I’ve often been in conversations where a group of men are battling ( verbal not physical) a group of women over the importance placed on the engagement ring and the arguments tend to intensify when discussing the size and the price of the ring. In fact I wrote an article for a magazine I previously worked for entitled “does size really matter” (which I will be adding to The Promiscious Pen) and within the article I briefly looked at the the importance placed on the size of the ring by writing about a fictitious couple who had recently got engaged. I wasn’t going to do a follow up to the article because I just equated the size of the ring to the price of the ring and then I remembered that the biggest ring isn’t always the most expensive and the smallest ring isn’t necessarily the cheaper option. Thus, it made sense to write an article on my thoughts regarding the price of the ring, especially after I was recently asked this question, “would you accept a ring that cost £50”?.
“Would you accept a ring that cost £50?”
This question now stands alone because it is important that it receives a great deal of attention so that you might also think of the ramifications of your answer.
When asked this question I fell silent. It’s not that the question was particularly difficult but I was struggling to answer because I didn’t want to come across as a gold-digging leech but then I honestly couldn’t find an answer that would not paint me as a gold digging leech. So, I simply blurted out, “why would I?” My annoying friend then proceeded to ask me, “Why? Give me a solid answer.” Again I paused for fear of sounding like a gold digging leech, that is until I came up with an answer I thought was quite profound ( if I do say so myself). I replied, “we ascribe money to things of value, thus why should something as small as my fridge cost more than my engagement ring? Why should the first thing to mark our engagement, our impending marriage cost so little in comparison to a lot of our other valuable possessions? You might as well buy me a packet of hula hoops (the last statement was a joke and we both laughed)”
He then made this “hmmm” sound, which means I had finally won the debate for all the women who had up until then been fighting a loosing battle with men who preferred to spend £50 on a ring. (I’m sure I sound like a leech but I promise you I am not lol). My answer spurred me to trace the history of the engagement ring and then prompted me to work out why as women (I’m speaking for the ones who do care about the price tag attached to the ring) we want the ring that is the most expensive.
The history of the engagement ring can be traced back to the Egyptians ( in fact a lot of things can ) but word on the history street is that the engagement ring can also be traced as far back as Ancient Rome. It was custom for the Roman bride to wear a gold ring in public and then an iron ring at home. The engagement ring was placed on the finger with the vein closer to the heart. However, the first recorded use of a diamond ring can be traced to Archduke Maximilian of Austria who presented a diamond ring to Mary Queen of Burgundy. Fast forward a few years to the Victorian era, when diamonds were found in South Africa. Yet, the popularity of the diamond ring subsided during the great depression that is until De Beers, the diamond cartel, initiated the marketing campaign that would introduce the slogan “diamonds are forever” and light up the finger of thousands of soon to be brides across the world. The campaign was extremely successful.
Perhaps then women’s obsession with expensive rings can be linked to her obsession with diamonds, the more diamonds in the ring, the more expensive or the bigger the diamond the more expensive and men have De beers to blame for that. However, it may be deeper than that. A woman obsessing over an expensive ring from the man that she wants to spend the rest of her life with could be linked to the female desire to want to be taken care of. It may sound silly but perhaps we see the engagement a a precursor to how married life will pan out. Perhaps a man spending that much more money on an engagement ring implies he is will do all he can financially to please us and perhaps a £50 engagement ring does not suggest a man who will do will do that.
I’m in no way calling women to start acting like gold digging leeches and demanding engagements rings that cost the price of a house within our current economic climate ( we are experiencing something of a property boom and so a three bedroom house in London, for example is well over £200.000. I know overpriced right?) I’m only saying that a man may want to rethink his decision to buy a £50 ring (you may as well get a hula hoop ring. Again I am joking, do not do this.)
There’s the expression, “different strokes for different folks” , so your woman may not even flinch at the sight of a £50 ring. I might though.
Love Cris x
p.S all this talk of hula hoops is making me hungry. I wonder how many hula hoops I can buy for £50? Lol.
p.s s I write to incite responses so ask yourself, would you accept a £50 ring? then comment.