It used to be that women would wait patiently for Prince Charming to ride up on his white horse, kneel in front of her, and present her with a beautiful engagement ring.  Evidently, this still does, sometimes, happen.  Maybe the white horse is a Harley-Davidson and he doesn’t kneel so much as nervously shift from one foot to another, but the sentiment is still there: I love you and am pretty sure that I want to spend to rest of my life with you, but, if not, this ring can be melted down and made into something else that doesn’t remotely remind you of me.  Love is a beautiful thing.
For women who are either tired of waiting or don’t want to wait for this phenomenon, there is now an alternative: right-hand rings.  Instead of waiting for Mr. Right (or Mr. Right Now), some women are choosing to buy themselves diamonds.   Why wait for a beautiful ring when we are fully capable of buying ourselves exactly what we want, without relying on someone else to fulfill our accessorizing needs? 

The jewelry industry has definitely taken notice of this trend.  Every jeweler, from the cheesy to the upscale, is offering a variety of “right-hand” diamond rings that promises to announce to the world your success, power, self-sufficiency and so on.  It is a fad that has even hit Hollywood, although in a perplexing way.  Seen flaunting their displays of independence are Sarah Jessica Parker, Julia Roberts, Debra Messing, and Victoria Beckham—all, ironically, happily (or at least dutifully) married to extraordinarily wealthy men.  Certainly, these women can afford to buy their own rings, so they do–carefully sporting them on their right hands.  It is on their left hands that we can see the diamond exhibits received from their respective husbands.

For those of us who never realized that diamond rings were hand-specific, this fad comes as something as a surprise.   Most of us tend to choose which hand a ring goes on by how much water we are retaining that particular day. 

These diamond rings, although they are catering to women who want to flaunt their independence, are not some kind of feminist flag waving at the world.  They are pretty things that some of us want and can afford to buy.  And, like a fantastic new pair of shoes, they can make your whole day better.

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