Five Golden Rings

We all know the middle-class loved the appearance of glitz and glam. The aristocracy of the Victorian period loved to show off just as much. Queen Victoria's engagement ring is an example of this. Her gold band was designed as a coiled snake. It sounds grotesque to me, but rings are still produced in this style.

This one sells for $1275 USD on www.london-victoria-ring.com
Other rings sold that replicate the styles of the Victorian age are clustered diamond rings, Romantic rings that contain five or more stones of different colors, and half-hoop rings, shown here respectively:

Many of the gems used in Victorian jewelery came from Africa, as the British (as well as other imperial powers) exploited their colonial powers to extract the continent's resources. Many have been killed since this time as the struggle for African diamonds continues. I'm sure many have seen the movie Blood Diamonds. This is one of the negative aspects of Victorian Britain that has carried over to the present day. Visit http://www.un.org/peace/africa/Diamond.html
to find out more about this.

For those don't think this aspect of the Victorian Era is "cool", there are conflict-free diamonds, many of which come from Canada. They're a little more expensive, but the extra price you pay saves lives.
So, by supporting producers of conflict-free diamonds you are supporting the Canadian economy and discouraging bloodshed in the African countries of Angola, Sierra Leone and Liberia. This advertisement put out by Amnesty International is a pretty real way of getting the message across. The French reads "What is the price for these diamonds?"

"Diamonds are forever" it is often said. But lives are not.
We must spare people the ordeal of war, mutilations and death for the sake of conflict diamonds."

Martin Chungong Ayafor, Chairman of the Sierra Leone Panel of Experts