Should men wear engagement rings?

I have been struggling with a question that I hope you can answer. Generally speaking, why don’t men wear engagement rings? Future brides wear a ring to show that they’re almost taken. Other then his word, what does a man have to show that he’s engaged? Well for one thing, an empty bank account for purchasing that amazing engagement ring, but what else?

The other night Honey and I went out for drinks with his sister to a lovely SF wine bar. The place was packed so we sat on the same bench as another couple. Out of nowhere the man, not the woman, asked if we were newly engaged. I giggled and answered, “Yes how did you know? He stated, “I knew because your ring is so shiny that I can’t stop looking at it.”

My theory is that planning a wedding can be very time consuming and stressful, a gorgeous ring is a wonderful reminder of why your going through the stress.

Unfortunately I’ve had engaged friends that didn’t make it to alter. They made the right decision to not marry that person. But did they give their engagement rings back? Well one did and two others didn’t. According to Wikipedia: “In some states of the United States, engagement rings are considered "conditional gifts" under the legal rules of property. This is an exception to the general rule that gifts cannot be revoked once properly given.”

“The story of men’s engagement ring history is far shorter. For centuries, only women received either engagement or wedding rings, but today the vast majority of men wear wedding rings, and an increasing number also receive engagement rings. This trend began during World War II, when many men were faced with years separated from their loved ones, and simple rings served as reminders about the people they’d left behind."

I love this background information about the history of engagement rings, don’t you? Comment below and tell if you would wear or want your partner to wear a man-gagement ring?