RINGS FOR PLATONIC PALS?

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXVI, Issue 17894, 14 June 1920, Page 9

RINGS FOR PLATONIC PALS?

I THOSE WHO DON’T INTEND TO MARRY. ■ A new engagement ring is wanti e( l—for men and women pals. That i married aud engaged couples should I wear a ring as a sign of the bond . between them has always been a I custom, but no provision has been ; made for couples whose interest in each other is simply friendly. | During the war scores of real I friendships sprang up between those \ who worked and played together, and a great many of these have I lasted. So why shouldn’t men and women ; pals have a ring too—a special emblem, something like a wedding ring, to show that, although great i friends, they are not engaged. This ■ would save a lot of misunderstand- ■ ing in these days when men and girls go everywhere together with a : freedom hitherto unheard of. j For instance, if a man is seen I about with a girl pal, there is al- ; ways someone to say that if they’re I not already engaged, they are cerl tainly going to be. This is awkward ■ for both, and especially so for the ' girl, since a mistaken idea that she cares for someone else may very : easily cause a man who is in love ; with her to keep silent. The new engagement ring would be very useful in preventing misi takes of this kind. It should be as : simple as possible, for a man can- | not as a rule afford to give a girl ■friend a very expensive present; the girl he loves is another matter. An effective design would be enamel on a plain silver band, and a space might be left for the initials of either the giver or the wearer. The most important thing, however, is to have a ring that is easily recog- _ nised as a token of friendship only. The idea is worth considering, for an “engagement” with no love in it would put friendship between men and women on a definite level of its . own, like an engagement, making it I far easier and pleasanter than it has I ever been before.