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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (April 22, 1966)
Diamonds—When It’s for a Lifetime !»y JAQI THOMPSON Staff Writer Engagement rings have come u great way liieM* la.st few thou sand years from a simple hand ol plaited grass to the plutinuru and diamonds of today Wedding hands are more recent than en gagement rings, and though of more sentimental value, they are of less material significance. The quality and fashions of diamond hridal rings has almost reached a point of perfection to day at least in the diamond it self The cutting of a diamond is done according to a mathematical formula, which results in maxi mum dispersion and brilliance. I.ess than a century ago, diamonds were cut to give the most carat v-eight. This crealed "lumpy” diamonds, as one local jeweler put it. Today all jewelers agree the carat is the least important of the four “C:t" of quality, (,'ut, color, and clarity are the other three. A diamond cannot show its beauty unless it is cut skillfully and pre cisely. Color and clarity are natu ral characteristics in a diamond and can't be improved by man. The rarest diamonds are pale, pale pink. They cost five times as much as tine white, or colorless,! diamonds. White diamonds —j there are 200 shades of white — j are the best diamonds practically j speaking. Current Styles The three Eugene jewelers in terviewed each had something different to say on the current College Not Right Place To Find Mate There ’s a widespread belief on collage campuses that many wom en students art* in college for one reason to find a husband. but according to a study made by I’aul C Cilick. author of "Amer lean Families,” marriage-minded coeds are in the wrong place. The State I’ress. Arizona State University, reporting on Click's. stud>, said his statistics show that although the chances of marriage for the college educated female are better than they were in 1940, chances are still better for the woman with only a high school i education. The older a man is when he marries, the study indicates, the greater age difference between bride and groom. Since the male usually marries a younger female, lie has a wide j market while in college. Since a woman usually marries up in age, however, her market grows smaller. As a rule, men marry women of the same or lower level of edu cation. In the woman's case, the situation is reversed. Also, the higher the educational level, the greater the importance of men having higher levels of education than women. These findings together lead to this conclusion: extended educa tion and increased age place a woman in a marriage market in which the number of available older males with as much or more education is limited. Because the man can marry down in age and education, the educated woman faces increased competition by younger and less educated women for the available unmarried men. The unmarried man with a high level of education is in the best position for mate selection. The woman with the same age and education, however, is very limit ed in her choice. The study also revealed that in three-fourths of all marriages, the bride is younger than the groom. The bride is eider than the groom hi only one seventh of all mar riages. All these figures seem to indi cate that a woman is more likely to receive a Mi’s, degree upon graduation from high school than upon graduation from college. Cushion* and styles of today's bridal sets, One believes today’s young couples are repeating a trend of 40 years ago, and favor ing rings with more than one diamond that is, rings with small side diamonds, instead of a soli taire. He also feels the fancier shapes emerald, marquis, oval and pear -—are becoming more popular, although the classic round still leads in popularity. These shapes cost no more to cut than the round, he said. He added that the hands of the woman should really determine the style With a thousand styles to choose from, that still leaves a wide choice for everyone. In the lower price range—$200 and under—he said he sold more yellow gold bands, but that white gold was preferred by those who bought higher priced rings. This jeweler felt a one third carat center stone was the most popular weight with University couples. The price of such a stone is not in direct proportion to the cost of a stone of a full carat, however, as the larger stones are scarcer which adds to their price. Depend on Individual As to a popular trend, or fad, he said there shouldn't be one. The style should depend only on the individual woman, he stressed He also pointed out the im portance of getting a die-struck, rather than cast, band. A die struck band is superior in every way, including beauty, to a cast band. A third jeweler also stressed the importance of the woman’s hands in choosing a ring. ‘‘I look at her hand first,” he said. He added there are about one-half dozen styles that are right for a particular woman. He did feel, though, there is also a popular fashion in engage ment rings. In his opinion, young couples favor the solitaire, and a simple, light style, with a white gold band. He thought the white gold harmonizes better with the “prettier” clothes of today than does the conventional yellow gold. lie said also that 25 per cent of the brides wanted a band that “twisted or twirled.” These bands cost no more than the plain circle type. He noted a trend of the last three years, repeating an old trend, of trios, or threesomes—a wedding band for the groom, too. Perhaps 30 per cent of the couples either buy a threesome, or else come back later to find a man’s band in the same style as the bride's rings. Most University couples spend about $150 on a ring set of one fourth to one-half total carat weight, but often the groom also buys a strand of pearls or a dia mond pendant for the bride, he stated. This is another revival of a past custom. ‘Diamonds Are Forever’ Even though ‘diamonds are forever” they must be cleaned and cared for so their brilliance doesn’t dim, and so they won’t fall out of their setting. The ring should be taken to the jeweler's once or twiqe a year to make sure the diamond is still tightly set. If a diamond it loose it will turn itself around and gradually saw itself right out of its prongs. A jeweler will also clean the ring, but it is easy to do ‘.his at home. Just use a small brush, soap, water and ammonia, with a final rinse in alcohol to remove all traces of soap film. Diamonds should not be worn while washing your hands, apply ing cosmetics, washing dishes, or digging in the garden, as soaps, creams, powder and dirt dull the brilliance. AT J J we have a thing ABOUt BRi6es... 'r* in a worO, undeRStandinq. we know heR bilemrru \ % ..choosing hen china, > stepLinq. } an6 CRystal patteRns... deciding on the nicest gifts i For the we66inq paRty. so we’Re Bound to know exactLy what she'd like as & wedding gift (our bri£uI ReqistRy sees to that). to this we a66 imagination, impeccaBle taste « and of coursg, quality... it's our standaRfc way » rf'l of doing things. | mil JEWELRY STORE 1027 WILLAMETTE
