How important was getting/giving an engagement ring?

[bora bora 1]

I'm also anti-diamond but I like the idea of (any kind of) wedding rings. Before we got married, my husband and I wore rings made from the core of a Brazilian fruit (hubby is from the Amazon) - it probably cost us a couple of dollars for the both. The value was not important though, but the significance. I don't even think anyone knew they were "engagement" (if you can say that) rings, but we knew what they meant.

We wore them on our left hands.

And right before we met up in Rio for the K1 interview, my husband bought us silver "wedding" bands. I am not a fan of gold, but silver is hard to find where hubby is from, so I told him that white gold was fine. However, he was able to track these down. I'd imagine they were more expensive than a gold band, but since I don't know how much he paid, I can't say for sure. I doubt they were too costly though.

Anyway, we started wearing these rings since before the K1 interview and haven't taken them off since. I could care less about a fancy ring, but I do want a wedding ring to "show" that I'm married. Hubby too.

Oh yea, even though fancy rings are not really for me...my sister has an engagement ring that cost as much as my car and I love it. She even let me try it on. It's very beautiful and my brother-in-law designed it. She has a few other pretty rings $$ and so to each their own....

She's happy with them.

Edited March 11, 2008 by bora bora

[melusine 5]

I would like to have a very nice one (but not like huge 1.5ct things either). I do not wear much jewelry (none most of the time or some cheap things sometime) but to me the engagement ring and wedding bands have a strong emotionnal, commitment meaning and i would like it to have some monetary value too.

It can sound superficial but i just say my honest opinion.

Still we will not be able to either do an engagement ring neither wedding bands for our wedding because we have other fees we need to take care off first. So our plan is to do a drive through wedding in vegas (in our car...so even the car will become special ), i will probably wear the wedding band of my great great grandpa (might be a little big, i still need to figure this out) and for our 5 years anniversary we will do a fancier one.

Wich mean he have another 5 years to officialy propose (even tho he already did via webcam somehow )

Also 5 years to save for our wedding, rings etc...

[SpiritAlight 1]

Oh, what the H, I'll add my shtuff too.

My sweetie, the USC, would not hear of it: me not wanting a silly engagement ring thing.

So then I tried emphatically to convince him that it is just a symbols so go out and get any pretty, unique looking silver ring and that would be perfect; hey a cigar band would have been perfect, or even something out of a Cracker Jacks box. You know?

He still either didn't believe me or was set in his ways.

Back then a didn't know.

Now I know him better and realize the ring is all about him...except that being coerced like I had been I designed mine. A beautiful solitaire. Princess-cut (square) on an angle...it is unique and personal design. Some yellow and mostly white gold.

(I did request that the diamond not be a "blood diamond"...that it came from a more ethical company.)

He needed to get me something valuable and nice.

I did not.

There it is.

My wedding band is silver with a small citrine in it and two tiny compressed carbon molecules (diamonds).

It is a wonky shape...wonky like my personality. Ha!

It was supposed to me temporary, but I have fallen in love with it and will not change it.

I hardly wear my rings as it is anyways.

Ha!

I am active and I destroy things.

He and I have different values and are constantly working things out.

[MrsCat 6]

I'm an old fashioned kind of American guy. I bought Sasha an engagement ring. Not because it was supposed to be that way, but because I really wanted surprise her and give her a taste of American tradition. The whole engagement ring thing is just another way for the diamond industry to make more money. Its like Valentine's Day. I love Sasha more than life and I would do anything to surprise her and make her smile. And she adores her ring. And that's enough for me. She would marry me even if she had no ring at all (engagement or wedding). she's successful and doesn't need material items, but I felt buying her a nice ring was important.

I am not the USC, but his wife, and that is exactly what my husband would have said if he read this. Actually this is almost exactly what he said when I asked why he went to such extravagance with the engagement ring. To me a piece of string would have sufficed. But each time I look at, I do remember our engagement, and how excited he was about popping the question. I remember crying (which I something I never do). He did things in grande American style - something that always makes me smile and laugh, cause Americans are still so different just even 1 parallel north of the border.

I'm an old fashioned kind of American guy. I bought Sasha an engagement ring. Not because it was supposed to be that way, but because I really wanted surprise her and give her a taste of American tradition. The whole engagement ring thing is just another way for the diamond industry to make more money. Its like Valentine's Day. I love Sasha more than life and I would do anything to surprise her and make her smile. And she adores her ring. And that's enough for me. She would marry me even if she had no ring at all (engagement or wedding). she's successful and doesn't need material items, but I felt buying her a nice ring was important.

I am not the USC, but his wife, and that is exactly what my husband would have said if he read this. Actually this is almost exactly what he said when I asked why he went to such extravagance with the engagement ring. To me a piece of string would have sufficed. But each time I look at, I do remember our engagement, and how excited he was about popping the question. I remember crying (which I something I never do). He did things in grande American style - something that always makes me smile and laugh, cause Americans are still so different just even 1 parallel north of the border.

