<p>My engagement ring is a sapphire, with diamond baguettes (probably blood diamonds, but I never knew this was a controversy 25 years ago). I got the idea from Princess Diana. I figured if it was good enough for royalty, it was good enough for me! 
</p>
<p>"In the early '80’s when I was first married, many of my peers wanted big rocks, I believe my sisters ring was two carats and my sister in laws were almost as showy. "</p>
<p>“Showy” depends on how that particular person wears it. A 2 carat ring would look wrong (too big) on my finger and it wouldn’t fit with my overall look and how I present myself, but it looks perfectly fine and not-showy on others. </p>
<p>My daughter-in-law has one of my grandmother’s rings and I am so glad they didn’t change the 1920s setting. I had told my son to do whatever they wanted with the diamond, but give me back that setting if they took the diamond out. She loves it. Bling suits her. She always looks fantastic.</p>
<p>Living in a sorority house, with weekly candle passings (a ceremony to announce an engagement) and endless engagement ring discussions, I just wore out on diamonds. I didn’t want any engagement ring, just a plain gold wedding band. Naturally, all the women in my family felt sorry for me and left me their diamonds in their wills. I keep them in the safety deposit box. I’ve started distributing them here and there to younger family members.</p>
<p>I wear a lot of jewelry, all antique or ancient. I did eventually end up with a very nice ring to go with my wedding band. Art historians sometimes do a double take. Mostly people don’t notice. That is how I’m snobby.</p>
<p>antique and ancient jewelry come with a different set of ethical issues</p>
<p>I love my diamonds . Maybe some think I should feel guilty about them , but I don’t. By that logic, we would all be guilty of supporting some kind of product that comes from areas of the world that could have been obtained via a conflict of some sort or another. I need to try to stop judging others with opposing views </p>
<p>It seems that diamonds have been the gem of choice for engagement rings for at least as long as I’ve noticed. I like my diamond and wouldn’t have wanted any other stone for my engagement ring. One thing I’ve disliked, though, is the current trend toward bling-y diamonds. I dislike the halo settings. Classic solitaires are much more appealing to me (in yellow gold rings with matching plain yellow gold wedding bands). </p>
<p>One potential issue regarding giving family heirloom jewelry/gems to be made into rings for dils, though…what happens when the engagement or marriage ends at some point? Personally, I’d much rather save those heirloom jewels to give to female descendants (granddaughters, nieces, etc.). </p>
<p>^^^I totally agree. </p>
<p>Thought about holding the stones int he necklace, but if the marriage doesnt survive, and I sincerely hope it will, I am prepared for whatever happens. Leaving it sitting in a box for a potential granddaughter seems like a waste of time to me. Let them enjoy it.</p>
<p>I have my mom’s engagement and wedding band, which has much more sentimental value to me, as I used to play with them as a kid. So I choose to wear them. There is a third ring, an eternity ring, that I wear with them too, but unfortunately recently 2 stones fell out and the jeweler is having trouble finding the right size for a replacement. The ring was sent to NY and its been up there for almost 3 weeks. I am hopeful they will figure something out.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>100% agree. To me there is nothing more timeless than a beautiful solitaire, and IMO timelessness is an important feature for an engagement ring. The new settings look cluttered and busy, not to mention faddish.</p>
<p>I’m still happy with my diamond solitare that we got from our friend who happens to be a jeweler 27 years ago. It has white gold prongs and a yellow gold setting gand matches my diamond wedding band just fine. H no longer fits his plain gold wedding band–maybe we’ll ask the jeweler if it can be resized, when we have dinner tonighter with him & his wife. We are still great friends and have been for several decades. ;)</p>
<p>I have other rings, mostly ruby (my birthstone). They are nice but not what I wear daily–just my engagement ring and wedding band–very traditional.</p>
<p>It will be fun for the couple to find a ring that means something to them and is lovely–there is a lot to choose from, if they aren’t stuck on a diamond. Costco and Sam’s Club even have lovely jewelry and rings.</p>
<p>I have an emerald cut diamond - it’s not blingy because an emerald cut does not have many facets compared to a brilliant cut stone…it’s very linear and elegant. H had it made for our tenth anniversary and we picked it up in France. The jeweler (from a famous Parisian company ) met us on the Riviera to deliver the ring. It’s a great memory and I still love the ring 15 years later. I will leave this ring to my daughter when I die, but I plan to share my other jewelry with my sons’ families too - hopefully it’s a long time from now and I have grandchildren by then!</p>
<p>“Wasn’t one of the most famous engagement rings, Lady Di’s, a Blue Sapphire? Though we all know how that turned out!”</p>
<p>Mine is a blue sapphire surrounded by diamonds. I also have a ring guard of blue sapphs & diamonds. </p>
<p>My niece did not want a blood diamond and I believe her diamond came from Canada. </p>
<p>I have a halo setting around a blue diamond. It’s smaller than most people’s solitaire. It’s perfect, for me, and that’s all one can ask for </p>
<p>@Gourmetmom, a sizeable emerald cut diamond is my ideal diamond ring. I agree that the cut is elegant and timeless. Ironically, since I generally don’t like them except as accents for colored stones, diamonds are in fact my birthstone. When H and I looked at rings, I was interested first in emerald cut emeralds, but they were all too expensive, alas. I’m not fond of rubies, either.</p>
<p>Just to clarify - the reason I said that GF will have to explain to people that it’s a clean diamond is that many people with specific political views hang around with other people with the same or similar political views. So she might feel compelled to explain that a diamond is clean to those who also feel strongly against blood diamonds. (Just like people wearing fake fur often feel compelled to explain that it’s fake.)</p>
<p>Chedva, as someone exactly in that situation, people around me know my political leanings and anyone with half a brain figures out that I wouldn’t wear real diamonds (especially since so much of my work centers on human rights abuses). </p>
<p>Really, it’s only been an issue ONCE and that was with someone who didn’t know me. </p>
<p>I really do think people are more intelligent than some people give them credit for. </p>
<p>I hope you’re right, romani. But given the number of inappropriate comments people make all the time about a whole host of private issues, I tend to doubt it.</p>
<p>I can’t imagine picking a ring based on the chance that some random rude person might make an inappropriate comment on it.</p>
<p>Any couple should pick what works with their budget and makes them happy - nothing else matters.</p>
<p>Speaking as a woman who loves jewelry…every from diamonds to john Hardy…If one of my daughters ever said that they wanted a certain size diamond…I would scream “run”. (And I started with a starter diamond. What’s next? I have to have a $300,000 wedding? Or I have to have a Rolls push present?</p>
<p>Run…like the wind</p>
<p>What saintfan said. And what bevhills said. </p>
<p>I love my diamond-- it’s a big classic emerald cut that I got at ten years. My husband proposed with a gorgeous tiny diamond that I treasured because it came with a lot of love and he was working so hard and yet tried to give me something beautiful. How crass to expect something more at that point in our lives!! I got the huge rock later, and I’m fully admitting right here that I love it. But I treasure my sweet little engagement ring too. <3</p>