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.
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