The Ring

No not this kind...

This kind.... !

An engagement ring should be as unique as the woman who wears it. Keeping in mind that it's also the most important piece of jewelry that a woman will ever wear and she will wear it every. single. day. It should be a reflection of who she is.

I have often wondered the origin of traditions and since my birthstone is the diamond, I have often wondered why we often associate diamonds with engagement {and not my birthday}. So, I did some research. If you Google the history of the diamond engagement ring, you'll read that the first recorded case was when Archduke Maximillan of Hamburg gave Mary of Burgandy a diamond engagement ring in 1477, but they were hardly the trend setters.

Max and Mary aside, before the 20th century women were offered other gifts of betrothal, like sewing thimbles. Nothing says I love you like, "I want you to be the only woman who darns my socks. Will you marry me?" Totally romantic, right? It's no wonder the diamond engagement ring didn't catch on until the 1930's!

Now, the way my creative brain works this discovery lead to one thing, which lead to another and another, and it finally brought me here... What do diamonds mean? *insert double rainbow sobs here*

We all know that yellow roses mean friendship and red roses mean true love, but have you ever given thought to the symbolic meaning of gemstones? Surely they mean something, otherwise, the most popular engagement stone would be rubies, which are red ~ the color of true love. Eh? So, I did some more research and discovered the following...

Amethyst :: deep love and sincerity.
Aquamarine :: continual happiness and consistency in love.
Emerald :: hope, peace, and tranquility.
Ruby :: beauty and passion.
Diamond :: wisdom and clarity.
White Sapphire :: loyalty and fidelity.
White Topaz :: love and success.

And after all that darn research, I have concluded that there is no really good reason why diamonds are the most popular, except they fit into every wardrobe.

Like I always say, "break the rules and eff tradition!" Bravo to the following girls who are {or, in J-Lo's case have} sported out of the ordinary rings ~