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Since prehistoric times, bands have played significant roles during betrothals and marriages. As a matter of fact, it would be hard to imagine having an engagement and wedding without referring to bands. Because of their long lingering presence, wedding ring and engagement ring are often confused with each other. But, it should be taken into account that though these jewelry pieces are commonly seen among married women, they profoundly differ from each other in many aspects.

In order to understand the difference between the wedding ring and engagement ring, let's start to look at their individual purposes. Basically, an engagement ring is purchased or given by the man to the woman as an indication of their engaged status. On the other hand, wedding bands are the jewelry pieces exchanged and worn by the couple during their wedding day to seal their marital vows. After the wedding ceremony and into the future, both the bands are worn on the same finger, this applies to women since men do not wear engagement bands though there are engagement bands intended for men.

Between the wedding and engagement hoops, most couples invest more on their engagement bands. As a matter of fact, an engagement ring is probably the ring that captures more attention than the wedding ring, which is appropriate as it symbolizes the silent announcement of the engaged status of the couple. Traditionally, engagement bands have protruding center stones usually made from fine diamond jewelry. Today though, it is no longer a requisite to have diamond engagement ring as other precious stones can also be used as central accents such as ruby, sapphire, and opal to name a few.

Meanwhile, wedding ring is far from the grandiosity that engagement ring usually exemplify as it is often plain in finish and does not have any accents, or sometimes it is designed after the engagement ring but is a simpler version of the first. However, there are also couples that make use of fine diamond jewelry for their wedding bands, though this rarely happens as the plain design of such ring symbolizes the sanctity of marriage. Both the wedding and engagement bands are traditionally worn on the left finger between the index and pinkie fingers as it is believed that the said finger contain the vena amori or the vein directly connected to the heart. However, there are also cultures that traditionally wear their wedding and engagement bands on the right hand, specifically on the right ring finger.

Wedding and engagement bands are usually purchased separately from each other. They could also be purchased as a set; hence, some wedding bands are as intricately designed as the engagement bands they come with. However, if you are to purchase each piece separately, remember that you are going to wear them everyday, so when you select the shape of the stone always consider your lifestyle. A diamond may be hard in nature, but it can chip off or break overtime especially if it has pointed edges; in this case it would be more preferable to choose a round brilliant cut as it could last longer.

Overall, no other jewelry best represents engagement and marriage than the wedding ring and the engagement ring. They have profound differences when it comes to function and design. Regardless of their many differences though, it is undeniable that both of them are built upon the concept of representing undying love, as seen from the round finish of the bands and their material makeup. They also serve as material seals that reinforces the symbolic meaning and sentimentality of devotion.