One of my friends sent me an article all about blood diamonds and the environmental impact of mining gold (yikes), so I've come to the conclusion that when I do eventually get married, I don't want to do an engagement ring. I'd rather do something like this or this.

I know most people do a diamond engagement ring, but does anyone here not have one? Even the people I know who could probably better use the money on more important things (like housing, insurance or the unborn baby who caused the shotgun wedding) have a diamond.

Oh, and for the record, looking at jewelry (specifically wedding jewelry, blushes) is a stress reliever for me...it was the go-to guilty pleasure of my best friend and I in high school, when we were stressed out from school

There are diamonds that are conflict free, and non-gold substances, however if you want a different look as well as different environmental context then there's no reason that any bride should feel that such a band in any way "not okay". Many people prefer such bands for aesthetic reasons, not just the moral reasons.

My engagement ring has diamonds (multiple small ones, not any large ones), but I didn't ask about their origins, mostly because the jeweler who made it is a family friend and if the answer is negative I'm not sure how it'd effect our dynamic. I have thought about it though.

I've seen plenty of non-diamond, non-gold, and non-metal bands while poking around on the internet, so while they aren't the majority, there is a population out there of non-traditional rings.

I don't want a diamond and my boyfriend knows that for when the time comes, haha. My favorite gemstones are fairly inexpensive and it's actually kind of hard to find ones small enough for my taste...I don't want any four or five karat stone getting in my way all the time. I really like bands like the first one you posted with a little inset gem for a bit of sparkle...since we're being honest, I also like looking at jewelry and I own several rings that are cheapo versions of what my "dream" engagement/wedding rings were at the time.

I only got one ring...wore it as an engagement ring, took it off the day of the wedding, then he put it back on my finger.

I'm not a fan of rings to begin with, so getting two seemed needless to me.

When the day comes when I get married, I want to have just a band. Definitely not gold, and definitely no diamonds. Haven't decided if I would want a gem or not, but I wouldn't want anything raised.

If I did get gems, I would want either sapphires or amethyst, and perhaps a band like this: image.dhgate.com . . .
I think this img.alibaba.com . . . is pretty too.

I also think slender silver bands are very elegant. Just a thin band, plain and simple. www.preciousplatinumengagementrings.com . . .

The kind of ring I'm most excited about, however, is something non-traditional. I'm in love with the jewelry company Kalevala Koru. Here are some of my favorite rings that I would love to have as a wedding band.
www.finntrade.com . . .
ingebretsens.com . . .
ingebretsens.com . . .

My brother owns a jewelry store and is a diamond broker. There is a ton of hype about "blood diamonds." This is actually more hype now than reality. Yes, there used to be a problem. NOW, only 1/3 of 1% come from conflict areas. At this point 1/4 of all jewelers in the world track their diamonds and know exactly where they come from. Getting a conflict free diamond is really really really simple even if you don't specifically ask for it.

I have one big ring...no band. I like my carat and 1/2 ring and I have diamonds running up the sides. However, I know lots of people that get different stones or different colored diamonds. I say whatever floats your boat!

Trout: Not sure if you know this, but sapphires come in all colors of the rainbow. Some people think they only come in blue, so I just wanted to throw that out there if you like yellow, green, or even purple. Amethyst is a really soft stone and doesn't make for good rings especially if you are going to wear it all the time. It is a better stone for necklaces or earrings that don't seem to get banged around. Just another tip from my brother that I learned when I had a friend that wanted an amethyst ring. I'm not saying it can't be done, but to wear as a wedding ring that you'll wear every day he wouldn't personally recommend it.

^I have heard the same thing about "blood diamonds". I know a little of people are anti-diamond anyway because it perpetuates the societal "need" for diamonds (and not all consumers are savvy about blood diamonds and such).

My aunt wears only a gold band...it was all that her hubby could afford I think. One of her students (she is a preschool teacher) told her once that she wasn't married because her ring wasn't sparkly. *head desk*.

I know of some people who do a claddagh ring as a wedding band.

Heeeellll no, it's all about the rock.

Question - why is any other ring called a ring, but a wedding ring is called a band? I've only started hearing it over the last few years and I still say wedding ring. Where did this come from?

One of my friends from college just has one ring. Thick gold band with a tension set band. My sister in law has some sort of large purple stone as her engagement ring, and then a thin gold band. Several of my friends have gotten engagement rings that are not traditional (antiques from stores or family, alternate stones, etc) or just have one ring. It seems to be more and more common.

I considered getting a lab diamond, just because I wanted a big rock, and your money can go alot farther with lab diamonds than regular. But I ended up with a regular diamond ring.

My aunt had a plain band. She's gotten it reset, and added some diamonds since the wedding (they've been married 10+ years, so she had the plain band a long time). The plain band was in my uncles family, and he gave it to her as her wedding ring.

That site has some beautiful stuff on it.

I have both a band and a ring... though my band also has diamonds on it.

I know a few people that just have a band.

I have both the diamond solitaire and wedding band. I usually wear both together although sometimes I'll just wear the band by itself because I like how it looks. I would have no problem with just a band though; I knock the diamond around so much I'm surprise it hasn't fallen out or anything yet.

