25 years of my rings

[Patty]

I posted a long introduction story last week about my rings and how my original diamond was flawed and the jeweler replaced it with a smaller stone. Anyway, I scanned some pictures that are not very clear, but here they are. My original engagement ring was a 4mm band and my wedding band was a 7mm band. I loved the 4mm band by itself, but thought this look was too wide.

 

[Patty]

So I had the engagement ring filed down to a 3mm band and got another wedding band of 3mm for a "thin band" look. The diamond was supposed to be a 5/8 carat stone but years later we found out it was a 54 point J color, VS1 stone.

 

[Patty]

Ten years after we got engaged, I upgraded the 5/8c stone to this .93c J I-1 stone. I knew it was a deep cut but I loved the size and it was very sparkly. I don't think I fully realized then that an I-1 is much worse than an SI clarity. I know that they had an H, SI2 that they were really pushing but it was smaller and I wanted a BIG stone after wearing the old one for 10 years that always felt too small.

When I got the new diamond, I had them file the e-ring down to about 1.5mms instead of the 3mms.

After 11 years, I got an anniversary ring of 7 diamonds channel set that totalled a half carat. I wore it with the thin wedding band...

 

[Patty]

...and with the fat wedding band:

 

[Patty]

Then after 16 years, I got another anniversary band with the same specs as the first...7 stones channel set=1/2 carat. I had both anniversary bands attached with small bars of gold on the bottom to make a ring guard. They also filed down the band on my engagement ring to about 1mm so that it would fit between the two anniversary bands. I love this look...I'm not sure why I later changed it!

 

[Patty]

Oops, here it is:

 

[Patty]

So with that last set, I could wear the solitare with the anniversary ring bands/guard, or alone with either of my wedding bands. But I decided that I really wanted just one nice ring instead of the guard. Again, I'm not sure why, except that although the anniversary bands look the same, they were set slightly differently and the one band looked better than the other. Also, the one band had prettier diamonds and right next to each other, I could tell the difference. So we had a local jeweler come up with drawings of possibilities for us and this is what I went with.

This pic is really dark on my PC, but I have a dark monitor. I hope you can see it okay.

 

[Patty]

 

[sxn675]

Thanks for sharing that with us! I got married in March, so it's fun to see what the various possibilities might be over the next 25 years.

 

[Patty]

Here is a pic of my current ring on my hand. We used 6 of the 7 or 8 point stones on either side of the solitare. I still love this ring. When I upgrade to a new diamond in the next few months, I'm not sure if I'll have it set in this setting or get a new ring altogether. I'm thinking about going with a new ring altogether and keeping this although I know this diamond isn't very pretty.

 

[valeria101]

Thanks! Your photographic record comes very handy, just when I was wandering how could someone wear the same ring for a long time without hating it ! It sounds like I got into the very bad habit to change rings often: even my favorite one ended up spending a few months on the bottom of the jewelry box. Why don't people talk more about their jewelry? I am so gald you posted the transformations of your rings

Congratulations for each and every one!

 

[Patty]

This is a sapphire and diamond ring that I got for my 40th BD. I love this setting but the sapphires are too dark. I knew that when we got it and I should not have "settled" for that just because I loved the setting. They had the same ring at the time with prettier sapphires but the stones and ring was too big for my hand. I should have waited for exactly what I wanted.

 

[Patty]

This is an emerald/diamond band that I wear sometimes on my right hand. It was about $600 from Sam's Club. It was an impulse purchase for Christmas a couple of years ago. It's nice, but not something I wear very often.

 

[valeria101]

----------------
On 12/14/2003 10:46:03 AM Patty wrote:

This is a sapphire and diamond ring that I got for my 40th BD. I love this setting but the sapphires are too dark. I knew that when we got it and I should not have 'settled' for that just because I loved the setting. They had the same ring at the time with prettier sapphires but the stones and ring was too big for my hand. I should have waited for exactly what I wanted.----------------

Does this mean that your next ring will be custom made (given you are upgrading your E-ring diamond...) ? There is no other way I know of to avoid the waiting. Just a 0.2 Q.

 

[Patty]

Thanks valeria and sxn...I know people who have worn the same set for 25 years, but I'm constantly changing my mind about what I like. And face it, DeBeers is always helping us change our minds about what we like! For example, my next ring will be white gold, not yellow. When I got married, I would have DIED if my fiance had gotten me a white gold or platinum setting. That's what MY MOM had!

I tell Mr. Patty that it's okay to upgrade and trade in rings as long as I don't upgrade or trade in HIM.

 

[Patty]

valeria, I'm not sure I understand your question. I'm looking at the SuperbCert 1.35 G I1 stone next week. If we like it and buy it, I then will need to decide what to do with it. If I want to have it put into my current wedding ring, they will probably have to reset all the stones instead of just replacing my .93 diamond with the 1.35 diamond.

So that got me thinking that rather put the money into doing that, maybe I'll keep my current wedding ring and get a new anniversary ring with the new stone. For example, put the new diamond into a 3 stone ring with sapphires on either side...set in white gold. I would hope to find an existing setting instead of going custom.

