Throughout various cultures worldwide, an engagement ring represents a commitment to wed. Engagement rings, be they big or be they small, their significance and symbolism remain the same. Your choice of precious stone and the price you had to spend on it is naturally going to be important, but, not as important as compared to the actual significance of what the ring represents that remains of the utmost importance. Engagement rings represent a very special commitment for the couple who are engaged, and, appropriately these engagement rings also have meaning for the people that view them.

are traditionally given by a man to the woman he wants to marry, as a sign of his commitment to her and their impending union. The woman who accepts an engagement ring is a woman who has accepted her lover's proposal of marriage, and, in so doing, she wears her engagement ring as a gesture, a sign of her acceptance of a commitment that she too has made towards this upcoming marriage and union. Between herself and the man she loves.

After a man has considered proposing, he hence presents an engagement ring to the woman he has grown to love, knowing the woman intimately for a particular period of time. Engagement rings are highly symbolic of a couple's intention to marry.

There is no set period required before presenting an engagement ring to a woman, and it varies with each individual couple with many variances in time frame. Some men might present the engagement ring to his intended bride at a private moment, but other men choose to present this special ring to the woman he has grown to love, in front of many people.

Engagement Rings are Symbolic of Love, Commitment and Marriage

The majority of engagement rings contain a diamond, and this amazing mineral, that is transformed by nature into what we refer to as a diamond are deemed to last forever. Diamonds are so hard and durable it seems they do last forever, because they are one of the hardest precious gems known to man. That is why these most precious of gems are symbolic of a love - that is supposed to last forever. The diamonds in these rings usually outlast the bride, and many of them are passed down from generation to generation. Diamond rings as a token gesture of commitment and love sometimes outlast the commitment or the love, unfortunately.

After a woman accepts an engagement ring, she is supposed to wear it on the third finger of her left hand, as a sign that she has made a commitment and there supposedly runs a vein from the heart to this finger, again symbolizing love. All members of any society that recognizes an engagement ring, will immediately understand that this woman is committed to be married. The majority of couples choose to wed within a particular time rame after the announcement of their engagement. However, it is not uncommon for many "couples," both men and women, to change their mind, and call off the engagement.

The majority of women, who actually marry, following their engagement, continue to wear their engagement ring alongside the wedding band, that they received in adherence to the wedding ceremony. The wedding ring is also worn on the left hand as a sign that the commitment is supposedly finalized and should last forever.