The captivating allure of a ring of diamonds has never failed to win the hearts of those who receive them. The sentiment of unending devotion, love and respect makes the eternity ring a must have for special occasions, anniversaries or the birth of a child.
It's not a new concept, first being gifted in ancient Egypt to show eternal love to the recipient. However, the revival has slightly sinister undertones, with De Beers having a secret agreement with the Soviet Union in the 1960's to control the world diamond supply. In return, De Beers had to purchase a large percentage of the uncut diamonds Russia produced. These were less than 0.25ct, out of fashion at a time when engagement rings were made of large solitaire diamonds. Thus, the eternity ring in its modern guise was born.
Luckily there are no such connotations attached to eternity rings these days and it is usually presented by a partner to show his deep love and continued affection, a lovely and thoughtful gift.
Jeweller's Advice
A full eternity ring is one where the the stones fully encircle the band, with no end or beginning. A three-quarter eternity is a more contemporary design, featuring stones almost the entire way round, but with a slight gap. This can make the ring both slightly moire cost effective and more easily adjustable, as with the full eternity ring it is very difficult to resize. Half eternities feature stones only half the way around the ring, this makes them more easily adjustable.
Jeweller's Wife
We often think of an eternity ring as a piece of jewellery tied to the wedding and engagement ring, but an eternity ring makes a fantastic stacking ring, a pink ring, a more subtle engagement ring, or a sparkling wedding band. With different gems rather than diamonds now included in eternity bands, these rings also make fantastic birthstone birthday presents. The emerald ring above is a classic example of this.
If a regular traveller, a half eternity ring is a brilliant style of jewellery as you can swing the stones to the back so the ring appears as a simple band.
