Men’s Engagement Rings-The Next Trend
Traditionally, custom always dictated that a woman was the only one expected to wear an engagement ring when betrothed. Long recognized as a sign that a form of business transaction had taken place which promised her to another, engagements rings eventually became more of a sign of affection, a promise of a man’s intent to marry his beloved, a token of proof that he would be able to properly care for her in future years. By today’s traditions, engagement rings are solely representative of the love a man bears towards the woman he intends to marry, a sign of devotion, a physical representation of his intent to spend the rest of his life with her. As with most traditions, customs change over the years as new trends gain popularity and take hold. One of the more recent growing trends is men’s engagement rings. While always reserved for women in the past, the trend of men’s engagement rings has eliminated the gender barrier from this time honored tradition.
History of Men’s Engagement Rings
Tradition once held that if a woman wanted to present her husband to be with a sign of her devotion, a watch was the customary gift as men’s engagement rings were unheard of. With the increasing demand for gender equality steadily growing over the years, it was not unheard of for a woman to actually propose to a man. In these rare cases, a men’s engagement ring was presented as a sign of affection as well. Another issue that gave rise to the popularity of men’s engagement rings was, in a culture of gender equality, it seemed unfair for a woman to be ‘marked’ as betrothed by her engagement ring, but her fiance, with the lack of men’s engagement rings on the market, could still potentially be seen as available. Even in traditional proposal situations, a men’s engagement ring gave a woman the opportunity to present her future husband with a gift that displayed her love for him as much as his ring did for her.
Types of Men’s Engagement Rings
Men’s engagement rings are typically solid bands, more substantial in weight than a women’s ring, which maintain a primarily sleek and sophisticated styling. Men’s engagement rings are typically bezel set if they include gemstones or diamonds. This flush setting incorporated into men’s engagement rings allows a greater mobility and design function designed for a historically more physically active lifestyle. While traditional engagement rings are set with stones in a high, prong like setting, men’s engagement rings have remained closer to a band design. Diamonds, as well as other gemstones, are just as popular in men’s engagement rings as they are in women’s. Some couples do, however, opt for a more subtly solid metal band as the men’s engagement ring. This style of men’s engagement ring may include some detailing on the band itself to accommodate for the lack of gemstones or the woman may have the men’s engagement ring inscribed with a personal message or meaningful phrase or date. With the rise of alternative metals in the jewelry market, men’s engagement rings are commonly found made of metals such as titanium, palladium, and tungsten. it is believed that since many of these non-traditional metals had their origins in industrial applications, they are better suited for men’s engagement rings than traditional metals.
How Men’s Engagement Rings Are Worn
Similar to it’s female counterpart, men’s engagement rings are worn during the betrothal period up until the marriage. While women opt to wear their engagement rings alongside their wedding bands, men sometimes find it uncomfortable to wear both wedding bands and men’s engagement rings. It has become common practice for the men’s engagement ring to be joined or soldered to the wedding band in order to create one single piece of jewelry.
Men’s engagement rings are a fairly new tradition. With the increase of more masculine metals on the market being used for bridal jewelry purposes though, the men’s engagement ring trend may continue to grow. Men’s engagement rings may be standard fare for future generations.