New Trends: Men's Diamond Rings

When it comes to wedding pieces, men's diamond rings represent a fairly recent innovation. Prior to the late 19th Century, most men did not even wear a wedding band; diamond rings for women existed, but were exceedingly rare. Diamond jewelers industry, trying to create a market where non existed, managed to sell the public on the idea of double diamond ring wedding sets, but the wedding rings themselves were plain gold bands more often than not. It was only after 1950 that mens diamond rings became popular.

The Most Brilliant Marketing Campaign

"Diamonds are forever." That simple phrase practically transformed the diamond ring market overnight. It was a phrase that was invented by an unknown advertising executive for the DeBeers Corporation, which to this day controls well over half of the world diamond trade. The campaign was rolled out in 1950; within a few years, diamond jewelers could barely keep up with the demand for diamond rings - including mens diamond rings.

Choices

Today, double diamond ring wedding sets are quite common; some even include the engagement ring as well.

When it comes to diamond rings, there are many options in terms of metal. The white gold diamond ring is traditionally the most popular choice, followed by yellow and red gold. Recently, platinum, palladium and even tungsten diamond rings are available. Not only are these precious metals more valuable than gold, but are far more durable, as gold is a fairly soft metal.

At least one prominent company specializes in these types of rings, from which the center stone is left unmounted, so as to allow the customer to choose the diamond or other gem s/he prefers.

In other cases, one may be able to actually design their own individual rings with the assistance of a diamond jeweler. Such services may cost extra, but the client is assured of getting a completely unique piece of jewelry.

How Much To Spend

Diamond wedding sets vary widely in terms of price, from a few hundred dollars to several thousands. The general rule of thumb is to figure on about six months' salary as the amount to spend on the wedding set, including the engagement ring. In addition, many couples now exchange "promise rings" at or near the beginning of a relationship, as well as "eternity rings," which are typically exchanged at a later wedding anniversary. Mens diamond rings are available for these occasions as well as the engagement and the actual wedding.

Jonathon Blocker specializes in mens diamond rings. In this article he writes about the history of the diamond ring. Jonathan is a consultant for GemFind.com, a trusted name in the diamond jewelry industry since 1999.