Happy Mangagement!
June 21, 11
Like Bennifer and Brangelina, another catchy portmanteau has entered the English language. But unlike these Hollywood hook ups, mangagement might just be here to stay, as Danielle Max reveals in a look at a new trend – the male engagement ring.
“Congratulations, on your mangagement,” might not be a Hallmark moment just yet, but if a small but growing trend is anything to go by, the mangagement (also known as the mengagement) could soon be coming to a couple near you.
In a move to thrill feminists, more and more women are taking the leap and asking their fellas to marry them rather than waiting for their blokes to take the initiative.
Women proposing to men are, which admittedly rare, is nothing new. Although females have traditionally only proposed on Valentine’s Day in a leap year, the trend towards mangagements means that anytime is hunting season, a development that an increasing number of jewelers are getting in on.
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Since January of 2009, Britain’s largest jewelry chain, H.Samuel, which is part of the Signet group, has been offering the Tioro ring, a titanium band embedded with a discreet diamond. It was initially offered online only and was later added to the chain’s 400 stores, which can be found across the whole of the UK.A look at the H.Samuel website shows that popularity of the collection, which today includes three designated engagement rings, eight “regular” other rings, a diamond dog tag and an identity bracelet. The items are priced at a more than affordable £99.99 ($161) to £149.00 ($243).
The popular high street jeweler also offers a selection of non-branded mangagement rings set with up to three diamonds, proving that it’s not just British ladies who like to display their love with a bit of sparkle.
If the trend seems a little down-market, take comfort that it is also a phenomenon to be found among those who are flusher with cash. The high street Tioro ring is a far cry from the $15,000 Neil Lane ring singer and actress Jennifer Hudson gave to her then-boyfriend (now husband) David Otunga in 2008 in what might just be the biggest mangagement ring coup yet. (Otunga popped the question but seemed happy enough to wear his newly-changed status on his finger).
The mangagement trend is also increasingly popular with homosexual couples (the fashion designer Marc Jacobs wore an engagement ring).
But is it a trend that others are likely to follow? According to a survey on the Brides.com website, 45 percent of women would consider buying their boyfriend an engagement ring (the other 55 percent reported that the men in their life would probably not be interested in sporting an engagement ring).
According to the aptly-name Fay Lovenbury, a spokesperson for the Tioro brand, 60 percent of H.Samuel’s customers think it is a good idea for women to propose. “Women are no longer waiting until the man pops the question. We are equals in the workplace, equals in our relationships and we make our own decisions,” she told telegraph.co.uk.
While the management trend is all about equality – after all, men no longer buy their women as they did in days gone by – there also a security element to the purchase as well. After all, one of the reasons people sport wedding rings is to show that they are taken. The little band of gold is a big red warning light to the opposite sex. As soon as a woman is engaged, her status is automatically changed. The same situation does not exist for men, and that is something that some women would like to see changed as they mark their territory.
Once a woman proposes to her man, or even just gives him an engagement ring, there is distinct etiquette involved in the mangagment ring. While women wear their engagement and wedding rings on the same finger, the male engagement ring is worn on the left hand prior to the wedding. After the big day, it is replaced by the wedding ring and is shifted onto the right hand ring finger.
Such a tradition is common in certain countries, among them those in Scandinavia and South America, as the recently married Canadian singer Michael Bublé found when became engaged to an Argentinean. "The boy also wears the engagement ring [in Argentina," Bublé said of his pre-wedding man band. "That's what she tells me anyway," he told celebrity site TMZ.
Apparently, engagement rings (for both males and females) in Argentina are made of silver, with the pair switching to gold only after their nuptials take place.
In Brazil, both sexes wear rings, but the happy couple do not have to splash out twice. Brazilian engagement rings go on the right hand, switching them over to the traditional left hand position once they are wed.
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Using a male engagement ring as a wedding ring is something that Gilletts Jewellers in Australia advocates on its blog. “When choosing a men’s engagement ring design, diamond rings are very popular as are two tone rings,” says the jeweler, which has a separate men’s engagement ring category on its online shop. For those males who are not quite ready to publicly declare their engagement on their finger, the jeweler recommends symbolize their engagement with a watch or a pair of cufflinks.
U.S.-based online jeweler Novori also offers a separate men’s engagement ring category on its website. “Subtle is the key when it comes to men’s engagement rings,” the site proclaims. “Most men’s engagement rings are gold or platinum bands containing slight embellishments.” Prices on the site range from around $400 to near $3,000.
While the management trend may be just a drop in the ocean at the moment, jewelers and manufacturers should be doing all they can to try to push this burgeoning product category.
Andrew Shanahan, editor of the men’s wedding website iamstaggered.com has a different view. “Cynics might think that this is just a way of cashing in on the spending for the big day, but our readers are excited about wearing wedding rings,” he told telegraph.co.uk. “There’s no reason why some wouldn’t consider marking their engagement with a ring as well.”