Oh rings…
Honestly, before getting engaged, I had never really given much though to them. I definitely hadn’t been one of those people who noticed peoples’ left hands or dreamed about one day having someone, down on bended knee, offering me some blingy, blingy bling. I was totally oblivious to the strange ring comparison games that happened between my female co-workers at the lunch table — I mean, until I started reading wedding blogs, I just had no freakin’ clue about the insane importance bestowed by so many women onto their (and other people’s) engagement rings. Who knew? Apparently everyone but me. Foiled again.
So… when we started talking about getting engaged, I was thoroughly unprepared to answer the ring question. Here’s what I did know: I wanted a ring and I didn’t want any diamonds on it. Why the ring? Well… they’re pretty. Why no diamond? For a few reasons: conflict diamonds = scary, all diamonds = artificially priced insanely high. So when Beau proposed, she did it with a pearl ring. This was perfect for a lot of reasons: 1. the pearl is the traditional engagement gift in several European cultures (pre-dating the diamond which didn’t enter onto the engagement scene until the 1920s when the diamond industry saw a chance to make a profit), 2. pearls are pretty, 3. pearls are relatively inexpensive. (After her proposal we got Beau a ring too… people always ask us (mostly straight people) if we wear the same ring… we don’t… her’s is a tension set sapphire, mine is a pearl with sapphires framing it).
However, sad as it may be because I LOVE my ring, I have come to realize that there is a reason people don’t wear pearl engagement rings… they’re just not that sturdy. My dang pearl keeps fallin’ off the sucker! I mean, I’m holding my engagement ring together with super-glue! This shit is whack!
So… here’s what I think… when we get married I’ll exchange my engagement ring for a wedding band that will be impossible to break (maybe white gold or, if I’m feeling flush with cash, platinum) and I’ll take off the pearl (sad). Here’s my latest favorite:
From bcyrjewelry at etsy.com
What are you planning on? No ring? Two? One? Ring pop?
Ooo, a new word! Tell me what “tension set” means? I just learned about “gable boxes” and am very pleased!
I’ll tell you mine if you tell me yours… I have no idea what gable boxes are.
A tension setting a way to set a stone into a band by the force of the band itself. Imagine a band that doesn’t complete its circle and in the gap a stone is wedged. I think it a more masculine way to have a stone in your ring (although some people think it’s more feminine… ah… who’s to say). Here’s a link to the etsy shop where we got Beau’s ring (this ring isn’t the one we got her, but it’s really similar) RobandLean’s Shop