
[[Image:Wedding and Engagement Rings 500.jpg|thumbnail|210px|A diamond studded yellow gold engagement ring with a white gold wedding ring.]] In the British-American tradition, an engagement ring is a jewelry ring worn by a woman on her left-hand ring finger indicating her engagement to be marriage. By modern convention, the ring is usually presented as a betrothal gift by a man to his prospective bride while or directly after she accepts his marriage proposal. It represents a formal agreement to chastity and a future marriage. Similar traditions seem to date at least to the ancient ancient Greece,Ancient Rome, and Egyptians. In Egypt it was believed that the vena amoris was located on the fourth finger of the left hand. In the United States, it is more common today than it used to be for a woman also to buy the man an engagement or promise ring at the time of the engagement. In Germany, both the man and the woman wear engagement rings. In some societies, it is traditional for the engagement ring to cost the equivalent of one month's pay of the man's wages. In the United States, diamond industry advertisements advocate two months' pay. A spokesperson from Tiffany & Co. Australia, quoted on the television program ''A Current Affair'' (February 1, 2005), suggested that a man should spend two to three month's salary on an engagement ring. ==Refusing the gift== Women traditionally refuse offers of marriage by refusing to take the offered engagement ring. A woman who accepts an engagement ring, and then does not marry the man but keeps the ring, is considered grasping and dishonest in some cases, although an alternative argument is that the ring was a gift to which the woman is entitled; because an engagement is also a period for evaluating one's commitment to the relationship, it is not uncommon for either the man or the woman to break off the engagement. An engagement ring is often intentionally expensive as a sign of the man's permanency of interest. It is generally held that if the betrothal fails because the man pursues other women or himself breaks off the engagement, the woman is not obliged to return the ring. In the United States, this moral argument usually does not hold up in court. ==Material and design== Designs of such rings have varied greatly over the years. It traditionally is a precious band, and mounts a diamond or other gem. Current fashions for engagement rings are for a gold, platinum, or silver band with a single diamond. This trend dates from advertising campaigns in the 1940s by de Beers, the world's leading diamond producer. The argument for a diamond is that it is the most enduring, beautiful, and expensive gem. Many women, however, prefer different gems or semiprecious stones to the stark clarity of a diamond. Many women prefer colored stones. Sapphires, star sapphires, emeralds, and ruby are often used in engagement rings. Pearls and opals are rare, because these are soft stones. In some European countries (for example, Germany), engagement rings are usually plain gold bands without a diamond. ==History== The inception of the engagement ring itself can be tied to the Fourth Council of the Lateran presided over by Pope Innocent III in 1215. Innocent declared a longer waiting period between betrothal and marriage; plain rings of gold, silver or iron were used earliest. Gems were more than baubles; they were important and reassuring status symbols to the aristocracy. Laws were passed to preserve a visible division of social rank, ensuring only the privileged wore florid jewels. As time passed and laws relaxed, diamonds and other gems became obtainable to the middle class. At one time, engagement rings mounted sets of stones. One traditional sentimental pattern mounted six to celebrate the joining of two families: The birthstones of the bride's parents and the bride (on the left), and the birth stones of the groom and his parents (on the right). The parents' stones were mounted with the mother to the left of the father. The bride and groom's birthstones would be adjacent in the center. Another similar pattern, for four stones, mounted the birthstone of the parents' marriages, and the birthstones of the bride and groom. These token rings often disassembled, to expose a channel in which a lock of the suitor's hair could be treasured. A Victorian era tradition was the Regards ring, in which the initials of the precious gems used spelled out the word 'regards'. ==See also== *Wedding ring Marriage Rings
