Past, Present and Future Rings
Past, present and future rings, also known as three stone rings, are gaining in popularity. Engagement rings are about the commitment to another person, of course, but three stone rings do a little more. They have come to symbolize the romance of the engagement, as well as the commitment.
All engagements are romantic, of course, but usually by implication rather than literal demonstration. That’s where three stone rings come in.
History of the Past, Present, Future Ring
We’d love to be able to give you some extensive, romantic narrative about the origins of the ring. Sadly, as with so many things, that isn’t the case here.
By now, just about everybody knows the story of the De Beers campaign to sell diamonds. Their “A diamond is forever” slogan revolutionized the art of engagement ring selling. Suddenly, instead of actually trying to sell rings, dealers were selling an emotion. And that’s also pretty much how the past, present and future ring came into being, with De Beers once again behind it all.
Putting more than one diamond in an engagement ring is nothing new. It’s been happening for as long as anyone can remember. Actually, the idea of a solitaire ring, with just a single diamond, was yet another marketing strategy introduced by Tiffany & Co. As you can see, there’s a pattern here!
In the early 2000s, De Beers needed a new angle to sell diamonds. The market had plateaued somewhat, and the wanted to encourage people to buy more than one diamond. How they did it was simple. They took something that already existed, and simply re-invented it. Suddenly, we didn’t just have a diamond ring with smaller diamonds at each side. What we had was the past, present and future ring.
More Than Just a Marketing Ploy
We’re probably doing the three stone ring a disservice by introducing it as another piece of emotional marketing. In truth, it’s more than that. Much, much more, in fact. Any diamond ring is a beautiful thing, regardless of how it was conceived or how it was sold. Three stone rings are exactly the same. In fact, they are elegant and often understated, and make perfect engagement rings.
The original concept was that the three diamonds should be the same cut, but with the center diamond being larger than the outer pair. This has changed somewhat over the years, where now any combination of cuts, or even stones, being acceptable.
Past, Present and Future?
It’s exactly what it sounds like, actually. The three stones represent a different period of the relationship. The center stone is largest and represents the current relationship as the most important period. After all, if you’ve reached the point of proposing, then it is a peak which is difficult to beat.
The smaller diamonds represent the past and the future, as a celebration of what has gone and what is to come.
The three stone ring could, at a push, be considered an early eternity ring. An eternity ring is intended to show an expression of everlasting love an commitment. The three stone ring is the beginning of that, with the future being the aim.
Examples of Past, Present and Future Rings
Although already a very popular choice, it was when Prince Harry proposed to Meghan Markle, that the general public really sat up and took notice. It helped that the ring Harry gave had a personal story attached. He chose the center diamond himself, from Botswana, a country which holds special significance for him. The two outer stones were from his late mother, Princess Diana’s, personal collection.
Just to show that three stone rings were around long before De Beers got their marketing people on the case, this beautiful art deco ring is everything a past, present and future ring should be. With a 1.33ct center diamond, and two smaller diamonds weighing a total of 0.50cts, it’s difficult to think of a better example.
Although the diamonds are often the same cut, this isn’t necessary. Another late art deco ring, this round cut antique diamond has two baguette cut diamonds. It’s a very different look than you might expect, and is spectacular.
The cut of the center diamond will decide on the type of mount. This emerald cut diamond engagement ring uses prong pairs to keep the center 3.20ct diamond safe. The two outer diamonds use a prong/bezel combination due to the cut style and angle of the mount.
A wonderful example of how to be different is this sapphire and diamond three stone ring. The center sapphire is 3.05ct, with the outer diamonds totaling a further 1.0ct. Sapphires are now very popular as engagement ring settings, and this wonderful ring shows why.
More Than Just An Engagement Ring
All the rings above, indeed any three stone ring, can be more than just a ring given to signal an engagement. In fact, the stated intention in the advertisements of a past, present and future ring was to be as an anniversary gift.
The rings became so popular, that it was a natural progression for them to become engagement rings as well. An added benefit is that the outer diamonds help to increase the visual impact of the ring. This means that the center diamond doesn’t need to be as large as it might otherwise be. This helps to reduce the cost of the ring, and makes a stunning, three stone ring more accessible to more people.
It may have been an emotion that emerged as part of a marketing strategy, but there’s no denying the sincerity that these rings now signify. Stunning, and romantic at the same time, raise a glass to the past, the present and the future!
