Reasons Not To Get a Diamond Engagement Ring
Do you really need to have a ring to make the engagement real? If there isn't one, will everyone feel sorry for you? What will people say? There are reasons to avoid getting a ring that are worth risking the gossip. Making the choice of whether or not to buy an engagement ring may be the first of many big decisions you make as a couple. Here are reasons not to get a diamond engagement ring:
*DeBeers has done a lot to create an artificial demand for diamonds. They aren't as rare as you might think, but because of the monopolizing buying and advertising methods of DeBeers and other diamond companies, people have been willing to pay top dollar for diamonds for almost a century. DeBeers is the company that instigated the trend of using three months' salary to buy an engagement ring. If you do some research, you'll find that many of the reasons you think you need a diamond engagement ring are media-driven. You can opt out of this artificial supply shortage by choosing not to buy a diamond at all.
*Before diamonds were popular, each gemstone stood for something. A man might buy his wife a sapphire to symbolize eternity, for example, or citrine for hope. Instead of a diamond engagement ring, you could buy your future wife a ring that reminds you of the color of her eyes, of the store you went to on your first date, or that has both of your birthstones in it. Buying a non-traditional engagement ring opens you up to the possibility of limitless romance.
*The purchase of a non-traditional engagement ring also has a chance of side-stepping the ethical issues that surround diamond and other precious gemstones. The gemstone market is bloodied by terrorists and child labor, and as the consumer it can be very difficult to determine the origins of the gem you are about to buy. Purchasing a manufactured diamond (moissante) or artificial diamond (cubic zirconia) can give you the shine of a diamond, guilt-free and for much less money than a traditional diamond would cost you. Purchasing or recycling an antique ring (by using your mother's or grandmother's ring, for example) is probably the most ecologically and ethically-sound way of buying a diamond ring if you do want to buy one.
*Young families are on the rise again. More and more people are getting married without the cushion of having successful careers under their belts. But even if you have acquired wealth and security, the money you would put toward a diamond, two-thousand dollars on average, could be put to another use entirely. Instead of buying a ring, you could have an extravagant honeymoon or even put a down-payment on a house. Couples are getting money wise in this economy and are deciding more and more to forego traditional diamond engagement rings altogether.
Whether you are old-fashioned and romantic or eco-friendly and quirky, there are reasons not to buy a diamond engagement ring. Diamonds are more expensive than they're worth, are rife with ethical dilemma, are unoriginal, and may not be the best use of your savings. It could be that diamonds aren't forever, after all.
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