"By modern convention, the ring is usually presented as a betrothal gift by a man to his prospective bride while or directly after she accepts his marriage proposal." I'm told it's only on television that they tend to hand over rings there and then. If they did it in real life, then surely that would mean you're meant to measure her finger, buy the ring and then propose, at the risk of having wasted your money if she refuses (and it doesn't fit whomever you end up getting engaged to instead). But the measuring must be a giveaway, so why not propose then? It would make more sense.... -- User:Smjg 09:00, 10 Sep 2004 (UTC) : It is done in real life a lot, although I agree that in some cases it makes more sense to propose first and then get the ring. However, many people--men and women--actually know their ring sizes because they wear rings at other times. And many people know their partners' tastes in jewelery--might in fact have gone shopping together for "if someday I were to become engaged, that's the sort of ring that appeals to me--" (one might argue that if a couple really knows each oether well enough to get married that they ought to know something about each other's tastes and preferences). Also, most, if not all, jewelery stores will exchange a ring that's brought back after it's presented if the size and/or style and/or stone aren't the right ones. User:Elf | User talk:Elf 16:19, 10 Sep 2004 (UTC) :: I see. But if she declines, would they give a refund? Or will it remain exchangeable indefinitely for when you finally get engaged to someone several years later? -- User:Smjg 14:47, 27 Oct 2004 (UTC) : Part of the romantic fantasy of proposing is in having the ring with you to seal the deal, although it's not done all the time. Some people make the ring the center of the proposal--e.g. hide or place the ring where the recipient will come across it unexpectedly, although this sometimes backfires. Just read or heard about someone who put it into a specially made dark chocolate treat, but the recipient exchanged the treat at the store for milk chocolate and the ring was never seen again. One of our friends had the waiter at the restaurant deposit it in his girlfriend's after-dinner coffee, and he had a very long wait while she dawdled over the coffee and almost decided not to drink it--but at least the guy knew where the ring was the whole time. (My first fiance presented me with the ring at his proposal--but we had talked about "what if--" for a very long time, so he knew what I liked. My second engagement, the rings for both of us came later.) User:Elf | User talk:Elf 16:19, 10 Sep 2004 (UTC) I have removed the following sentence from the article. For example, Judith Sheindlin, TV's Judge Judy, holds that an engagement ring is 'a gift given in contemplation of marriage' and must therefore be returned if the contract is broken. This is a poor example in the legal context, as Judge Judy is not a real court, and descions binding because of the contract people sign to appear on the show, not because of preset claims laws. --User:ORBIT 19:29, 19 Mar 2005 (UTC)
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Words begining with Engagement_ring:
Engagement_ring
Engagement_ring
Engagement ring
[[Image:Wedding and Engagement Rings 500.jpg|thumbnail|210px|A diamond studded yellow gold engagement ring with a white gold wedding ring.]] In the British-American tradition, an engagement ring is a jewelry ring worn by a woman on her left-hand ring finger indicating her engagement to be marriage. By modern convention, the ring is usually presented as a betrothal gift by a man to his prospective bride while or directly after she accepts his marriage proposal. It represents a formal agreement to chastity and a future marriage. Similar traditions seem to date at least to the ancient ancient Greece,Ancient Rome, and Egyptians. In Egypt it was believed that the vena amoris was located on the fourth finger of the left hand. In the United States, it is more common today than it used to be for a woman also to buy the man an engagement or promise ring at the time of the engagement. In Germany, both the man and the woman wear engagement rings. In some societies, it is traditional for the engagement ring to cost the equivalent of one month's pay of the man's wages. In the United States, diamond industry advertisements advocate two months' pay. A spokesperson from Tiffany & Co. Australia, quoted on the television program ''A Current Affair'' (February 1, 2005), suggested that a man should spend two to three month's salary on an engagement ring. ==Refusing the gift== Women traditionally refuse offers of marriage by refusing to take the offered engagement ring. A woman who accepts an engagement ring, and then does not marry the man but keeps the ring, is considered grasping and dishonest in some cases, although an alternative argument is that the ring was a gift to which the woman is entitled; because an engagement is also a period for evaluating one's commitment to the relationship, it is not uncommon for either the man or the woman to break off the engagement. An engagement ring is often intentionally expensive as a sign of the man's permanency of interest. It is generally held that if the betrothal fails because the man pursues other women or himself breaks off the engagement, the woman is not obliged to return the ring. In the United States, this moral argument usually does not hold up in court. ==Material and design== Designs of such rings have varied greatly over the years. It traditionally is a precious band, and mounts a diamond or other gem. Current fashions for engagement rings are for a gold, platinum, or silver band with a single diamond. This trend dates from advertising campaigns in the 1940s by de Beers, the world's leading diamond producer. The argument for a diamond is that it is the most enduring, beautiful, and expensive gem. Many