Marilyn Monroe once famously sang that, "Diamonds are a girl's best friend." But what if you don't like diamonds, and don't want one in your engagement ring?
Make-up artist Rebecca Perkins stopped by HuffPost Live Tuesday and opened up about why she didn't want a diamond engagement ring.
"It just was not something that I ever felt was valuable or wanted to participate in," she said. "My practicality just took precedence over the bright, shiny thing that, to me, did not represent my feelings for my now-husband."
Perkins received a sapphire engagement ring from her beau and loved it, though she did agree that "[Diamonds] are geological miracles; it's amazing what it takes, geologically, to make a diamond, and they are beautiful."
Gem experts and jewelers weighed in on the engagement ring debate on HuffPost Live too -- click here to see the full conversation.
Redditors also pondered the question of non-diamond engagement rings Tuesday, with user thedutchessandco asking, "Would getting an engagement ring that wasn't diamond and that didn't cost much bother you?"
Below, some of the most interesting responses to thedutchessandco's question.
I think a personal, custom-made ring would mean far more to me than a standard store-bought diamond ring. - hollywoodshowbox
Personally I would not want a colored stone ring -- the reason most engagement rings are diamond/white stone is because it goes with everything. A colored stone will clash with various outfits/manicures etc. A soft stone is also a poor choice -- 9+ on the Mohs scale, please, otherwise you're looking at replacing broken stones down the line. Topaz is an 8, which is "just OK" in terms of durability. There are tons of places that sell ethically mined or lab-created diamonds, as well. - OvulationStation
I can dig non-diamond rings but I'm not so sure I can dig on rings that don't have clear stones. Something about the clear stone reads engagement to me in a way that colored stones just don't seem to. - lemonylips
If a guy wanted to get me a diamond ring to propose with -- I would insist on a black diamond. Only because I think they're beautiful. I think normal diamonds are tacky. - dmgb
I personally wanted something that looked like a diamond, whether or not it really was one. Any white stone would have been fine for me because I can't tell the difference visually. My husband wanted a traditional, brand new diamond ring, so that's what we have. - FreeCookies6
I would actually prefer a non-diamond ring. I like colored stones a lot better, in general, and I love that they're so much less expensive, because I'd be really uncomfortable with my boyfriend spending a ton of money on a ring for me, and the diamond rings I like most are more expensive than I'm comfortable with (which, granted, is still way less than average). - parker214
My favorite color is blue, and I also hate wearing gold-colored jewelry, so I've always thought that my ideal engagement ring would be a white gold band with a blue gem of some kind (sapphire, blue topaz, etc). My birthstone is actually a diamond but I find blue gems prettier. - celestialism
Click through the slideshow below to see some of our favorite vintage engagement rings.
