Precious Gem Options for Wedding Rings

Any girl dreaming of her wedding day has wandered into a jewelry store to gaze at the wedding sets and dream of her own special day. The jeweler will most likely direct her to diamond solitaires and wedding bands made of gold or platinum. Sometimes the wedding bands are plain and some are adorned with diamonds. Diamonds are synonymous with weddings. And, while diamonds are clearly associated as being the classic wedding stone, why limit yourself? Sure, diamonds are a girl's best friend, but there are so many other precious stones to choose from that have such a rich history and symbolism behind it. A girl can have more than just one best friend can't she?

Diamonds became popular post World War II when De Beers began the campaign of "A Diamond is Forever." It didn't hurt that he also owned most of the world's diamond mines. Men were told that they should expect to spend at least 2-3 months salary on this precious bauble. But, before diamonds were the en vogue stone to wear, many other precious gems were being used. In fact, it was commonly known that, like flowers, different gems carried a symbolism of their own. An almost secret language only known by those who took the time to speak it.

Here are some of the stones and their meanings:

• Garnet- faith and stability
• Amethyst- sincerity and happiness
• Aquamarine- hope and bravery
• Diamond-joy and innocence
• Emerald- peace and tranquility
• Pearl- wisdom and pureness
• Ruby- passion and nobility
• Peridot- patience
• Sapphire- honesty and hope
• Opal - confidence and sweet love
• Topaz- friendship and faithfulness
• Turquoise- understanding and success

Brides and grooms could carefully choose what precious stone or stones they wanted to have in their ring set and whenever they looked at it they could read the special message it shared between the two of them.

With the modern age comes modern wedding sets. Gemstone eternity bands are gaining popularity with modern brides. These rings are made of gold or platinum with any number of colorful gems such as sapphires, rubies, and emeralds. The stones can have a princess or square shape and wrap around the band in either solid or alternating colors and shapes.

Even the royals love to have beautiful color in their wedding sets. We will never forget the beautiful sapphire surrounded by diamonds that Princess Diana received upon her engagement. Now, Kate Middleton is sporting the same ring and it is just as timeless and eye catching today as it was thirty years ago. Jewelers have been making replicas of the sapphire set ever since.

Whatever precious stone you choose to put in your wedding set, design it with love and timeless style.