REGARDS and DEAREST Rings

During the Victorian age, several unique types of engagement rings were given. While today, many women only look at diamonds as the proper stone to adorn an engagement or wedding ring. However, in the Victorian age, rings often had a number of different stones on them, an arrangement that came from the tradition of engagement rings featuring the birthstones of the bride, groom, and their parents. While this tradition was no longer followed in the Victorian age, the idea of mounting a number of stones on an engagement ring continued. Two of these rings were called the REGARDS ring and the DEAREST ring.

The REGARDS ring featured a simple band (either silver or gold) that featured seven different gemstones set in a specific order: ruby, emerald, garnet, amethyst, ruby (again), diamond, and sapphire. When the gemstones are arranged in this order, the first letter of each one makes the word REGARDS.

The other popular ring that used the first letter of each gemstone placed on it was called the DEAREST ring. The gemstones used in a DEAREST engagement ring were the diamond, emerald, amethyst, ruby, emerald, sapphire, and topaz. The DEAREST ring was just as popular as the REGARDS ring.

There were several different variations on the REGARDS and DEAREST rings. One was the LOVE ring, which featured the nontraditional gemstones of lapis lazuli, opal, vermarine, and emerald. Another variation was for the man to select gemstones that spelled out his beloved name, although this could be difficult depending on which letters were needed or expensive if his fiancée-to-be was named Elizabeth or Samantha or some other long name.

While the REGARDS and DEAREST rings were mostly used in the Victorian age, they are still occasionally given today. They make for very unique engagement rings since most of today’s engagement rings feature only diamonds or collections of diamonds. If you’re looking for a colorful engagement ring, these two rings or one of their variants will fit the bill nicely.