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Whether a ring is worn for an engagement, promise ring or just as an accessory, each band of jewelry comes with a different meaning.
Kaily Brown, jewelry consultant for Zales, said an engagement ring symbolizes one’s promise to marry. Wedding bands are a lifetime commitment to a loved one, and birthstones simply show what month a person was born.
“Sapphires specifically symbolize sincerity so they are generally used in promise rings as well,” Brown said. “Promise rings are a promise to God and to yourself that you will save sex until marriage.”
But these rings can also carry different severity or importance with each person, Brown said. Some people see rings as just an accessory, others consider who gave it to them and why.
Brown wears two rings on a regular basis. One is a plumeria flower ring from her mother. The other is a pearl ring worn just for looks. Brown said she feels naked without her rings.
“Nowadays, though, there are a ton of alternatives. Some ladies are opting for gemstones,” Brown said. “I’ve seen the desire for dark blue sapphires a lot recently. Also, for men the tradition of gold or white gold has actually slipped away. I’m seeing a great desire for tungsten rings in this area because they are really durable. Unbreakable, actually.”
Since Brown has worked at Zales, she has never encountered a customer seeking a purity ring. They don’t seem to be as popular as they once were, she said.
Zales generally sells purity rings as promise rings to younger couples that are seeking marriage in the far future.
Alyse Neal has had her purity ring — a gift from her parents — since she was 12 years old.
Purity rings symbolize a woman’s desire to remain abstinent from sex until married.
Neal, a freshman at the University of Idaho, said she realizes purity rings are lost in culture aside from “religious” communities, but for her the meaning goes a lot deeper than a simple commitment to her parents.
“I really feel that sex has been largely cheapened in our culture and if you really think about it, when you’re having sex you’re exposing the most intimate form of yourself,” Neal said. “To be naked is to have nothing at all hiding your true self.”
Neal said her ring represents her desire to remain pure not only physically, but emotionally as well. Even though she makes it sound easy, she said her commitment can be difficult to sustain at times, especially when she is in a relationship.
“One thing I really want to get across too is that in no way do I feel as though I’m better than anybody else. It mostly comes down to respect – respect your body, respect your heart,” Neal said.
Alyson Buell, UI sophomore, got engaged in October, and to her promise rings are geared more toward high school relationships. If a couple is in a situation to get married, but the woman is proposed to with a promise ring, it signifies as a fear of commitment from the man.
“When Brett put the ring on my finger it was to show me that no matter where he is in the world, his heart will always be with me and he will always take care of me,” Buell said.
She also wears a tiny gold band on her right, middle finger that was her grandmother’s engagement ring. She wears it as a reminder of her grandmother and loves the simplicity of the ring.
Buell feels as though she is already married because she and her fiancé act as though they are.
“All a wedding band is adding are more parts to the ring to make it more extravagant,” she said.
CUTLINE – hayden crosby | rawr