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Comments:
The Details - 2004-12-22 14:26:20 I have been rattling on about this for years yet everyone looks at me cross-eyed. It's also why I'm refused engagement rings each and every time. ;-p It gets even worse Y. Supposedly, the diamond ring replaced a "payment", if you will, that ensured the woman would be able to take care of herself for a while if something were to break up the engagement. The premise was that the woman would be "tainted goods" and probably wouldn't be able to get married in the future. Of course, society held nothing against the man. My personal leeriness to the engagement ring stems from a time when I actually did go shopping for a ring - I was very young. All the sets (engagement and wedding ring together) were really beautiful but I kept noticing that the engagement ring was the main focus with the actual wedding ring bent and twisted around the diamond as if it were an afterthought. Isn't the wedding ring the most important ring? I was so turned off.* * * * * * * * * * * * Leighton - 2004-12-22 15:56:11 Those evil Belgians. Seems like everything evil ("God" in the Pledge / Christmas twisting) happened in the 1st part of the last century.* * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2004-12-22 16:19:41 "Tainted goods." Oh, my. Your observation abut the wedding ring "bent and twisted" around the (hyped) engagement ring is quite insightful and thought-provoking. I felt so let down after I read this timeline in the magazine. My former ring was a big deal, a huge symbol to me, one I got to pick out myself (it will tell you something about me when I say that I picked a large, flawed stone instead of a smaller, more perfect one) and to learn it was all just a cynical ad campaign kind of knocked the props out from under all that emotional investment. Then, what really revolted me, was a different story further on in the magazine, about Kalahari people in Botswana being booted off a nature preserve they'd been told would be theirs in perpetuity...because there are diamonds under their land. They now live in some concrete refugee type dump and are totally divorced from their normal life and culture. Because of my diamond. It truly is disgusting. Yes, Leighton, there does seem to be some sort of cultural turning point around then, it seems, I agree with you.* * * * * * * * * * * * raymond - 2004-12-22 16:20:19 I was born in the 1st part of the recently past century (I wonder if it will be the "last" century?). Maybe I'm my evil twin from the 11th dimension. * * * * * * * * * * * * lynne - 2004-12-22 16:23:53 I never really wear rings. But even if I did, I wouldnt want a diamond because that whole DeBeers stuff is evil. I first heard about that in an Econ class at EMU and I havent been able to look at a diamond the same since then. * * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2004-12-22 16:26:14 I have to say that I'm proud that ethical people like Lynne are hanging around this blog. I admire people like Lynne, who apparently have their priorities straight (as I, during my former engagement, admittedly did not).* * * * * * * * * * * * Jane Irwin - 2004-12-27 00:48:59 Heh... when I got engaged about eight months ago, I was presented with a ring bearing exactly the gemstone I wanted: an amethyst. The bad news: they're softer than diamonds and more prone to chipping and cracking. The good news? They're $20/carat, so replacement is easy. The wedding band was a neato antique replica that curves nicely around the engagment ring. Both are decorated with leaves and wheat. I loves 'em both. * * * * * * * * * * * * Vince Prygoski - 2004-12-29 12:56:41 Regarding what other aspects of our culture are a result of ad campaigns...Mother's Day and Father's Day come to mind, as well as Sweetest Day which seems to be a duplication of Valentine's Day. At least Valentine's Day has some genuine historical/traditional roots, whereas if I am not mistaken, Sweetest Day is a total invention of Hallmark et al. Of course, at this point almost nothing is really sacred anymore and just about all holidays/days of rememberance/etc are treated by corporate late capitalism as just another opportunity to SELL, SELL, SELL! And so we get for example the annoying furniture store ads where the deal is almost always the same (so many months interest free, the furniture company pays your sales tax, blah blah blah goes over the hill Detroit newscaster Bill Bonds and his ilk) and only the name of the sale varies (Xmas sale, New Year's sale, Valentines sale, Easter sale, Memorial Day sale, 4th of July sale, President's Day sale with cheesy George Washington and Abe Lincoln impersonators, etc etc ad nauseam).* * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2004-12-29 13:10:59 Wow!--may I congratulate you please Jane? What wonderful news! How lovely! And your ring sounds absolutely beautiful. I love amethysts. Happy news. Vince, I have the exact same outlook as you on such pseudo-holidays, and all the schmutz that encrusts even legitimate holidays, except Festivus.* * * * * * * * * * * * Jane Irwin - 2004-12-29 18:27:53 Thanks for the Congrats, Laura. Love the bit on Secular Humanism, by the way. Continuing the Diamond topic though -- once you read about the near-slavery conditions under which a large number of the world's diamonds are brought out of the earth makes me never, ever want one. I far prefer commemorating my wedding day with a symbol I find pertinent, as well as with one that isn't liable to have cost someone else their own blood. Plus, amethysts are purdy. * * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2004-12-30 12:14:27 Seeing principled people making ethical choices in the face of enormous societal pressure to park a huge diamond on one's finger gives me hope. Amethysts are just lovely. They were hugely popular and a big industry in Korea when I was there.* * * * * * * * * * * * Jane - 2004-12-30 13:52:10 Ooo, Korea? Cool. What were you doing there? Society at large is full of ills. Follow your own lead and you'll be much happier. As far as history goes, Sapphires were traditionally associated with engagements, as it symbolizes fidelity. * * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2004-12-30 13:55:11 I taught English as a second language for a couple years after graduating, being totally unemployable otherwise with an English degree. I think your "follow your own counsel" idea is sound. I didn't know that about sapphires--interesting; that makes me wonder about gemstone symbolism in general and how those associations arose.* * * * * * * * * * * * Vince Prygoski - 2005-01-04 16:24:30 Festivus for the rest of us! I have not been posting much lately (here or at my own blog) because I am on the Caribbean island of Nevis until Thursday and do not have easy computer access. It is a very beautiful and warm place and I almost hate to have to come back to the Frozen Tundra of Michigan, but that is where my job is so I will be back Thursday.* * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2005-01-04 16:27:16 Wow! Thank you for posting from Nevis, Vince! I didn't dream for a moment this tiny blog might prove to be more attractive a thing to do than...anything...in the Caribbean. :) Oh, by the way, there's a huge storm predicted for Thursday, starting midday Wednesday. 7 to 10 inches of snow to greet you on your return! * * * * * * * * * * * * add your comment: |