You may have seen them here and there—

tiny rings with a single stone

or a plain band on the pinkies of women.

No, it doesn’t mean she’s a

crime boss, as we see in pop culture.

Single women and happily attached

women are finding them useful for making promises,

but not the type of promise a mate

would make through the symbol of a ring.

Instead, the pinky promise – the sacred,

binding commitment that one dare not break –

is finding a new form of expression.

Long used by children

to seal secrets and by adults to seal deals

, this time-old tradition

has taken a fashionable turn.

Women are wearing pinky

rings to signify a pledge of self-love.