice. However, uncut diamonds purchased to be set in platinum will be quite a bit more expensive than those made of silver or gold, and this often makes platinum a choice that few are able to afford.

There is no question that a man who is in love and ready to propose can spend an awful lot of money on the perfect ring. But, for more women, the most important thing about engagement rings is not how expensive they are but the sentiment behind the ring and proposal. With the right ingredients in the relationship, the cost of the ring will have very little bearing on the success of the marriage.

Share This