Jewelry From Africa

A new trend is men's engagement rings. This is a small, unique group of men that wish to show their commitment to marriage. As with a woman's engagement rings - it signifies their status as taken. Style and design have not become commercialized - although I wonder if the add companies have not just found a way to sell more jewellery. Imagine they could double diamond sales of engagement rings!

However this trend turns out, I enjoy the fact that men are wearing more jewellery. Traditionally it has been the reserve of woman - with men who wear rings and necklaces seen as feminine or flash. Jewellery is a very personal showing of our taste and style. If we add into the mix symbolism, it carries a very strong message.

As with all jewellery, taste is the driving factor. Price is important, but originality and quality come first. Nobody likes to wear a personal piece of jewellery that everyone else has - in saying that - branded jewellery breaks that rule. I do not like branded, mass produced rings and bangles - they classify us as sheep, without our own minds. Human beings have the unique trait of being able to make decisions. I feel that the mass production market, with the powerful advertising, changes this. It takes our uniqueness away.

What happened to the specialness of the engagement and wedding? If my neighbour has it in a certain way - then I want it the same - we are not made like this. We all look different, want different and need different. Granted - we share many tastes and likes and dislikes - common humanness - but this has been leveraged by advertising and corporate companies - turning us into the masses that they so like. It is a lot easier for a large jewellery company to mass produce and market the same wedding rings over and over to the world. What they forget - we are individuals.

People are becoming aware of this, making choices about their engagement rings that we did not see 20 years ago. Woman especially are looking for meaning and originality. They are looking to be different, not choosing the standard claw setting diamond engagement ring of old. Often, after getting married in a particular place, like Africa, they look for an African engagement ring - or perhaps an African wedding band that reminds them of the wedding and their values.  Symbols play an important part of the wedding and engagement ceremonies. They will wear that ring for the rest of their live.

Gay marriages are on the increase - Gays are looking for something that defines them - gay jewellery is now a category all of its own. They may have different preference, but they look for the same values of trust and partnership that we all want.

Men it seems, do not care too much. They are happy to wear a plain wedding band, often, the plainer the better. They still attach meaning to the ring, but it is less important what they wear - as long as they have something - this is changing though. Men are becoming more discerning in their choice of men's wedding rings. Titanium wedding rings seem to be very popular - they are hard, durable and inexpensive - men like the fact they they do not have to care to much about being careful with them. Put it on and forget about it. 

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