[Vi Mazzella 4]

I'm not into expensive jewelry but I have to say that I adore my engagement ring, I would marry my hubby even if he gave me a cubic zirconia but he is very traditional and gave me a nice surprise.

I work at a diamond company and I see everyday lots of guys purchasing engagement rings, so I can say that still a tradition.

Vi

[SnowyTater 0]

Oh no, this is a big confession of sin from me, this is so terrible :

So I was kind of insistent about Iain properly proposing to me and getting a ring and all that stuff. I didn't want anything expensive at all, it wasn't like that, and I don't really like diamonds or anything. But yeh, just, one of my (very few) complaints is that he tends to forget stuff and doesn't really initiate sweet/romantic gestures too too often - like he forgets birthdays and I'm all pouty that he's yet to buy me flowers when I've straightout demanded them a few times now xD - so I was adamant about this just to like, make him work for it or something xD

So he gets me a ring right. And proposes to me in Madrid. And it sounds like he put a good deal of effort into finding a ring that was special, like, went to all the stores and didn't want any of those ones - finally orders one from Whitby because it's one of his favorite kid vacation places and gets me a Whitby jet stone. And this is what his mother's ring is made from so it's a little bit of a tradition now, etc. So...yeh, job well done there.

This was in the end of December.

Two weeks ago I went kayaking for the first time and was told that the water was very calm and there were no rocks, etc. I forget to take the ring off and put it in the car but since it's so calm, figure it's okay and just put it in my pocket for safekeeping. We get on this RIVER which does indeed turn out to be quite rough Two hours into it I flip on a rock and hold on to the kayak for dear life on these currents. What happens but of course come to realize when I'm finally out (and half hypothermia'd and really embarassed) that the ring is long gone...

So I have like, the record short time for nagging for the obtainment of and then subsequently losing an engagement ring It was SO bad to explain what happened and apologize, just...geez...feel so bad about it, what do you do about that you know? xD

So let this be a lesson to women not to be too hard on their guys...totally came back to bite me

[melusine 5]

I admit loosing the first first one too.... i felt soo bad.

It was some kind of a pre-engagement ring from ebay but still.....it kinda sucked

[MrsCat 6]

Two weeks ago I went kayaking for the first time and was told that the water was very calm and there were no rocks, etc. I forget to take the ring off and put it in the car but since it's so calm, figure it's okay and just put it in my pocket for safekeeping. We get on this RIVER which does indeed turn out to be quite rough Two hours into it I flip on a rock and hold on to the kayak for dear life on these currents. What happens but of course come to realize when I'm finally out (and half hypothermia'd and really embarassed) that the ring is long gone...

So I have like, the record short time for nagging for the obtainment of and then subsequently losing an engagement ring It was SO bad to explain what happened and apologize, just...geez...feel so bad about it, what do you do about that you know? xD

Oh Snowy poor poor you. That must be an awful feeling. I would have cried

[SpiritAlight 1]

I wanted to add that I fell in love with the stone: fire opal.

And then everyone told me how I would break it and/or it would not last.

Maybe a ploy to keep selling diamonds??

[Ovaltine Jenkins 5]

Things are never important People and their feelings are I like wearing my ring, cuz I got it from someone who deeply loves me It doesn´t matter what it´s made of or what it looks like. If my husband didn´t want to give me a ring, I wouldn´t mind at all but he was eager to do it and picked one for me not too long after we met

[Dan J 277]

I wanted to add that I fell in love with the stone: fire opal.

And then everyone told me how I would break it and/or it would not last.

Maybe a ploy to keep selling diamonds??

Opals are 5.5 - 6.5 on the Mohs scale for hardness. Diamonds are 10.

You have to be more careful with it as it wouldnt be able to take the same use as a diamond would.

[Jesse and Hema 2]

The wedding ring is pointless, man... And any good woman would be perfectly happy without one...

That being said, my fiancee's wedding ring was custom made

[William33 110]

Rings, bling and so forth are passé. Think of blood diamonds…..

With that said, women love the bling. I look for diamonds/gems that are “supposedly” not blood origin.

I bought heavily in Burma....

Does Burma count…

[✿Ice Rain✿ 0]

Hi,

I am the beneficiary.. When my husband told me that most american girls wants an engagement ring in their fingers, my husband asked me if i too wanted to have an engagement ring, i said NO, its really didn't matter to me, i told him to just save the money instead of getting an engagement ring.. A wedding ring for both of us was enough already.. We went to mall and he bought simple diamond rings with of our choice.. Thats so perfect for us.. We both like it.. (L)

[Imua 0]

I admit loosing the first first one too.... i felt soo bad.

It was some kind of a pre-engagement ring from ebay but still.....it kinda sucked

Wow, I'm not so embarassed now to admit I lost my first ring too

It was on top of a small cabinet in a bowl with my other jewelry and the bowl fell off - I still haven't found it...

He sent me another one and at first I was sad because the first one reminded me of the rainy day in Patan when we went searching for a matching pair of silver rings(not as easy as you would think) and of our engagement ceremony... his father did puja over the rings and everything.... but now this one is precious because Govi picked it out all by himself.