What a cocktail ring is and how to choose the suitable one for any event.
The word ‘cocktail ring‘ identifies a freak, showy ring holding a big colored stone, worn preferably as a solitaire, during such occasions as varnishing-days or cocktails, where it is recommended to wear formal clothes only. It seems that this term was coined during the period of prohibitionism in America when taking part to illegal parties was considered very cool, breaking the law drinking forbidden beverages, in grand style, gesturing at any sip of liquor to enhance, through the precious stone, the beauty of the girl who was wearing it. Thus, the jewel becomes the distinguishing element of the personality of whom is wearing it and the color of the stone is the peculiar element.
Nowadays there is much confusion in identifying correctly a ‘cocktail ring’: first of all, there must be a precious or semi-precious, colored stone, cabochon or faceted, of a remarkable size, mounted with griffes.
You can wear this kind of ring either on the right ring finger or on the middle finger, according to its size, but you must not wear it on the left ring finger, to be left exclusively for the wedding or the engagement ring.
The employment of semi-precious, variegated stones (hyaline quartz, rose, amethyst, citrine, smoky grey, light blue topaz, iolite and garnet), has lead to an everyday use of the cocktail ring, from morning to evening, leaving the most binding models (peridot, tourmaline, beryl, tanzanyte, mandarin garnet), to be worn from sunset on.
