One week until Valentine’s day! I’ve decided to celebrate by bombarding you with engagement rings.  There will be scores of sparkles. Piles of pretties. Avalanches of rocks. It’s going to start today. You are forewarned.

If that doesn’t sound fun, you have two options:

1. Picture these sparklers on your right hand; or
2. Come back on February 15th for our regularly scheduled programming. I will miss you while you’re gone.

A moment of seriousness before we launch in to the blingfest:

Diamonds, as pretty as they are, are something that have caused a lot of strife in the world. This isn’t a political blog, so I’m not going to go on about this at length. But I urge you to be informed when you make a diamond purchase: find out where your stones came from and educate yourself about what that means. If a retailer doesn’t provide any information about their diamond sources, take the time to ask them and research their answer.

Pre-owned diamonds are always a responsible choice, but remember that antique, vintage, and estate pieces don’t always have antique or vintage diamonds; they are often reset.

Diamonds are a significant purchase, and you want to be able to look at the lovely sparkly thing on your hand and know that your buying it didn’t make the world a worse place. Whatever choice you make, please let it be an informed one.

That’s all I’m going to say about that for now. If you’d like to more information, please consider checking out the sources below. And don’t forget to check back later today for more pretties!

Conflict Diamonds article by Amnesty International
“Blood Diamonds” and How to Avoid Buying Illicit Gems by National Geographic
The Conflict-Free Diamond Council
The Kimberly Process Website
Jewelers of America Position Statement on Responsible Diamonds

(Fabulous image of antique diamond rings thanks to Barker’s Antique Jewelry.)