10 Fun Engagement Ring Facts

10 Fun Engagement Ring Facts

Think you know everything there is to know about engagement ring? Consider yourself an engagement ring aficionado? Here are a few fun facts you may or may not have known about engagement rings, their history and the current engagement ring market.

Did you know that….?

1. To date, the most popular type of engagement ring is the solitaire ring, set with a round brilliant colorless diamond.

2. The average total diamond carat weight used in engagement rings is estimated at .37 carats, less than one whole carat.

3. Diamonds with a carat weight just under a full carat size, for example .49 carat diamonds, or .98 carat diamonds, are less rare and less expensive than a diamond weighing a full carat weight, a 1 carat or ½ carat diamond. And since the difference between a .98 point diamond and a 1 carat diamond is so miniscule, buying a diamond that weighs under a full carat size is a great way of cutting costs on your engagement ring, without having to compromise on its appearance.

4. The average amount spent on engagement rings in 2010 is between $2,000 - $3,00.

5. The holiday season is the most popular time to purchase engagement rings as holiday proposals are very much in vogue.

6. An engagement ring featuring a cracked diamond and/or other precious gemstone will never be traded in most Asian markets. Countries such as India believe that a cracked diamond is an ominous sign, indicating bad luck for the engaged couple.

7. Princess Diana's ring was not custom made, as is the tradition with British royalty and royal engagements. Reportedly, when Prince Charles proposed he did not have the presence of mind to come equipped with an engagement ring, and so after he proposed she chose a diamond and sapphire engagement ring from a local jewelry store.

8. In the Chinese culture, an engagement ring set with a diamond that is missing its culet (its lower half) is considered to be very bad luck. The Chinese believe that diamonds are imbued with good luck and fortune, and when the diamond's culet is polished off, that luck is allowed to leak out of the diamond's lower portion, lost forever, instilling the precious gemstone with bad luck in its stead.

9. Seventy four percent of all brides to be are given a diamond ring, while sixty percent of them were somehow involved in choosing their own diamond engagement ring.

10. The ancient Egyptians were reportedly the first culture to instate the tradition of exchanging engagement rings, crafting a full, never ending circle which was meant to signify everlasting love and commitment.