As the saying goes, "The left hand is for thee, the right hand is for me," so right hand rings are for celebrating independence and happiness. The left hand is traditionally the hand that bears a wedding ring, but what about single women that would like a diamond ring for the sheer pleasure of it? Jewelers have initiated campaigns to fill that right hand with rings that celebrate the independent woman.

Right hand rings are designed more like cocktail rings, featuring clusters of smaller diamonds that run largely in north/south designs with lots of surrounding negative or open space. Contrast this to the traditional three stone solitaire and solid wedding band. Right hand rings are intended to showcase the individuality of a woman, worn on the fourth finger and sometimes the pinky.

Generally, jewelers expect women of 34 - 64 years to be the likely target market for right hand rings. A woman that has been married and owned a wedding band but no longer feels the need to wait for someone to give her a ring is a prime candidate. Women that are proud of their accomplishments and independence, that are affluent and happy, are ideal owners of right hand rings.

However, right hand rings aren't just for single women. They can also be worn by married women as a celebration of personal identity too often ignored while fulfilling the role of wife and mother. Right hand rings remind women they are worthy of fine gifts regardless of, or in addition to, any other roles they happen to play in life.

As early as 2003, the Jewelry Consumer Opinion Council reported that right hand rings tied solitaires as the most desired gifts. That same year, the Diamond Information Center reported that right hand rings were already a US$5 billion dollar industry.

If you see a right hand ring you'd like, don't be shy about purchasing it yourself. That's exactly what right hand rings celebrate! However, it's also acceptable to ask for the ring as a gift from a significant other, though you might want to be clear about which hand you plan to wear it on before you ask!