A promise ring is given to a significant other and signifies any sort of promise. It is often given to represent a commitment to a monogamous relationship prior to an engagement. Sometimes promise rings can represent a promise of sexual abstinence before marriage. These are also referred to as purity rings.  Other popular promise rings may symbolize a promise of abstinence from an addictive substance. Promise rings can be worn on any finger, but it is customary, when the ring represents a promise of chastity or future engagement, to wear the ring on the left ring finger or the left middle finger, so as not to confuse it with an engagement ring.  The tradition of giving promise rings dates all the way back to the second half of the sixteenth century.

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