What does a three stone engagement ring signify?

The past, present and future reading is not inherited cultural symbolism. It comes from a 2001 De Beers marketing campaign that took the existing three-stone trilogy design and attached the time-based meaning that is now standard. The campaign worked so well that most buyers today assume the reading has always existed, and many jewellers do not know its actual origin. The three-stone format itself is much older, with roots in Georgian and Victorian cluster designs, but the past, present, future story is a recent piece of jewellery marketing rather than a centuries-old tradition. That is worth knowing if the reading is part of why you are choosing the design.

Friendship, love and fidelity sits second behind past, present and future, often used for promise rings or anniversary versions of the same setting. Some couples read the three stones as you, your partner and the union you form together, or as faith, hope and love drawn from Christian tradition. Birthstone variations also work well, with a centre diamond flanked by the birthstones of two parents, or by the birthstones of two children. Like halo symbolism, none of these readings is the canonical one. The meaning that matters is the one the wearer assigns and keeps over the life of the ring.