Stop any ‘representative sample’ of people in a jewellery store shopping for engagement rings, and chances are that a majority of them are likely to confess to be out looking for oval engagement rings, as their first choice. Indeed, many of these will go to great lengths to get the oval engagement rings, only thinking of anything else when they absolutely can’t find the oval rings: which is very rarely – as oval engagement rings are among the most widely available types of rings.

There are number of theories that can be put forward, to explain this ‘popularity’ of oval engagement rings.

One is what can be referred to as the ‘perfect fit’ theory: since most peoples’ left ring fingers (on which the engagement ring is worn), tend to be oval, hence the desire to buy an oval ring which is the perfect ring for them. It is about fitting square poles into square holes, one would say – and it makes a lot of sense, however one chooses to look at it.

Second is what can be referred to as the ‘availability’ theory: since the oval engagement rings tend to be the most easily available – so that a person going shopping for engagement rings, without anything specific in mind, still ends up with them. People tend to buy what is most easily available to them, other attributes of it notwithstanding.

Third is what can be referred to as ‘publicity’ theory: where popularity begets popularity in the collective psyche. If many people are buying oval engagement rings because they fit perfectly, and are the most available anyway, we are likely to end with a situation where buying these oval rings comes to be viewed as simply the ‘done thing.’ This is where some people who are not in the know end up buying the oval rings for use as engagement rings, out of the view that it is simply the ‘done thing.’

Most people going shopping for engagement rings do so with a strong preference for the oval variety, and will only opt for anything else if they can’t find the said oval engagement rings. To an inquisitive mind, this naturally leads to the question as to why people prefer these oval engagement rings over other shapes.

By the way, when we talk about oval engagement rings, we are looking at the shape of the ring’s main body (rather than the other embellishments made on it). The main body in question is the part of the ring where the finger goes in, that is, the functional part of the ring. So why do many people prefer oval engagement rings in this respect?

Well, for starters, the oval engagement rings are much more convenient to put on and pull out (as the need arises), than say, perfectly circular engagement rings. It is all about the well known adage to the effect that you can’t fit square poles into round holes, and seeing that the human finger is basically oval (rather than perfectly circular), it follows that wearing and pulling off such oval engagement rings becomes easier than the other shapes, into which the fingers typically have to be forced, as that is not their ‘natural’ shape. Of course, someone might raise questions as to why anyone would buy a ring, and an engagement ring at that, which would be easy to pull out, but the truth of the matter is that there are many situations – like when doing some sorts of work, or when walking through certain types of neighborhoods, when the removal of the ring becomes highly necessary – and any pragmatist shopping for an engagement ring would surely have this in mind when selecting one.

Additionally, oval engagement rings are typically ‘better fitting’ than other ring shapes – and this is yet another reason why so many people love them. By better fitting we are looking at the quality where a person can get to purchase a ring that is exactly their size (not bigger or smaller) and still be in a position to wear it comfortably. Now this is unlike the case with say circular engagement rings, of which a person typically has to buy a slightly smaller size if the oval finger is to go in without ‘threatening’ to come out every moment. It is also unlike the case with say square engagement rings, of which one typically has to buy a larger size, if the oval shaped finger is to really go in comfortably. Yet with these ‘unnatural’ shapes, even after having bought a larger or a smaller ring, one can be sure that they would not have perfect comfort in wearing the ring –for the simple reason that its shape is ‘unnatural’ when looked against the oval shape of the organ (the finger) onto which it is being fitted.

Then of course, there is the fact that many people who get to hear that oval engagement rings are the best choice tend to proceed to buy them on account of that advice only, so that we have another group of people buying the oval engagement rings, not because they are easy to put on and easy to pull out, and not because they are ‘better fits’ but simply because they have heard that such rings are the best, or simply because ‘it is the done thing.’