In Western tradition, an engagement ring is a ring worn by a woman indicating her engagement to be married. In some countries, such as the United Kingdom, it is worn on the left-hand ring finger, while in other countries, such as Poland and Ukraine, it is customary for the ring to be worn on the right-hand. By modern convention in countries such as the United States, the ring is usually presented as a betrothal gift by a man to his prospective bride while or directly after she accepts his marriage proposal. It represents a formal agreement to future marriage.

Similar traditions purportedly date to classical times, dating back from an early usage reportedly referring to the fourth finger of the left hand as containing the vena amoris or "vein of love".

In the United States and Canada today it is becoming more common, but still quite rare, that a woman will also buy an engagement or promise ring for her partner at the time of the engagement.

In Egypt, Brazil and many European countries, both the man and the woman usually wear engagement rings, most often in the form of matching plain bands of white, yellow, or rose gold.Fact: date=April 2008 In these countries the man's engagement ring often also eventually serves as the wedding ring. Some men wear two rings, but this is rarer. The woman's wedding ring can sometimes have a precious stone. In Spain, the woman sometimes buys an engagement wristwatch for the man after accepting a marriage proposal.Fact: date=April 2008

Price

The price for an engagement ring can vary considerably. Usually, they can be found within the range of a few hundred dollars to several hundred thousand dollars. Price varies by the material used, the value of the gemstone, and retailer. A conventional buying price ranging from two to three months wages for a ring guideline originated from De Beers marketing materials in the early 20th century, in an effort to increase the sale of diamonds.

When shopping for rings with one or more diamonds, the price can depend significantly on the carat weight, color, clarity and cut of the diamond, otherwise known as gemological characteristics of the diamond. While less frequent, the practice of substituting other gemstones such as sapphires, rubies, moissanite, emeralds, etc occurs to honor tradition, reduce the price of the ring, or to make it more unique.

Selection

In some countries the tradition has been for the future groom to privately select and purchase a ring, to be presented to his desired bride when he proposes.

With more and more couples living together prior to marriage, however, it is becoming more common for a couple to select the engagement ring while purchasing a wedding band together. In countries where both partners wear engagement rings, the matching rings tend to be purchased together.