Note from the Publisher: Is Love Real?

Is love real? Do we just make it up so we feel better about our relationships? Are our relationships transactional? We get so we give, we give so we get.

Turns out love is an emotional feeling that transcends the rational side of our brain. Physiologically, chemical reactions take place in our brain when emotional sensors are triggered. Love is an emotion that can be physically and emotionally triggered, and it causes chemical changes in our brain that influence the way we feel and how we think about others.

We make love physically, emotionally, spiritually and rationally. We can proactively create love even by just holding hands. So yes. Love is real.

We can express love and communicate a love commitment in any way. A simple wire, personally handmade into a ring by the fiancé, will do the trick. Symbols need not be expensive.

We have a need to communicate love to our community. Why do we have weddings? Why do we announce engagements? The idea of exclusive commitment is the foundation of a love relationship that transcends transactional rational relationships. It’s called marriage.

The symbol of marriage, a visible physical ring, is a form of communication to the community about exclusivity. So is the engagement ring. Need it be expensive? Not necessarily.

However, the engagement ring is not just for the community. It is a way for a person to express their strongest feelings for another person. There is a strong desire to give. The fiancée projects the value of the engagement ring onto themselves. He loves me so much, look what he gave me.

The engagement ring has evolved to a social status symbol. You might think the more expensive the ring, the more powerful the love. But that’s not true. It’s relative. That’s why the two-month salary suggestion for the diamond engagement ring is such a good idea. It’s about commitment and desire to give.

We can expect society to continue the symbolic gifting of rings to communicate commitment, privately and publicly. The value of the ring will be important to many people who consider it an indication of the strength of the commitment. “Does he really care about me?” is what is being communicated.

Will people want real or synthetic diamond engagement rings? It depends on what they want to communicate. Synthetic diamonds will be cheap. Real diamonds will be expensive. Is expensive better?

Real Love. Real Diamonds.

Main image: TBD

This article is from the September-October 2023 issue of Rapaport Magazine. View other articles here.