 

[caratgirl]

I just loooove that ring guard set that you had! I think that the look would have been absolutely fabulous with it being one piece, with diamonds going all the way around the band, but smaller & imbedded into the band more. I just saw that style in a jewelry store, and thought that look was great. Have loads of fun designing your new piece.

 

[Patty]

This is what I wish my sapphire/diamond ring looked like!

Caratgirl, I really like that look too. Like I said, I'm not sure why I was so quick to have it redone except that the anniversary bands didn't match exactly. The look you describe sounds great!

 

[Jennifer5973]

Thanks so much for sharing.... I have been married 7 yrs and recently had my original 2 yellow gold wedding & ering combined into one platiunum setting....I debated this for months. I wanted a white metal setting and I also wanted one ring since I have collected a lot of wedding bands over the years....Your design is strikingly similar to mine (my photography stinks, though...image is not very clear), so I thought I'd share. I haven't yet seen a ring like mine/ours and many people ask me if it is an antique! (???)

Congrats on the lovely ring!

 

[Patty]

Jennifer, when I found this site last week I was amazed at how much your ring looked like mine! But mine is yellow gold. I had it done in 1998. Today I'd have it done in white metal. My photography isn't great. The close up is TOO close, and the one on my hand is blurry. I'll have my daughter show me how to work with her digital camera some more after while.

What I find interesting is how pretty your ring looks with your diamond wedding band. I just wear mine with a very thin gold band. But you've opened my mind to fancier possibilities. Some day...

 

[hoorray]

How fun Patty! I too have had lots of iterations of my wedding set and anniversary rings, but not pictures of them all. I never changed the center stone until recently -- just new settings going from separate rings to a single ring and now back. They just seemed to click with my lifestyle at the moment, and I think variety is the spice of life! I still have a couple of the settings (tough to find much to do with them, and the first is sentimental), but they don't have center stones in them anymore. I put my original e-ring stone into a pendant, which is fun to wear and makes hubby happy that I still have it.

Have fun with the next one!

 

[diamondlil]

I have my original e-ring setting without the center stone. It is a traditional thin gold band with a small tapered baguette on either side. My plan is to purchase an oval saphire (my daughter's birth stone) for it and give it to her for her 13th birthday. I hope she is as sentimental about that ring as I am.




Diamondlil

 

[hoorray]

What a great idea Diamondlil!

Mine is similar -- a simple yellow gold band with a smallish pear on each side. It wasn't a strong setting tho, which is why I changed the first time. (broke a prong -- non-trivial fix due to the way it was made). Guess I can't really do that, but if I were your daughter, I'd treasure a ring like that!

 

[diamond dazed]

I had a lot of fun looking through your anthology. How forethinking of you to take close-up pictures -- I wonder if I could piece together a history like you have. Would be kinda cool to have one day (especially if they eventually get passed down to kids or grandkids).

Kris

 

[Patty]

I never set out to document my rings and the changes over the years. It's just that when I'd do something different, I'd love it so I'd take a picture. These pictures have been sitting in a drawer in my bedside table for years. My family would think I was strange if I put them in a photo album. They've just been waiting for me to find this message board all this time!

 

[Patty]

Jennifer, I took a regular (not digital) picture of my ring and I'm amazed even more how it resembles yours!

Here's yours:

 

[Patty]

And mine:

 

[Jennifer5973]

Hi, Patty. Happy Holidays! Wow...one more diamond in each row on the sides and it would be identical. I'm glad you posted your thread and the pictures because I was having some regrets...mine is a redo of my original setting when we got engaged almost 10 yrs ago and we were broke--really...both in grad school, had to do our own wedding ...couldn't afford platinum then. I love my new ring and feel better about switching it after reading your history of rings!

Although I'd like a bigger center diamond with a better cut, I know it would hurt my husband's feelings to swap it out, so I will wait and plan on doing a monster 3 stone for my 10 yr anniversay (in 2006)...maybe an oval with two pears on the sides...? I have lots of time to look.

I saw your other thread on your new stone--congrats! I can't wait to buy a big diamond. I have beautiful things with .20 and .30 pointers, and my 4 stone band with the .56 ct stones, but haven't gone for the next big one yet.

Is that your dog? He/she is so cute! I love dogs. The only thing I love more than my diamonds (after my husband of course) are my dogs.

 

[Patty]

Hi Jennifer! The dog is Rosie. She's a darling, crazy mutt who originally belonged to our older daughter but now belongs to all of us. Our older daughter was in grad school last year when she became very ill and so we ended up moving her and the puppy home. Our daughter is slowly beginning to improve health-wise but there have been many days over the past year that this mutt was the only thing that had us smiling and laughing. And I was NEVER a dog person before!

 

[Jennifer5973]

Hey, Patty...Let me tell you that my dogs have saved me--literally-- many times. They have been there through some big losses and some really tough times. There were days I just held onto those little wooly bodies and cried. I thank God every day for those mutts...They are truly gifts to us.

The Native Americans have a legend...In the beginning, the Great Spirit separated man from the beasts of the Earth. He gathered mankind on one side of the land and all the animals on the other, and started a great chasm between them. At the last moment before the chasm became too wide, the dog lept over the divide to be with man.

I know I truly believe it.

I will keep you daughter in my prayers.