In the acclaimed movie production, ‘Gentlemen Prefer Blondes,’ Marilyn Monroe sings the well-known song, ‘Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend,’ epitomizing women’s attitudes towards the coveted gemstone

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But are diamonds really a girl’s best friend? I ask because my boyfriend had quite recently bought me a surprise diamond engagement ring and when I saw it I couldn’t help but feel distinctly disappointed and quite disillusioned with the rock and its acclaimed attributes. The engagement ring was a yellow –gold, small yellow-tinged stone set band. After seeing it for the first time I became quite distressed at its appearance since I personally thought the ring was quite hideous. I was so afraid of breaking my boyfriend’s heart and didn’t want to admit to him that I hated the ring he had so thoughtfully picked out with me in mind.

What could I do? How could a diamond engagement ring which was supposed to fill me with a feeling of joy, love and security cause such distress and heartache? My boyfriend seems to posses the delightful talent of picking the exact opposite of what I like when it comes to jewelry, clothes and well basically anything and everything and I never want to complain so as to avoid hurting his feelings. He assures me he doesn’t take it personally he just desperately wants to make me happy and that I should tell him when I don’t like his purchases so he can exchange them for me.

Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate the sentiment, his love and devotion for me and the fact that he went to so much trouble just to make me happy. I am not a greedy person at heart but I do have to consider the fact that I will probably be stuck wearing the ring on my finger for the rest of my life. And the thought of looking down every day and seeing something I dislike on my ring-finger is not a thought I particularly cherish. 

After much internal debate, I ended up telling him that the ring wasn’t exactly my cup of tea and to my great relief, my boyfriend said he understood completely. He was a complete prince about it. He confessed, he had been nervous about buying me the perfect ring, all he had ever wanted was for me to be happy. He suggested taking me to the jeweler’s so I could pick out something that was more to my taste. I ended up getting a simple yet elegant platinum band set with a solitaire round cut, E-colored, 0.5 carat, high clarity ring. We have been happily married for the past 2 years and I proudly wear the ring to this day.