Can I take an engagement ring through airport security?

Yes. Take it through airport security. Wear it on your finger and walk through the metal detector like it's not there, because for a ring it almost certainly is not there. Airport walk-through detectors are tuned to find things the size of a knife or a gun, not a few grams of 14k or platinum. TSA's own guidance says you can wear it through; heavy pieces might get a second look. Last April a client named Daniel was flying from Austin to Portland to propose. He emailed me twice, worried the platinum ring would set off alarms and ruin the surprise. It didn't. His biggest problem ended up being the ring box bulging in his jacket pocket.

The real risk is not the machine. It's the bin.

Jewelry goes into those gray trays and it either slides into the seam, gets covered by a jacket, or someone behind you grabs it in the shuffle. I tell clients sending a ring to a proposal across the country: do not take it off and put it in the tray. Keep it in a zippered pocket inside your carry-on, inside a small ring box or a soft pouch, and send that through the x-ray. X-rays do nothing to diamond, gold, platinum, or colored stones. No fog, no heat, no damage. If the detector flags your bag, tell the agent there is a ring box in there before they start pulling things out.

If you are wearing the ring and the walk-through alarm goes off anyway, don't panic. It happens with some heavy men's bands and platinum pieces with a lot of mass. They will wand you, you will explain, and you will move on. You will not be asked to surrender a ring.

The one time I'd suggest removing the ring before screening is if you're going through a body scanner and are asked to empty your pockets. A ring on your finger will not set it off, but the scanner doesn't care. The problem is still the same: if you take it off, where does it go? Put it inside a zipped wallet or the inside pocket of your carry-on before you reach the front of the line. Not in your pocket. Not loose in your bag. Not in the bin.

International flights are no different for the metal detector. Customs doesn't care about your engagement ring if you're wearing it. If you are carrying a loose stone or a ring you plan to leave abroad, keep the receipt or the appraisal with you, especially for a stone over a carat. Not because it's illegal. Because if you get a bored customs officer who wants to know where it came from, you want a paper answer.

So go through with it on. Stop worrying about the machine. Worry about the one second you'd take it off and set it down somewhere dumb.