Engagement Rings - A Personal Interest

What about this object makes a woman squeal? I myself have been turning the question over in my head ever since I saw my friend flash hers in my general direction last week. The surprise was overwhelming. Why was I so excited about the idea? Perhaps its a hidden envy or perhaps joy at an adult decision being reached by those newly out of adolescence. The more and more I considered the idea, the less and less excited I was about the notion. For one thing, she's not even out of school yet. Two, as I said earlier, she is quite young. Three, I had no idea she was dating this guy before break and it came as a shock she was engaged to him. Who is he and what makes her so eager to make such a binding "contract" with him? I mean, yes, the concept makes me giddy and the idea of proposal sends me into fits of fanciful daydreaming. But financial security, decisions about living together, buying a house, etc. these should be thought of much more in depth before a snap decision is made. You may be in love but that doesn't mean everything is just going to fall into place.

This whole issue sent me into a flurry of research. Her ring was not some super tacky diamond monstrosity, but actually an heirloom of his family. Which also nags at me; what do his parents think of giving her this precious object? One of the origins of the engagement ring comes from the Egyptians whole believed that the vein of the ring finger went straight into the heart. Diamonds were pretty rare in the Middle Ages, so only the very wealthy and royalty could purchase diamond engagement rings. Those in the lower classes could wear Fede rings (faith) much like the modern Claddagh design of clasping hands. Diamonds were quite unusual so often precious stones were used instead. After the modern boom of diamond extraction in Africa, trends went back to using rarer stones, mainly birthstones. 

In these times of financial crises and faltering economies, I'm glad her ring wasn't some gaudy piece of rock. It is hard as well to separate engagement and marriage from the material and money world. I do hope she and her partner have done some planning, because this joyous yet risky idea of belonging could be worse for her in the long run. I mean, she's not even a senior. Is it better to wait and see, than to let our eyes override our brains just because of a jewel or is it right when you "feel" it?