Diamonds are forever, yes, but they’re also a bit…expected. If you want to make a statement with your engagement ring, why not opt for a unique stone? From ruby to sapphire, there is no end to colourful stones to say yes to.

Another unique option is onyx, perfect for someone wanting to take a walk on the darker side of life.

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Onyx is a semi-precious gemstone, a sub-variety of the microcrystalline quartz called chalcedony. This gemstone is typically black with white lines, although can sometimes also be green or reddish-brown. The stone is perfect for fans of the art deco or Victorian style as that’s when it was most popular.

The name is derived from the ancient Greek word for claw. Speaking to Brides, New York City-based fine jeweler Ashley Zhang explains the mythology.

“The story is that while Venus slept, her fingernails were trimmed, and the gods turned these clippings into the stone known as onyx,” she says.

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Its beautiful striped appearance symbolises the various phases of the planet. Black represents the night, gray is dawn and white is day. Together, these colours stand for the interconnectedness of the world and the yin-yang of the universe, helping to restore balance to life.

The transformative power of onyx is what makes it perfect for an engagement ring. Onyx is said to stamp out fear by absorbing and transforming negative energy, thus helping to prevent the drain of personal energy. Onyx also helps develop emotional and physical strength and stamina, especially when support is needed during times of stress, confusion or grief.

Seems like the perfect stone to have on hand, literally.

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Feature image: Pexels

When you hear the words “diamond ring”, the first thing that comes to your mind is probably an engagement ring, right? These days, the gems are closely connected to love and romance. However, as with many wedding traditions, it has a not-so-romantic beginning.

According to Marie Claire, the first recorded bride to have received the sparkling surprise for her engagement was Archduke Maximillian of Austria’s bride-to-be in 1477. However, this was not the inception of the diamond ring proposal.

That achievement is attributed to the jewellery giant, De Beers. Insider reports that diamonds have become the world’s most popular choice for engagement rings as a result of a marketing ploy by De Beers.

Early in the 1900s, diamond production was low. Engagement rings were often given to women for the purpose of marriage, however for the most part the gem was not a diamond. By 1938, the diamond had become more popular for this purpose. But, as its value dropped with the Great Depression, their popularity dropped once again.

In 1947, De Beers launched a clever advertising campaign. The slogan for the campaign was “a diamond is forever”.  De Beers built their marketing around the idea that diamonds – with their brilliance, unbreakable character, and everlasting nature – are symbolic of the commitment of marriage, which is forever.

De Beers’ tactics were elaborate, as they targeted the psychology of human beings. In 1982, an investigating journalist named Edward Jay Epstein wrote an exposé in The Atlantic about the campaign.

In this tell-all, 20 000 word piece, Epstein revealed shocking truths about the advertising campaign. “Even though diamonds can in fact be shattered, chipped, discolored, or incinerated to ash, the concept of eternity perfectly captured the magical qualities that the advertising agency wanted to attribute to diamonds,” he wrote.

According to Epstein, part of the advertising strategy included sending lecturers to schools to ensure children knew the value of diamonds. He said that they also created a weekly service called “Hollywood personalities” which  “provided 125 leading newspapers with descriptions of the diamonds worn by movie stars.”

The campaign was so rigorous and aggressive that it spread across the ocean to other countries. It may, however, not be that surprising as they had spent millions a year on the campaign which even reached Japan, a country that had not included engagement rings in their traditions prior to this. The campaign lasted about 4 decades, and remnants of it can still be seen today in some advertisements.

These days, however, diamonds are falling in popularity. Many refuse to participate in the diamond business for ethical reasons. De Beers is a massive, powerful company though. Who knows what their next ad campaign will achieve.

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For those ethically opposed to the diamond trade, there are a multitude of alternative stones to choose from to centre your engagement ring. If you like the look of diamonds but desire something more sustainable and affordable, why not consider a moissanite stone?

Moissanite stones finely resemble diamonds, and only experts can tell a difference between the two.

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Made from meteorites from outer space, natural moissanite is much more rare than diamonds. It was first discovered in a meteor crater in 1893 by scientist Henri Moissan. Moissan mistakenly thought the crystals inside the crater were diamonds because of its extreme likeness.

Today, the majority of moissanite stones are lab grown and it takes about 2-3 months to make a single stone.

To tell a moissanite and a diamond apart, one would have to look very closely at its fire and brilliance. With a refractive index of 2.65, moissanite is much more brilliant and is known for its “disco ball” effect in which rainbow light quickly flashes from the gem.

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The main differences are not visible, they are technical. With a 9.25 rating, moissanites rank lower on the Mohs scale of hardness than the diamonds hardy 10. Moissanites also typically weigh about 15% less than diamonds. As a result, moissanites are sold by their length and width in millimeters rather than carat size like diamonds are.

Since the majority of moissanite stones are lab grown, it’s a much more ethical choice than natural diamonds. The reality of diamond mining is anything but romantic. Environmental devastation and human rights abuse has been synonymous with the trade for decades, leading many modern couples to avoid going for ‘blood diamonds’.

Of course, the biggest difference is often the price point. Moissanite is much cheaper than diamond. Gem Rock Auctions estimates that a moissanite stone of a similar size in appearance can cost up to 90% less than a diamond would.

Opting for a moissanite over a diamond is down to preference. The differences are miniscule, so it is reallythe production of the stone and the price of the stone that sways buyers.

Feature image: Pexels