Traditionally men have always presented their bride-to-be with an engagement ring upon proposing. This was a way for the couple to make the promise to get married at a future date as well as for others to tell that there is an impending marriage to take place. Most commonly, the women are the ones who receive the engagement ring, but it is becoming more and more common for the woman to present an engagement ring to her fiance as well.

Giving a man an engagement ring is popular for a variety of reasons. Some women prefer to give them because their fiance can look at the ring and think of her. Others like the idea because everyone will know that he is to be married. And there are others that just like the idea of presenting a ring to their fiance as a gift, since they are being presented with a ring themselves. The male engagement ring for some has also taken the place of the traditional engagement gift that is popular in so many different countries, where presenting a small gift such as a wristwatch was considered the thing to do.

With the increasing popularity of presenting male engagement rings, many jewelry retailers have gotten into the spirit of things and provide a wide variety of male engagement rings to meet the preferences of all men. There are some that are plain bands that can be used as the wedding band after marriage to more extravagant rings that are imbedded with diamond chips. Choosing a male engagement ring can be done solely by the woman, or the couple can come in together and buy matching engagement sets in the same way that matching wedding rings are purchased.

The rules of engagement rings have begun to change drastically since they were first popularized by Pope Innocent III's canon specifying a longer betrothal period between an engagement and a wedding. Before it was traditional for the man to privately purchase an engagement ring (or use one that had been passed down through his family for generations) and now it is not uncommon for couples to buy rings together so that the wedding sets will match. In the last several years it is even becoming popular for the woman to purchase a male engagement ring for her fiance so that he receives a ring as well as her. Due to the popularity of male engagement rings, jewelry stores are providing a line of male engagement rings that go from very plain to very extravagant depending on personal tastes and finances.