That's interesting about the blood diamonds! Unfortunately, I do still have big issues with mining in general (whyyy did I read Al Gore's book?!) so it's more than just the humanitarian aspect of it. The (gorgeous) rings on the greenkarat site are all made from recycled and post-consumer gold, which is good...I LOVE a beautiful yellow gold piece.

Also, Louise, I never thought of it like that, I'm not sure why it's called a band. I'm guessing it's not common to call it that in the UK? I'm guessing it's because "ring" implies some sort of ornamentation and "band" implies a plain, non-blinged out ring.

Have you thought about getting a vintage ring? My brother bought a genuine 1920's Art Deco style ring from someone on Craigslist for my sister in law's engagement ring and she and loves it. She got it appraised to make sure it was the real thing, and to this day I catch her lovingly ogling it, lol.

Then you can be all recycle-y AND cool 'cause your ring has history!

I don't have an engagement ring. My family was pretty shocked at that, I think they thought it made my man less 'legit' in their eyes to not have given me one. He was a very poor boy at the time and I loved him so much I didn't care about the engagement ring. We were married within six months of his asking so I didn't really see the need to get one later.

My wedding ring/band is a very small, thin band/ring made of 18k gold and on the top is a tiny double scroll in 24k that hugs a teensy chip of a diamond. It was made from the same piece of gold that my husband's band was made from. I love the idea of two rings being made from the same source. I also love that I have a very humble ring that reminds me of our just starting out days. I never, ever take it off (except when my finger got fat when I was pregnant, then I wore it on a chain around my neck).

My wedding band and engagement ring were my grandmothers and they are both blinged out. The engagement ring is white gold and has one 1/4 carat diamond in a large set with with two 1/8? carat diamonds on the side. The wedding band has six 1/8? carat diamonds set in white gold. However my mom typically just wears a plain yellow gold band, no second ring with it. I like the bling myself. I mean, I do love sparklies.

My ring is a 1.75 karat round diamond, with three very small diamonds on both sides of the stone, set in platinum. The ring originally belonged to my great grandmother, and the historical significance behind my ring means much more to me than anything else. I love diamonds and jewelry and fully anticipate wearing both an engagement ring and wedding band when I get married. The only exception is that I probably won't wear my engagement ring to work, given that I anticipate being in and out of prisons, in bad neighborhoods, and wrestling with the scum of society, and those are just not places you want to tote around a shiny diamond. I will, however, wear a platinum band all the time, come hell or high water.

Unfortunately, I do still have big issues with mining in general.

You can ask most custom jewelers to use recycled gold. Most of them are buying off people like crazy right now. You can melt down your own jewelry to make your wedding ring as well...there are lots of options.

imadanseur wrote:

Unfortunately, I do still have big issues with mining in general.

You can ask most custom jewelers to use recycled gold. Most of them are buying off people like crazy right now. You can melt down your own jewelry to make your wedding ring as well...there are lots of options.

Oh, I know! That's what I plan to do actually, I love gold

My boyfriend's Grandma has suggested this before. She likes to say "All you need to get married is the band!", she so cute.

I will be getting an engagement ring, it's a really big deal for my boyfriend to find something beautiful to give me when he proposes. He wants to spend more money than I'm comfortable with but I think I've managed to talk him down a little (what am I thinking, right?!)

I work in a jewelery store and more people than I would have guessed opt out of the engagement ring and only have a band, however A LOT of those people come in looking for an engagement ring. The most common story I hear is 'we did not have the money then, but we do now!",

At the end of the day you're the one wearing it so do what you like.

Also all Canadian diamonds are mined, polished, and set in Canada with strict government standards, also they are lazer cut and given a tracking number by the government, which is great if your ring is ever stolen and pawned.

Edit: totally unrelated but if you're ever looking for some AMAZING ring-porn check out ringenvy.com but it's addictive.

If you like the look of diamond, but not the price / you think it could be blood diamonds (which as a reply stated, is very very very rare now), check out moissanite.
www.moissanite.com

I have a 1ct diamond solitaire, its pear cut. I love it. But, if I ever had the chance to "upgrade", I would get moissanite. Diamonds aren't worth it. They aren't rare.

Considering I have a ring right now that is just a plain gold band which my boyfriend's mom had (I think it was his grandma's wedding band actually...) I honestly wouldn't care if I just had this as my wedding band...no need to buy another ring...might have to be resized some day though...it probably wouldn't fit if my fingers got fat haha.

But as for engagement ring...I wouldn't care...thing is that i would want it to match my band so I could wear the two together...but then again...while talking the one day my boyfriend said he already had an engagement ring...o_O His mom collects jewellery and it was something his mom gave him. His mom also has a very expensive engagement ring that she bought off somebody for cheap and my boyfriend's sister said she wants that. If some guy wants to marry her, he can buy the ring from her mom or something because that's her engagement ring no matter what. lol

I'd always wanted to skip the engagement ring and get an eternity band like this one: www.booneandsons.com . . .
but he surprised me with a 1.91 ct round solitaire. He knew it wasn't what I wanted and suggested I could get the eternity band as my wedding band, but the two together looked ridiculous on my hand. We had a jeweler make us matching ballpeen hammered gold wedding bands.