If you’re in the market for an engagement ring, then you might find yourself faced with a choice. You might look for a ring with a diamond – which, in modern Western culture, is the default option. Or you might look to break away and look for something slightly different.
It’s worth overviewing a few of the key features of the more popular options for engagement rings. Let’s start with a look at the classic choice.
Diamonds: The Classic Choice
Diamonds are popular for several good reasons. To begin with, they’re extremely tough and resilient. With a Mohs rating of 10, you can be reasonably sure that they’ll last for years without being dulled by small scratches. The best of them also tend to be exceptionally clear and brilliant. In the right light, they’ll sparkle majestically – which might be exactly what you’re looking for when you come to pose the question to your significant other.
On the other hand, diamonds tend to be quite costly. A great deal of this cost stems not from any particular feature of the diamond, but from cultural convention. In the middle of the 20th century, De Beers launched a very successful marketing campaign that installed the diamond as the default choice for would-be married couples. This might not strike you as a good reason to pay a premium for one.
For many, in fact, the ubiquity of the diamond might be a reason not to buy one. After all, since your relationship is unique and distinctive, you might look for something unusual in the stone you’re using to commemorate it.
Gemstones: The Colorful Alternatives
Diamonds are just one option among many. You might also consider sapphires, emeralds, rubies, spinels, and a range of other coloured gemstones.
Perhaps the most considerable advantage of these stones is the sheer variety of them to choose from. Whatever colour you’re looking for, the chances are that there’s a gemstone in that shade. Many of these stones also come freighted with symbolism and cultural associations. Emeralds, for example, tend to be linked with renewal and environmentalism for the simple reason that plants (and natural abundance in general) tend to be green.
You might easily personalise a gem of this kind, and make it part of your unique style. These tend to be more affordable, too – which might mean that your budget can stretch to a larger, clearer, and more well-cut gem.
On the other hand, there are reasons to suspect that gems of this kind aren’t as durable in the long run. Several of them might need to be set in a particular way to limit the risk of scratches – and re-polishing might be needed to keep them shiny. Of course, there’s variety within the world of gemstones. For example, sapphires and rubies tend to match up fairly well against diamonds when it comes to hardness. They’re both 9/10 on the Mohs hardness scale.