User blog comment:Sprinklemist/The Eleventh Worst of the Worst/@comment-1956487-20120513173430/@comment-1874924-20120513220949

When Wifey and I went shopping for an engagement ring, we were told by someone who should know (i.e. the jeweler) that both engagement and wedding rings go on the left hand, based on the folkloric belief that the left-hand ring finger has a blood vessel that goes straight to the heart.

After the wedding, some women have the two rings permanently bonded together. Those who don't will usually wear both together (with the wedding band closer to the base of the finger, i.e. closer to the heart) but retain the option of wearing the wedding band alone when engaged in activities that might damage the engagement ring.

As for the engagement ring being a cheaper version of the wedding ring, the truth is that the engagement ring is usually more expensive because it's the one with the large gemstone. The wedding ring is usually little more than a simple band. (So whatever Sprink meant it to be, Tamira's ring does look more like a wedding band than an engagement ring.) Wifey's rings are unusual in that the wedding ring cost more than the engagment ring, but that's mainly because the engagement ring is white gold and the wedding ring is platinum--"the king of jewelry metals''. Another reason was that she didn't want something so expensive that she'd be afraid to wear it every day.

Interesting background to all this. Back in Victorian times, it was common for women to lose their virginity during the engagement period. This led to a lot of "seduce and abandon" scenarios and a lot of "breach of promise" lawsuits. (This, in fact, is precisely the situation behind the one-act Gilbert & Sullivan operetta, Trial By Jury. The trial ends when the smitten judge offers to marry the beautiful plaintiff himself.) Breach of Promise suits are no longer allowed because (1) virginity is no longer as important to marriageability as it once was, and (2) most women no longer view marriageability as their most important asset in the first place. The old breach of promise suits have accordingly given way to the current custom that the woman keeps the engagement ring if the man breaks off the engagement, the implication being that a woman's virginity is worth the price of a ring.