You are correct. The majority of courts consider an engagement ring to be a conditional gift. That means it is a gift given on condition that a future event occur, here the marriage. If that event does not occur, then the donor has the right to get the gift back.However, fault does matter. The majority rule is that it isn't fair that the donor should always get the ring back, especially if the donee stood ready to go ahead with the marriage and the donor broke it off (as it would be unfair for the donee to keep the ring if the engagement was broken because of the donee's unfaithfulness or other wrongdoing).