Some dare to think out of the tradition and ask the right questions - why so many Americans become obsessed with lavish weddings, if engagement rings are so special why should only a woman get one and why get obsessed with eternity rings, anniversary rings and all that the diamond company wants us to buy.
Some reasoning here - until the 1930's, a woman forsaken by her fiancé could sue for financial compensation for "damage" to her reputation under the "Breach of Promise to Marry" act. As courts and the law system matured and began to abolish such acts, diamond rings came in rescue for the poor woman who still looked for some financial commitment from the groom. So with social advancements women started loosing their virginity while engaged (which was earlier considered a sin, a woman could not loose her virginity before marriage), so some structure of commitment was necessary to assure betrothed women that men weren't just trying to get them into bed.
