Silver
Silver as a Ring Metal
Silver is a precious metal that is bright-metallic-white in color. It is relatively ductile, second only to gold. However, it tarnishes easily when exposure to air and will turn greenish to black with age. Fine silver (99.9% pure), like gold, is too soft for making every day wear jewelry, so the silver is usually alloyed with copper to give it strength. The silver used for jewelery is called Sterling Silver, which is at least 92.5% pure and 7.5% other metals, usually cooper.
Silver is the least popular of the precious metals to use for any type of engagement ring because it tarnishes easily and needs to be cleaned and polished very frequently. It is not a strong metal, even with its typical alloys, and will not hold up as a setting for a precious gemstone or diamond.
Other Popular Metals Used For Engagement Rings: Gold, Platinum, Palladium, Titanium
Metals for Engagement Rings
Gold is the most common and popular metal used for diamond engagement rings. However, platinum and palladium are also gaining in popularity as alternative metals to gold for use in rings today.
Just like the diamond or other gemstone that you decide to mount on your engagement ring, the choice of metal for the ring depends on you personal taste and financial situation. But generally the metal you choose for your engagement ring should be pleasing to the eyes, compliment the diamond or whatever gemstone is used, and strong enough to hold the diamond or other gemstone without breaking from day to day wear. Just like gemstones, some metals are more suited than others for use in an engagement ring.
To help you make an informed decision when choosing between a yellow gold engagement ring, a white gold engagement ring or a platinum engagement ring, here are some distinguishing characteristics for the popular metals used for today’s engagement rings: Gold, Platinum, Palladium, Titanium and Silver.
Which ever metal you decide to use for your engagement ring, you should choose a metal that looks visually pleasing, that compliment the diamond or what ever gem stone you decide to use, that will be strong enough to hold up to day to day wear, and that will fit within your budget.
Buying an Affordable Engagement Ring
Tips on Buying An Engagement Ring for Less Money
Buying an engagement ring, especially one with a quality diamond, is definitely a major expense for most people if they follow the guideline set by De Beers: that of spending two or three months of one’s salary. But there are ways to get an affordable engagement ring that is high-quality without going into debt.
If you decide on buying a diamond ring, keep in mind that there are really no great bargains within the diamond industry. If you can find a big price difference in one store over another, for the same grade of diamonds, the most likely reason is that one store is selling diamonds with over-inflated grades from a less reputable gemological laboratory or one that has a vested interest for moving the diamonds for the store.
So take the time to learn the basics of the four c’s, the various metals available, alternatives to the traditional diamond engagement ring, window shop to get a feel of the market and then buy the best quality engagement ring within your budget. With that in mind, here are a few suggestions to getting a high quality but affordable diamond engagement ring:
Engagement Ring Tradition
The engagement ring is often seen as a form of public announcement of two people’s love and commitment to each other. It has a long heritage and is common in different societies around the world, but is most popular, especially the diamond engagement ring, in the United States, Japan and Canada.
The exact origin of the engagement ring is unclear. Rings have been associated with love and marriage since ancient times. Perhaps the earliest suggested origin of the engagement ring tradition was in ancient Egypt, where engagement rings were worn on the 4th finger, or ring finger, of the left hand, because that was the finger believed to have the “vein of love” flowing straight from the heart. A simple iron loop used by early Romans to symbolize a betrothal was replaced by a plain gold band around the second century A.D.
In 860 Pope Nicolas I decreed that a gold ring was a requirement to signify engagement and groom’s financial commitment to his future wife and her family.
In the Christian tradition of wearing an engagement ring on the 4th finger of the left hand dates back to the 1549 prayer book. The priest or groom would put the engagement ring on the bride’s first three fingers in turn when saying “the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost”, finishing on the 4th finger where the ring would stayed. The 4th finger of the left hand is still the traditional finger on which to wear the engagement ring.
Traditionally simple rings of gold, silver or iron were used for engagement rings. Over time the simple ring gained engravings or decoration. By the 14th century, Europe’s privileged classes were dressing their engagement rings with precious jewels as a status symbol and laws were passed to prevent the common people from the owning precious stones or gems. As these laws were relaxed, the practice of mounting gems and precious stones on engagement rings began to spread among the general population. Often a combination of the birthstones of the bride’s parents, the bride, the groom’s parents, and the groom were used on these engagement rings to symbolize the joining of the two families.
It was not until 1477 that the diamond engagement ring as we know it came into being when Archduke Maximillian of Austria gave Mary of Burgandy an engagement ring set with a diamond. At that time diamonds were thought of as magical and created in the flames of love.
This first instance of a royal engagement ring fueled the European passion for diamonds. But the practice was limited to the privileged and very rich as diamonds were very rare and expensive. At this time, other precious and semi-precious stones were used for engagement rings, stones such as This first instance of a royal engagement ring fueled the European passion for diamonds. But the practice was limited to the privileged and very rich as diamonds were very rare and expensive. At this time, other precious and semi-precious stones were used for engagement rings, stones such as emerald, amethyst, ruby, emerald, sapphire, and topaz.
At the end of the 19th century, when large deposit of diamonds were discovered in South Africa, diamond prices declined and diamonds for the first time became affordable to used regularly in engagement rings.
The modern day traditional diamond engagement ring didn’t begin until the 1930s, when the De Beers diamond company decided to encourage Americans to buy more of their diamonds.
After WWI, De Beers experienced a drop in diamond sales that lasted for almost two decades. In the early 1930s, De Beers turned to the PR firm of N.W. Ayer to launch a national advertising campaign to promote its diamonds. Ayer convinced Hollywood actresses to wear diamond rings in public, and encouraged influential fashion designers to discuss diamond rings as the new trend. The advertising campaign worked and between 1938 and 1941, diamond sales went up 55 percent. By 1945, the typical American bride wore a diamond engagement ring with a matching wedding ring. In 1947, a copywriter dreamed up the slogan “A Diamond Is Forever.” The sale of diamond engagement rings continued to rise in the 1950s. By 1965, 80 percent of American women wore a diamond engagement ring.
Today the diamond engagement ring is by far the most popular type of engagement ring. It is the custom for the man to privately purchase the engagement ring and present it to his future wife or fiancée when he proposes marriage. But more and more men are making the proposal without a ring, or with a substitute ring, and the real engagement ring is picked out by the man and woman together as part of the marriage process.
In The United States, it is customary for the man to give a woman an engagement ring and for the woman to wear one. De Beers tried to convince more men to wear male engagement rings, but the campaign has generally been a failure. There are several countries where males traditionally wear engagement rings. In these countries the male’s engagement ring is frequently used as the wedding ring.
Regardless of how you feel about the origin of the tradition of the diamond engagement ring, the tradition is here to stay. And what better way is there to symbolize two people’s love and commitment to each other than the diamond engagement ring?