Alternate wedding set(s) - rough diamonds

[Circe]

The good news is, I'm pregnant (yay!): the bad news is, my hands are getting sufficiently swollen that I can't wear my rings. Don't even talk to me about shoes.

Me being me, I can't picture going ringless: I feel naked. So, I started trying to figure out alternatives ....

I confess: I tried going fake-y. I couldn't do it. The first ring I ordered claimed to be a 1.5 ct. equivalent in a bezel - hah! Sucker's 10 mm. I applaud anybody who can carry that look off with panache, but, me, I felt like a big huge fraud.

So I started poking through my jewelry box, and ... voila! A solution arose. See, for my 21st birthday and my college graduation, my parents gave me a set of rough diamond rings - balas diamonds, or "pearl" diamonds, one green, one white. They weigh in at roughly 7 1/2 and 6 carats, if I'm remembering correctly, and I wore them on the middle fingers of both hands until I turned 28, and got engaged. You could say the were my signature pieces ... but once I was wearing my e-ring, I didn't want to risk damaging either stone by wearing them right up against one another, and it didn't feel right to wear one without the other.

Buuuut ... what with my hands all swollen, the rings sized for my middle fingers during "normal" times are now perfect for my ring fingers! Problem solved. And while I may miss my e-ring and my half my collection of eternity bands, I'm actually feeling quite happy with the solution - I have missed these guys!

 

[Circe]

I'm wearing my green one on my left hand, stacked with the only two of my eternities that still fit, my carre band and my ruby baguette band. My left ring finger is usually a 5.25 - right now, I'm comfortably wearing a 6. Oy!

 

[Circe]

I'm wearing my white one on my right hand, currently, stacked with my wedding band. I really like how the patina of the platinum wedding band plays off against the satin-rough finish of the diamond!

My right hand is usually a 5.75: I'm currently rocking a 6.25. I figure, if the swelling continues (which I figure it will, as I'm not due until November), I can shift these over to my left hand. After that, I'm getting one of those giant foam hands that they sell at ball games, mounting a crystal door-knob on the ring-finger, and calling it a day.

 

[rosetta]

Yay for swollen hands!

Coz we got to see your awesome rings. I've never seen these kind of diamonds so thanks for showing them off.

They look perfect with your bands too

ETA congrats preggo lady!

 

[Amys Bling]

Congrats onthe pregnancy!

 

[Dreamer_D]

I love the green one in particular.

And might I say, circe, I could not BE happier for you! Oh I was waiting for this announcement, it is so great.

I am due in a month and my rings only stopped fitting a couple weeks ago. Like you, my RHR (original sapphire e-ring) that used to fit my right middle finger, is now on my left ring finger and feeling pretty good

 

[merilenda]

I'm wearing my white one on my right hand, currently, stacked with my wedding band. I really like how the patina of the platinum wedding band plays off against the satin-rough finish of the diamond!

My right hand is usually a 5.75: I'm currently rocking a 6.25. I figure, if the swelling continues (which I figure it will, as I'm not due until November), I can shift these over to my left hand. After that, I'm getting one of those giant foam hands that they sell at ball games, mounting a crystal door-knob on the ring-finger, and calling it a day.

Congrats, Circe!!!!!!! I totally LOL'ed at the bolded part...you are hilarious! I like your ring solution (both the current rings and the projected solution if you out-swell them).

 

[Natylad]

Circe, CONGRATULATIONS on your pregnancy
As others have already said, it's so great that your fingers got swallen and we got the chance to see those beauties of yours
I especially like the one with the white rough diamond, which you have stacked with your diamond band!!! Truly unique and gorgeous look And may i say that your fingers look so slim and beautiful in the pictures that you posted! I would have never guessed that they're swallen if you hadn't said so!
Well, enjoy your pregnancy and your alternate wedding set and thank you so much for sharing

ETA: Are you by any chance hiding any other gorgeous pieces in your jewelry box, which you haven't shared with us?

 

[yennyfire]

Congrats on your pg and thanks for sharing those neat rings. I've never seen anything like them...really cool!

 

[tyty333]

Conratulations on being pregnant! Your backup rings are very cool looking!

 

[Jennifer W]

Hey Lady! You almost sneaked that one in under the radar - pregnant, you say? Well!
It's the best news I've heard in ages, since Skippy's twins were born in fact, and I'm thrilled for you. Congratulations - when are you due, if you don't mind me asking?

 

[Amys Bling]

Nice rings Circe, I've never seen anything like it before!

 

[Dandi]

They are so cool!! And YAY for preggie hands!! Congratulations lady!!!!!!!!!

 

[slg47]

I remember you mentioning these rings in another thread and was hoping you would post pictures these are way cool!

and MANY CONGRATULATIONS on the pregnancy!!

 

[Circe]

Yay for swollen hands!

Coz we got to see your awesome rings. I've never seen these kind of diamonds so thanks for showing them off.

They look perfect with your bands too

ETA congrats preggo lady!

Thanks, Rosetta, on both counts! I love the unusualness of them, too. When I wore them the first time around, I never tried pairing them with any bands, so it's like getting old friends back again, and having all new ones - best of both worlds!

Congrats onthe pregnancy!

Thanks, Amy! I'm v. happy.

I love the green one in particular.

And might I say, circe, I could not BE happier for you! Oh I was waiting for this announcement, it is so great.

