Diamonds Are Forever

. . . is a myth, apparently. Actually, diamonds are forever but, more importantly, they are a myth.

This all started when I wanted to know why, in movies or on TV, women wear their engagement rings inside their wedding rings when in real life they are worn the other way around. Has anyone else noticed this? Does anyone know why this is done?

I didn't find anything in my internet search that answered this question - which also makes me think I imagined seeing such a thing in the first place - but I did find this Yahoo internet query:

Why do women in the movies wear plain wedding bands?

Responses included:

• "It's a prop," 
• "Because the diamonds shine too much in the filming lights," and 
• "In movies, the wedding band is used to communicate someone is married, and the most obvious symbol of a marriage is the plain gold wedding band." Also,
• "If a character is the type to obviously go for an intricate wedding band fashioned with many stones, and it adds to the character development, it will be made so, but, otherwise, the plain band does the job."

So, if a simple wedding band is the easiest way to communicate a character is married, my speculation is that when two rings are worn, the actor wears the wedding ring on the outside for the same reason: simple communication. It's easier to see that the character is married. Otherwise, the rings may appear as "bling."

Meanwhile, I came across "Act surprised: Your wedding ring is a terrible investment" (from a website entitled Get Rich Slowly) which contains a link to Diamonds are Bullshit. The upshot is diamonds are not the investment jewelers would like you to think they are and the whole diamond market is, in fact, a great big - and very successful - advertising campaign.

We've all been duped.

Which brings me to my next unanswered question: What if everyone who owns diamonds sold them tomorrow on the open market? The success of the diamond marketing campaign would all but guarantee that would never happen. But if it did, could enough diamonds be sold to crash the diamond market? Could an actual market value be established for diamonds? (Okay, that was several unanswered questions.)

My advice to the newly engaged: Buy a used ring. That's as close to the market value as you'll ever get. Or skip the bling ring entirely. Marriage isn't about the ring anyway although many may think otherwise (or ascribe other meaning to it, chiefly relating to financial success). You could invest that money much more wisely elsewhere. (Heck, the stock market would a safer place.) For those of you who have been made to believe there is romance in a sparkly proposal (I was one - twice), you will learn that romance will come in far simpler gestures over the years.

You don't really need any rings at all but if you find you just need something to get the message across, take this cue from the movies: Just wear a plain gold band.