Audrey Hepburn once said, “The best thing to hold on to in life is each other” and she was so right for saying it. Love is one of the best feelings that we humans feel, and to celebrate that love, we get married to our ‘special one’. The holy ritual of marriage is preceded by another emotional event- an Engagement. How many times have you re-watched ‘The Wedding Singer’ and the scene of the proposal? Probably a lot. Engagements are an impassioned happening in many people’s lives, and therefore, an engagement ring is often considered the epitome of affection, bond, and togetherness.
Love cannot be measured by money or possession, and similarly, an engagement ring doesn’t have to be made of diamonds to express your love. This does raise the question - Can engagement rings be any ring? The answer to that is a big yes. You can put any ring on the hands of the person you love, simply because the whole purpose is to make your partner feel special and loved. Regardless of the size, material, or shape, any ring can be an engagement ring.
Can a Cocktail Ring be an Engagement Ring?
When answering the question of “can engagement rings be any ring?”, one common thought could cross our mind, “can a cocktail ring be considered as an engagement ring as well?” To state, cocktail rings are pretty distinct in shape, size, design, and appearance from the engagement rings.
A cocktail ring is designed in a way to be literally noticed by hundreds of people in the event of that grand celebration. Therefore, this ring is generally not suited for regular, everyday wear.
Cocktail rings generally feature a giant-sized stone that can be a gem or a diamond. It also sometimes displays a metal motif. Cocktail rings are mostly famous for radiating a person’s individual style and personality. The history of the cocktail ring goes back to the 1920s when feminism observed its inception and the prohibition against alcohol was carried out.
Those days, the renowned flapper girls used to show up at parties and hinted at the bartender by raising their right hand that carried the big ring with a gemstone or diamond. That was signaling for alcohol, and it is from there that the term ‘cocktail ring’ has been carried on.
As already anticipated, there is a reason behind cocktail rings also being called ‘statement rings’. Now, you might be having second thoughts about your decision of gifting your loved one a huge cocktail ring-like piece. To break your bubble of confusion about switching to some sober design, let us take you back in time.
Around 1796, the famous 26-year old Napoleon Bonaparte gifted his loved one a gorgeous piece of big blue sapphire encircled with diamonds as an engagement ring. Furthermore, in 1953, John. F. Kennedy proposed his love to Jacqueline Bouvier, with a gold Van Cleef and Arpels statement ring that was beguiled with 2.88-carat diamond and 2.84-carat emerald.
These instances show how you can choose any kind of engagement ring for the person you love. And if your partner is already someone who likes it all dazzling, what are you waiting for?
Things to Consider While Purchasing an Engagement Ring
It doesn’t matter if you are buying a diamond or gold ring, or anything else for the matter. If your partner is happy with the decision then simply proceed. If you wish to surprise your partner then it is better to gather facts about his or her liking through communication. Now, there are certain factors to consider when you are pumped up for splurging on that engagement ring. Remember, there is a myriad collections of engagement rings out there, and the shop owners will deliberately try to sell their most expensive pieces.
- It can be either a diamond ring or some other one. In case it is a diamond ring, what should be the size of the diamond?: Celebrity diamond rings are simply out of the world, but like regular people, we are concerned about the price of the diamond rings, and therefore, we are also concerned about the size of the ring. The average carat weight lies between 1.00 to 1.20. But it is recommended that instead of noticing only the size, you should observe the cut, color, clarity, and carat weight. The size you want completely depends on the carat weight.
- Ordering in advance will result in a fair deal: You definitely do not want to miss out on your engagement ring on D-day. Therefore, it is always advisable to order it in advance. If your plan is to buy a present engagement ring, then that is a different case altogether. If you have specific designs in your mind that you would love to gift your loved one, communicate the same to your jeweler to get a clear idea of how long it will take for the ring to get delivered. As a general recommendation, it is better to order the ring at least 6 weeks in advance.
- Explore more customizations: It is essential to ask your jeweler if you can select the setting and the stone separately for intricate customization. The shape and setting sizes matter the most in a diamond. For shape, you can choose between a princess, round, oval, and emerald cut. The setting on the other hand can be anything among vintage, classic, modern, contemporary, and more.
- Prioritize the diamond cut and warranty: Though all the 4 Cs of a diamond, namely, cut, clarity, color, and carat are important, jewelers focus more on the cut. Why so? If the diamond has a bad cut, it may not emit the actual light, and in return that would make them appear dull and dim. Also enquire about the warranties, what is covered, and for how long.
Before concluding, we will always emphasize putting your partner’s choice first, and emanating the idea of what kind of engagement ring they want. For a person who is a minimalist, anything subtle would be a great option. For bagging the best deals on engagement rings, you need to eye for the best place