women, however, prefer different gems or semiprecious stones to the stark clarity of a diamond. Many women prefer colored stones. Sapphires, star sapphires, emeralds, and ruby are often used in engagement rings. Pearls and opals are rare, because these are soft stones. In some European countries (for example, Germany), engagement rings are usually plain gold bands without a diamond. ==History== The inception of the engagement ring itself can be tied to the Fourth Council of the Lateran presided over by Pope Innocent III in 1215. Innocent declared a longer waiting period between betrothal and marriage; plain rings of gold, silver or iron were used earliest. Gems were more than baubles; they were important and reassuring status symbols to the aristocracy. Laws were passed to preserve a visible division of social rank, ensuring only the privileged wore florid jewels. As time passed and laws relaxed, diamonds and other gems became obtainable to the middle class. At one time, engagement rings mounted sets of stones. One traditional sentimental pattern mounted six to celebrate the joining of two families: The birthstones of the bride's parents and the bride (on the left), and the birth stones of the groom and his parents (on the right). The parents' stones were mounted with the mother to the left of the father. The bride and groom's birthstones would be adjacent in the center. Another similar pattern, for four stones, mounted the birthstone of the parents' marriages, and the birthstones of the bride and groom. These token rings often disassembled, to expose a channel in which a lock of the suitor's hair could be treasured. A Victorian era tradition was the Regards ring, in which the initials of the precious gems used spelled out the word 'regards'. ==See also== *Wedding ring Marriage Rings
Engagement ring
"By modern convention, the ring is usually presented as a betrothal gift by a man to his prospective bride while or directly after she accepts his marriage proposal." I'm told it's only on television that they tend to hand over rings there and then. If they did it in real life, then surely that would mean you're meant to measure her finger, buy the ring and then propose, at the risk of having wasted your money if she refuses (and it doesn't fit whomever you end up getting engaged to instead). But the measuring must be a giveaway, so why not propose then? It would make more sense.... -- User:Smjg 09:00, 10 Sep 2004 (UTC) : It is done in real life a lot, although I agree that in some cases it makes more sense to propose first and then get the ring. However, many people--men and women--actually know their ring sizes because they wear rings at other times. And many people know their partners' tastes in jewelery--might in fact have gone shopping together for "if someday I were to become engaged, that's the sort of ring that appeals to me--" (one might argue that if a couple really knows each oether well enough to get married that they ought to know something about each other's tastes and preferences). Also, most, if not all, jewelery stores will exchange a ring that's brought back after it's presented if the size and/or style and/or stone aren't the right ones. User:Elf | User talk:Elf 16:19, 10 Sep 2004 (UTC) :: I see. But if she declines, would they give a refund? Or will it remain exchangeable indefinitely for when you finally get engaged to someone several years later? -- User:Smjg 14:47, 27 Oct 2004 (UTC) : Part of the romantic fantasy of proposing is in having the ring with you to seal the deal, although it's not done all the time. Some people make the ring the center of the proposal--e.g. hide or place the ring where the recipient will come across it unexpectedly, although this sometimes backfires. Just read or heard about someone who put it into a specially made dark chocolate treat, but the recipient exchanged the treat at the store for milk chocolate and the ring was never seen again. One of our friends had the waiter at the restaurant deposit it in his girlfriend's after-dinner coffee, and he had a very long wait while she dawdled over the coffee and almost decided not to drink it--but at least the guy knew where the ring was the whole time. (My first fiance presented me with the ring at his proposal--but we had talked about "what if--" for a very long time, so he knew what I liked. My second engagement, the rings for both of us came later.) User:Elf | User talk:Elf 16:19, 10 Sep 2004 (UTC) I have removed the following sentence from the article. For example, Judith Sheindlin, TV's Judge Judy, holds that an engagement ring is 'a gift given in contemplation of marriage' and must therefore be returned if the contract is broken. This is a poor example in the legal context, as Judge Judy is not a real court, and descions binding because of the contract people sign to appear on the show, not because of preset claims laws. --User:ORBIT 19:29, 19 Mar 2005 (UTC)
See other meanings of words starting from letter:
E
EA | EB | EC | ED | EF | EG | EH | EI | EJ | EK | EL | EM | EN | EO | EP | ER | ES | ET | EU | EW | EX | EY | EZ |Words begining with Engagement_ring:
Engagement_ring
Engagement_ring
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