Band for Antique Enagement Ring?

[Faerievert]

My boyfriend of 4 years has sent me pictures of 5 antique rings from his family, asking if I would be interested in any of them as my engagement ring. Any of them would be worth far more than anything he could afford to buy on his own. They are all beautiful, but I would definitely consider 2 in particular for this purpose (the others are really too large for my tastes). My only concern is that they do not have matching bands, and I''m not sure how they would work with one. I''ve attached the pictures of the two rings. They''ve been appraised, but I don''t know the details of the stones or metals. The top is all diamonds, and the bottom I believe has an aquamarine in the center with diamonds on the sides. Do you think a custom wedding band could be made to look good and fit comfortably with either of these?

 

[mrssalvo]

check out antiqueengagementrings.com for some ideas. they have huge selection of antique an antique style wedding bands. you can also try fay cullen for some great rings

 

[glitterata]

Oh, those are beautiful! I especially love the top one. Can we see the other three? Please please please?

My grandmother wore an engagement ring a little like the top one in shape. Her wedding band was a plain, very thin platinum band (maybe 1.5 mm wide) engraved with a little subtle beading. I inherited and often wear both of her rings. Sometimes I wear her engagement ring with my wedding band, which is a thicker (3mm) beveled platinum band--I think it would look really good with that top ring.

Anyway, back when those rings were made there was no such thing as fitted wedding sets. Women wore a straight band next to a curved or shaped ring and didn''t mind the gap between the edges. If you get a plain wedding band, or maybe one set with small diamonds if you prefer, that will be a very classic look.

That top ring! How beautiful! How gloriously deco! I hope you choose it and I run into you in the grocery store or something and get a chance to see it in person. Gosh, how beautiful! I would far rather have that lovely antique than a much larger diamond in a boring modern setting. The aqua ring is also very pretty, but I ADORE that deco setting of the first ring.

(Sorry to go on and on. But wow, how lovely.)

 

[Faerievert]

Date: 7/6/2005 11:36:17 PM
Author: glitterata
Oh, those are beautiful! I especially love the top one. Can we see the other three? Please please please?

I''d be happy to oblige. Here''s the rest of them, though unfortunately most of these pictures are even blurrier than the last ones. Billy (my guy) says there''s a matching men''s ring to the two-tone one. They could all use a good polishing, but check out those rocks! I''ll put larger versions of images of all 5 of them up on a website shortly and post a link to that as well.

 

[Faerievert]

ok, if you''ve got the time or the connection speed for about 2MB of pictures to load, I''ve posted much larger pictures of the rings. It''ll open in a new window. They look a little more clear in the large versions, but not much. They''re just so pretty! I guess I''ll just have to try out different wedding bands after I have the e-ring on my finger. I generally don''t like to look of a gap between the bands, and I think it would drive me nuts wearing it like that, but maybe with a very thin band as was suggested it could work for me.
Faerievert''s rings

 

[jewelryaddict]

They are all very pretty. Are you an antique jewelry lover? I especially like the one that looks like a figure 8. Although it is an antique piece at has a little bit of a modern edge that makes it look timeless. If you want the antique look I would go with the two tone. The choice is yours though! It must be rough having to pick from a whole batch of lovely rings. I envy you!!

 

[hopefulheidi]

I too vote for the first one. It''s not that I don''t like gemstones but I personally would prefer a diamond engagement stone if for no other reason than to avoid explaining to each new stranger that my beautifully colored stone is in fact an engagement symbol. It''s all a matter of personal choice however and there are some beautiful gemstone engagement rings floating around here on PS.

I agree that Fay cullen is a good place to start for ideas. Perhaps to complement such an intricate antique design, a custom wedding band would be a solution? Going the custom route isn''t really as scary or as expensive as it may sound and it would give you the chance to make your wedding ring a truly personal part of the set.

Congrats on whatever you choose!
~Heidi

PS....so glad to see another RIT''er out here in cyberspace! I graduated in 2002 from the COB and my 4 years there are something I''ll never forget. Enjoy your summer break!

 

[glitterata]

Thanks for posting those! So lovely! Do you know what the stones are?

My favorite is still that streamlined aerodynamic deco ring, the first one you posted, but the others are also delightful. How nice that you''re marrying into a family with good taste in baubles--bodes well for your future ornamentation.

If you don''t like the look of a gap between rings, have you considered weariing the engagement ring on your right ring finger and the band alone on your left? That''s a fairly common solution.

 

[Faerievert]

Thanks to everyone for the advice. I''m seeing three options here:

1. Go for a thin, simple, relatively complementary band and wear them together
2. Get a custom band that will blend in and fit together
3. Just move the e-ring to my other hand and wear the wedding band alone, whatever it looks like

I''m not sure which I''ll go for, but I suppose I can figure that out after I get this e-ring on my finger! It''s up to Billy now which ring I''ll get, either the deco or the colored stone, and when I''ll get it. He sure does love his surprises, even if he''ll let me help a --little-- in the planning. I told him the band options above, and he thinks the idea of wearing the rings on different fingers is strange, so we''ll probably be looking at custom bands sometime in the future. I''m sure I''ll have more questions for ya''ll then!


PS. Hurray for RIT! I met my Billy here 4 years ago to the day at orientation, and we''ve been together almost as long (since Nov of 2001). I graduated from COLA in May and now I''m taking a few grad classes. Billy graduates from CAST next May, so I''m stuck in limbo til then- silly 5 year programs!

 

[BrightSpot]

Faerievert, it sounds like you have some great options! I can''t wait to see which gorgeous ring your bf chooses for you & hear about your engagement! Don''t forget to post hand shots!