The Ring
I promised my ring story, so let’s start with that. When my now husband proposed to me (read “The Proposal”) he did not have a ring. Now times were different I know, but truthfully, I would have been OK with it now as well and I’ll tell you why in a minute. Back to the rest of my story, I did not get a ring, he asked, I loved him (not the ring) and I said yes. He was in the military, in school and it just wasn’t in the budget. I got a wedding band which is what I wore for years. At our 10 year anniversary time was up and I finally got my ring. It was a beautiful 1 carat marquise ring. I picked it out and I loved it. About 4 years ago it was stolen, so again, no diamond. Shortly after that, my mother passed away. She had given her original setting to Dominique for her band but had taken the diamonds out and had them reset along with some other diamonds my dad have given her over the years. I decided to take those diamonds, and have them reset into a new ring and we purchased a new 1 carat center stone. Our jeweler did a beautiful job on designing a piece ( I would recommend him highly). That’s my ring story…my point, you are marrying the person, not the ring.
So what about your ring…Hopefully if you have a strong preference, your significant other knows that and either they have an idea of what that preference is, or they are willing to let you pick it out. Some couples (my son) have something specifically designed based on a description. Others, (my son-in-law) take their significant other to browse at the jeweler. He had her pick a few of her favorites, then he made the final decision, and waited a year to propose. Some pick it out after the proposal and some are surprised and are not really involved in the choice at all. No matter how your ring is chosen, the proposal can still be a surprise.
While the ring is beautiful, it is not mandatory. Some say that it signals commitment, your heart signals commitment. Some believe it lets others know “you are promised to each other” again, your heart does that. Don’t get me wrong, I love the ring and its symbolism just as much as the next person, but there is no magic size or price that makes it anymore valuable than the feeling in your heart and soul.
Here are a few things to think about when buying or picking out the ring,
Size, how large do you want the diamond to be (it doesn’t have to be a diamond either), can your hand (finger) stand up to the size and shape that you want?
Cut, do you want traditional, artistic, etc
The clarity of the stone. Depending on the budget, this can make a huge difference in the size of the stone.
What type of setting, gold, white gold, platinum? there are so many options
Do you want it designed? and who do you trust as a jeweler?
The last question is important because you want to make sure that you can really trust your jeweler and that they have some artistic design ability. Here in Southern California we are very luck to have many jewelers at the jewelry mart in Los Angeles. You have so many non cookie cutter options and great prices. If you are not in Southern California, then check out your smaller jewelry stores, they are more likely to have someone who can design something different for you.
If you are looking for one in my area, Fashion Jewelry Design down at the L.A. mart is my jeweler and has been for over 35 years. Give them a call at 213-627-8914 and ask for Harry, Jack or Roger,
Happy shopping