With This Ring: The Ultimate Guide to Wedding Jewelry

Whether one is in the market for a wedding ring or simply in the mood to drool over the excesses of the rich and famous, this little gift book has enough sparkle to satisfy most female readers, though it's hardly the ""ultimate"" guide that the subtitle proclaims. Indeed, while it contains some practical tips on the ""4Cs"" (carat, clarity, cut and color) and a brief history of wedding jewelry, the book's primary draw is its section on celebrities and their rocks, which is no surprise considering the authors' previous collaborations, Bejeweled: Great Designers, Celebrity Style and Hollywood Jewels: Movies, Jewelry, Stars. Stunning photos by Darrin Haddad capture the brilliance of the artfully designed ring that Brad Pitt gave Jennifer Aniston and the delicacy of the diamond-studded Fred Leighton tiara Catherine Zeta Jones borrowed for her ""marriage into a royal Hollywood family."" Former first ladies and real royalty also receive their due. Jackie Kennedy's diamond and emerald ring shines large and Princess Diana's wedding chest--which included an 18-carat oval sapphire ring, diamond tiara and diamond pendant earrings--dazzles. And, of course, no book on jewelry would be complete without mention of the two rings Elizabeth Taylor received from Richard Burton, which totaled more than 100 carats combined. The book wraps up with some basic information on diamond buying, but the authors give no real sense of how much one should expect to pay for a fairytale ring, much less a simple diamond solitaire. Still, the photos are gorgeous and will certainly fuel many readers' fantasies.