I am due in a month and my rings only stopped fitting a couple weeks ago. Like you, my RHR (original sapphire e-ring) that used to fit my right middle finger, is now on my left ring finger and feeling pretty good

Thank you, Dreamer! I'm delighted. And I read your ring posts with sympathy and commiseration - it is so frustrating when in addition to the expected parts changing, completely innocuous parts do, too! I'm glad you got to enjoy yours throughout most of the journey, though - only a month to go, yay!

I try not to play favorites ... but I have to admit, the fact that it fits so well with the carre band and the ruby makes me glance at my left hand a l'il more often. I will NOT buy any more rings until next year, but I admit, I feel like the white hand is getting the short end of the stick ....

Congrats, Circe!!!!!!! I totally LOL'ed at the bolded part...you are hilarious! I like your ring solution (both the current rings and the projected solution if you out-swell them).

Thanks, Merilenda! I'm the queen of "too much is never enough," so, by gum, if I'm going to have comically big hands, I AM GOING TO HAVE COMICALLY BIG HANDS. Go big, or go home.

Circe, CONGRATULATIONS on your pregnancy
As others have already said, it's so great that your fingers got swallen and we got the chance to see those beauties of yours
I especially like the one with the white rough diamond, which you have stacked with your diamond band!!! Truly unique and gorgeous look And may i say that your fingers look so slim and beautiful in the pictures that you posted! I would have never guessed that they're swallen if you hadn't said so!
Well, enjoy your pregnancy and your alternate wedding set and thank you so much for sharing

ETA: Are you by any chance hiding any other gorgeous pieces in your jewelry box, which you haven't shared with us?

Thank you, Naty! I was just admiring your gorgeous new ring, actually - mutual admiration society FTW!

I have classic bony fingers, usually - the knuckle is the biggest bit, and rings tend to spin. But I also have a little too much in common with Billy Crystal's ex-wife Helen in "When Harry Met Sally" - you know the bit where they run into her in Sharper Image (wow, flashbacks), and he says "Did she look like she was retaining water? No, seriously. That woman saved everything." Yeah, that's me - so between summer heat and preggo swelling, I am plumping up in unexpected places. Ah, well ... c'est la vie.

And ... er, maybe. Do we have an icon for looking shifty? I had to go to the safety deposit box to get these, and I realized that one of these days, I should bring a damn camera with me - I've also got the pearl diamond pendant with alexandrites, and the rough diamond trillion bezel-set on a thick platinum band, and, and, and ....

Congrats on your pg and thanks for sharing those neat rings. I've never seen anything like them...really cool!

Thanks, Yenny! I haven't, either - most of the rough diamonds I've seen set are complete bort, shoved into inappropriate pre-made settings. I WISH there were more of them out there for me to eyeball!

Conratulations on being pregnant! Your backup rings are very cool looking!

Thanks, TyTy! I loves 'em, yes, precious.

Hey Lady! You almost sneaked that one in under the radar - pregnant, you say? Well!
It's the best news I've heard in ages, since Skippy's twins were born in fact, and I'm thrilled for you. Congratulations - when are you due, if you don't mind me asking?

Heheheh - thanks, Jen! I figured, better to keep it on the DL for a bit, but I've been watching FH&H and getting good tips for a while. I'm 18 weeks now, and due in November, so, almost halfway there ... and who knows? Maybe one of these days we'll actually find out the gender. At the last ultrasound, baby played coy, and did the Charleston ....

Nice rings Circe, I've never seen anything like it before!

Thank you! We had them made custom, back when platinum was still sanely priced - I love the heft of them. Having them back on makes me think, as much as I love my e-ring, I might have to have it reset in a bezel so I can continue to wear these after the birth ....

They are so cool!! And YAY for preggie hands!! Congratulations lady!!!!!!!!!

Thank you! Preggie hands are currently getting more of a pass from me than preggie feet - why, oh why can't this lead to me discovering unexpectedly comfortable shoes at the back of my closet?

I remember you mentioning these rings in another thread and was hoping you would post pictures these are way cool! and MANY CONGRATULATIONS on the pregnancy!!

Thanks, SLG! I have GOT to do a proper photo shoot with the whole lot, one of these days .... And thanks twice over for the congrats!

 

[Circe]

On a more general note ... I sort of want to start a thread on the rings we wear when we can't wear our rings - preggo rings, travel rings, the rings that are basically the equivalent of the fat pants that sit in the back of the closet ... wonder if people would contribute!

 

[Dreamer_D]

On a more general note ... I sort of want to start a thread on the rings we wear when we can't wear our rings - preggo rings, travel rings, the rings that are basically the equivalent of the fat pants that sit in the back of the closet ... wonder if people would contribute!

I was thinking of a similar thread, so at least one person will contribute!

 

[Jennifer W]

Circe, all the best people are born in November, in my experience. You're nearly halfway, so you did remarkably well to keep that one quiet! So, so happy for you, my dear.

Fat pants rings - I do have a couple! Annoyingly, my insurance company restricts what I can take overseas to a ridiculously low value, so my fat pants ring is also my travel ring. It puts me in a quandary - I can't be blingless, apparently yet I knew when I traveled to the Diamond District for a week that it was essentially going to show me up... I turned it into my palm for meetings, in the end.