DEAR ABBY: I need your opinion. Two weeks ago, I gave my girlfriend an engagement ring. We have been going together for nearly two years, and it's understood that we will get married in about a year, so she wasn't exactly surprised. (I am 24 and she is 21.)
Now, the problem: The ring I gave her is a three-carat zircon -- set in white gold. It looks exactly like a diamond, but it is not nearly as expensive. I never did tell her it wasn't a diamond, and she has been showing it off at work and to her relatives. Now I'm too embarrassed to tell her the truth.
I keep thinking that one day, when I can afford it, I will replace it with a real diamond, but now I don't have the nerve to tell her the truth. What should I do? -- NO GUTS
DEAR NO GUTS: Please get the guts to tell her the truth, and the sooner the better. If she should decide to insure the ring, she would be told immediately that it is not a diamond. Your engagement would be less "rocky" if she heard it first from you.