The engagement ring! Every girls’ dream.
To be or not to be, THAT is the question. I’d be lying too, if I said that I had never dreamt of a wedding ring to write home about. Seems to be something in our blood, from the time we’re little girls we imagine the gleam, the glisten, the sparkle.
The first thing a lady does when she pronounces her engagement is wave her hand magically around in the air, dancing playfully while the new accessory adorns her finger! Everyone asks her, “let me see the ring”. Superficial or not, it’s a give-in. THE moment.
Now there are woman mind you who hint, hint, “hint”, until they receive, low and behold, exactly what they’d hoped for. Others prefer to keep it subtle, wanting to “let him pick it out”. Both have their pros and cons, allowing both for satisfaction and disappointment.
In my eyes, the ring isn’t what counts at the end of the day, but sure is a gorgeous reminder of a life you’re choosing to explore with the man you adore. Now, just because you may have this ideal notion of one day receiving your dream piece, is not to say, that it will happen, nor does it mean your oh-so-sweet fiancé does not listen to you or your wishes… should you end up with something unexpected in place of your fairytale design.
It just means that someone sees you perhaps differently than you see yourself. That he believes with all his might, that he’s found the ring to suit his perfect woman! Are you a playful romantic? A sultry seductress? A new-age woman in search of a one-of-a-kind piece? A lover of the “classics”? A mix of all of the above?
Of cushion cuts, round cuts, pear shapes, emerald, princess and marquis??? Of solitaires, pave’, bohemian, contemporary, retro, halo, baguettes (and I don’t mean bread)!!! Ornate, lavish, simple, trendy, old, new, borrowed (hope not) and yes, blue? Color, cut, clarity. Gold or platinum, white or yellow? 
Good heavens, what does it all mean? The choices seem endless and foreign to some, who perhaps have never even gone window shopping. Well you’re not alone. Imagine the confusion of the poor chump walking into the jewelry store unarmed, unaware of what’s in store for him. Of the questions, the budget, the endless options. Chances are you’ve flipped through thousands of adverts over the years, with rings that strike you immediately, adorning the hands of strategically positioned models (under great lighting I might add). Others you’ve maybe seen, and envied, on the fingers of friends. And perhaps others that surprise you with time. Maybe you’ve graced each and every jewelry store in your city and elsewhere, trying them all on. No matter your situation, we tend to believe that we “know what we like”.
Where did the idea come from? The engagement ring custom? Well, according to tradition the ring is typically worn on the third finger of the left hand, as it was once believed that this particular finger held a vein which was connected directly to the heart. The main reason diamonds were the stone of choice was due to the fact that the Ancient Greeks thought them to be “tears of the Gods”, and therefore extremely precious, while Romans “fragments of shooting stars”. Talk about romantic!!! The very first ring one was given to Mary of Burgundy in 1477, presented to her by Archduke Maximilian of Austria. And so it began. 
This all leading up to the Big Proposal!!! Who wants to tell me hers?
