Solitaire ring, or simply solitaire. It is the most requested, desired and gifted engagement ring model in the world. But how much do you know about the solitaire ring?
What is a solitaire? This name indicates a ring, which usually seals the engagement, formed by a metal band in gold, platinum or silver, on which a diamond is mounted. However, nothing prevents you from giving a solitaire ring even on an occasion other than an engagement: the combination of gold and diamond is always appreciated.
What does the solitaire ring indicate? The habit of giving an engagement ring as a gift has a clear symbolic meaning: whoever receives it has a marriage commitment. In short, it is as if he were wearing a sign addressed to any suitors with the words: “Don’t try it with me, I already agree with someone else”. In most Western countries, the solitaire ring is worn on the ring finger of the left hand. But there are exceptions.
Is solitaire worn after marriage? Of course yes. The diamond ring does not end up in the drawer, but it can also be worn together with the wedding ring. Usually the solitaire is tucked outside the wedding ring, a symbol of marriage. It would be better, however, that both rings were with gold of the same color: white, yellow or pink.
History. The story of the solitaire ring coincides with that of the engagement ring and then the wedding ring. It seems that the habit of giving the ring as a gift was introduced by the ancient Romans, as a public sign of the status of an already committed woman. But the diamonds? In the Renaissance, rings were introduced with a stone mounted on the outside of the gold band and not set inside. It seems that the first was the one, in 1477, made for the betrothal of Archduke Maximilian of Austria to Maria of Burgundy, who launched a fashion that continues to this day. Diamond rings, however, spread among the rich and noble in the second half of the nineteenth century, with the large-scale extraction of gems from the first mines in South Africa. The mass boom, however, is quite recent. It can be said that the habit of giving the solitaire ring as a gift really spread after the 1947 advertising campaign of De Beers, a large diamond distributor. “A diamond is forever”: the message that accompanied that advertisement, together with the economic well-being achieved after the end of the Second World War, changed everything. Before the Second World War, for example, in America only 10% of engagement rings had a diamond, today giving a diamond ring is quite common.
Shape. A solitaire is a very simple jewel: it is made up of a metal band, mostly gold, and a diamond. In most cases the diamond is round, that is, it has a brilliant cut. For rings with a diamond of this type there are two types of mounting: with four or six prongs, that is, those small metal hooks that hold the diamond. Of course, with six prongs there is greater safety: it is more difficult for the stone to get lost due to a collision with a piece of furniture or an object. On the other hand, four prongs allow a greater amount of light to reach the diamond which, therefore, can sparkle more. For the solitaire, the most used metal is white gold, but there are also versions in yellow and pink gold. Another very popular option is the platinum ring. Silver, on the other hand, is usually associated with synthetic stones, such as cubic zirconia: not exactly an unforgettable option for an engagement ring.
