If You Have a "Diamond Dust" Engagement Ring, Your Relationship Might Be in Trouble

Ideally, the look of an engagement ring wouldn’t matter if the perfect person is gifting it. But unfortunately, that’s not the case when it comes to one particular type — the diamond dust ring.

The buzz about Diamond dust rings being a way to make the partner who wants the ring “shut up” about getting married began on TikTok.

Here’s why many influencers believe a person should run for the hills if they’re offered one of these massive gems.

Diamond dust rings are engagement rings made with several small diamonds next to each other instead of one larger center stone. The larger center stone is typically shaped as a square and is often quite noticeable for its bold design.

At some point, diamond dust rings began getting a bad rap online, specifically TikTok, for their appearance. Several memes on the app include users poking fun at men who buy the ring for the women in their lives.

In one post created by @love_haitii, the user shared a video of another influencer playing a video game as her green screen showed several engagement ring options. In the video, the TikToker joked that “guys from the hood” only had eyes for the diamond dust rings and showed a screenshot of a woman saying “yes” to the piece of jewelry.

In addition to many people deeming diamond dust rings ugly, the rings have also gained a reputation for being a cheap way to streamline a proposal.

Famed jewelry stores like Zales offer Diamond dust rings for $100-500. The rings' price is a stark comparison to The Knot’s report of the national average price of an engagement ring being $6,000, with one-third of the population spending an estimated $1,000-4,000.

If the look and price of a diamond dust ring don’t deter you from buying or accepting one, hopefully, the ring being nicknamed a “shut up ring” will.

On TikTok, one user, Cecelia Regina, who goes by @ceciliaregina275 on the app, created a video that began with the text “cheap rings = shut up rings,” with a photo of a diamond dust ring at the center. Cecelia believes rings like those are ways for men, precisely, to pacify or “shut up” the women in their lives who want to marry them with a ring they likely didn’t pick out themselves.

In her 7:07 TikTok, Cecelia explained that the price of an engagement ring proves how much a man values the woman he’s asking to marry him. She said rings like the diamond dust rings lack effort on the man’s end and often means he’s not that excited about marrying his fiancee.

Cecelia added that those who buy cheap rings for their partners don’t splurge on the proposal either, as she shared several “green flag” examples of men with creative proposals.

Underneath her TikTok, Cecelia received much support from people who agreed the look and price of the engagement ring could show how a man felt about them. Many commenters shared that their fiances splurged on their ring and sacrificed other luxuries to do so.

“My incredibly frugal fiancé, who has refused to spend any money, bought me my dream ring with a 2ct diamond,” one user said.

“The right man will put in the money and time for a great proposal and beautiful ring,” another stated.

Some TikTokers even supported Cecelia’s post through their own real-life diamond dust ring disasters.

Three days after the August 2023 TikTok sparked attention, one user, Asia (@theasiafrances), posted a stitch stating “no lies” were told in Cecelia’s post as she showed the diamond dust ring her now ex-husband gifted her during his proposal.

“When he proposed with it, I was so upset, but I went forward against my better judgment,” Asia admitted on TikTok. “Even though months previous to this, I showed him exactly what I wanted, and he got this anyway.”