Ring finger for engagement

Factual Questions
1

A friend of mine just got engaged; she also works part-time in a jewlery store. She says that the engagement ring commonly goes on the ring finger of the left hand. I maintain that this is new, and that “in the old days” ONLY a wedding ring would appear on that hand and only once the person is married. Am I misremembering all of those naked fingers in old movies with weddings? I will divulge that I don’t trust jewelry stores and their “one month’s salary is the minimum for an engagement ring which may have been mined by slave labor in South Africa.”

So, did the engement ring always go there, or is this new? Any Emily Posts out there?

2

I don’t know about always, but quite a lot of women take their engagement rings off for the wedding. They often wear the e-ring on the right hand, so they can just put it on over the wedding band after the ceremony.

I do know that my mother wore her engagement ring on her left ring finger, over 30 years ago. Based on that, I’d say it’s not too new a tradition.

3

AFAIK it’s always been the third finger left had for engagement rings, they get taken off on the wedding day to be replaced by the wedding bands…
I’m no help at all me, am I?? LOL

4

I’ve never seen an engagement ring go on any other finger but the left ring finger. shrug

5

I know someone from Europe who wears her engagement ring on her right ring finger, and her wedding band on the left.

6

Many rings are sold as “sets” of engagement and wedding bands-- the engagement ring is supposed to be worn furthest from the body. Rather than play the world’s shortest game of “Towers of Hanoi” at the wedding, immediately before the wedding the bride will move the engagement ring somewhere else. Obviously the safest place that’s easy to get to would be the same-sized finger on the other hand.

Corr

7

I can get you as far back as the 1950’s. For women in the USA the engagement ring was always on the third finger of the left hand. When I married the first time, I went to the altar without wearing my engagement ring as was the “Emily Post” sort of thing to do. But many brides chose to wear it on the right hand and slip it over the wedding band for photographs. It is always worn outside to protect the wedding ring from loss.

But why go by someone else’s rules anyway?

8

Could you specify a bit better?
In England and Sweden it’s common to have engagement rings on the third finger of the left hand, but I have seen people from other parts of Europe do it differently. I believe that it’s an eastern European thing, but I would also like some more details.

[sidenote] Traditionaly in Sweden both parties would get engagement rings, but only the bride got a wedding ring. I believe that this is now changing towards the anglosaxon custom.[/sidenote]

9

Thanks to all!

10

My mom told me that, “After the wedding ceremony, the Engagement ring serves as a “Guard”, keeping the Wedding Band closest to the heart.”

No one has mentioned that it’s a old fashioned tradition in some European countries for the engagement rings to be silver, and not gold.

11

In England I have NEVER seen an engagement ring on the third finger. It has always been on left ring finger.

12

In the U.S. the third finger of the left hand is considered the “ring finger” people here don’t realize that the “proper” (English) ring finger is the index finger. Now everyone knows.