How has your ring held up?

[WestchesterButterfly]

Just curious....how has your ring held up? How many years have you had it and how often do you wear it?

 

[TXwidow]

seems you are not getting much/any response so I will offer two versions: I, personally, do not keep a ring a particularly long time, and usually do not wear it every day so I am no help.

Now my Mom (we are talking many, many years ago), first got a diamond wedding band and then a few years later my Dad bought her an engagement ring (I know, that is backwards). I suspect by the time she got the engagement ring he was earning more money and also that she 'nagged' him about not having one.

Over the years of their marriage (almost 75 years), she wore both rings daily, I don't ever remember her even taking them off to work in her flower bed (maybe she wore gloves?), and during that time the rings were moved to new mountings TWICE, ,primarily because the gold had worn away so much new mounting were required. So, apparently 20+ years was about the maximum time.

 

[newtojewels]

My sister has had her sterling silver and garnet engagement ring and worn it daily, including to sleep, for over 10 years and it's still fine with basically no visible wear. She works from home and I think wears gloves when gardening. My partner went canyoneering last weekend and wore a quarter inch (6-7mm) gouge through an aluminum carabiner in a day. Not jewelry of course and it was under more stress than any ring would ever be, but it's a metal of similar hardness to gold so I figured it was worth mentioning. The point is that the biggest difference probably isn't how often a piece is worn but what activities are done while wearing it.

Most PSers are more careful with their jewelry than most people and rotate through more pieces. I really can't see much if any visible wear on anything I own.

 

[Ibrakeforpossums]

I killed a moissanite, at least it was sold to me as a moissy by an Indian seller on ebay. I told him I wanted a nice cut - it was killer. I wore it constantly, dropped it into boiling water to keep the sparkle, and suddenly after 3 years the whole Asscher was full of .. . explosions. I sent it to the cutter on reddit up in Spooner, he said it wasn't moissy at all and he didn't know what. His GG suggested leaded glass. I killed my daily driver, still sad.

 

[WestchesterButterfly]

I killed a moissanite, at least it was sold to me as a moissy by an Indian seller on ebay. I told him I wanted a nice cut - it was killer. I wore it constantly, dropped it into boiling water to keep the sparkle, and suddenly after 3 years the whole Asscher was full of .. . explosions. I sent it to the cutter on reddit up in Spooner, he said it wasn't moissy at all and he didn't know what. His GG suggested leaded glass. I killed my daily driver, still sad.

This story is wild. I’m sorry this happened to you!

 

[WestchesterButterfly]

seems you are not getting much/any response so I will offer two versions: I, personally, do not keep a ring a particularly long time, and usually do not wear it every day so I am no help.

Now my Mom (we are talking many, many years ago), first got a diamond wedding band and then a few years later my Dad bought her an engagement ring (I know, that is backwards). I suspect by the time she got the engagement ring he was earning more money and also that she 'nagged' him about not having one.

Over the years of their marriage (almost 75 years), she wore both rings daily, I don't ever remember her even taking them off to work in her flower bed (maybe she wore gloves?), and during that time the rings were moved to new mountings TWICE, ,primarily because the gold had worn away so much new mounting were required. So, apparently 20+ years was about the maximum time.

My sister has had her sterling silver and garnet engagement ring and worn it daily, including to sleep, for over 10 years and it's still fine with basically no visible wear. She works from home and I think wears gloves when gardening. My partner went canyoneering last weekend and wore a quarter inch (6-7mm) gouge through an aluminum carabiner in a day. Not jewelry of course and it was under more stress than any ring would ever be, but it's a metal of similar hardness to gold so I figured it was worth mentioning. The point is that the biggest difference probably isn't how often a piece is worn but what activities are done while wearing it.

Most PSers are more careful with their jewelry than most people and rotate through more pieces. I really can't see much if any visible wear on anything I own.

Thank you for your perspectives! My one ring is platinum and my new one is brushed 18k gold. Thanks for confirming rings can have a shelf life if not careful. I usually don’t wear them 24/7 but I see I need to be more careful with the gold than the platinum.

 

[Ibrakeforpossums]

This story is wild. I’m sorry this happened to you!

Thank you. The ring meaned much more than it cost.

 

[Dreamer_D]

My five stone is very new so not much of an example for this equation…

But I got my 18k and plat three stone in 2019 and wore it 5-6 days a week until a few months ago when I got my five stone. I don’t wear it for any manual work, including chores or cooking and definitely not gardening or anything where I will be lifting or carrying things. It looks like new.

 

[0-0-0]

My wife wore a platinum 6 prong solitaire with channel set diamonds in the shank together with a platinum wedding band with channel set diamonds daily for around 7 years. The set is pretty heavy duty with band widths of around 3 to 3.5 mm. After 3 to 4 years of wearing the set together there was noticeable patina. The set looked completely new again after sending it back to the jeweler for a polish. We only found out about a scratch on the table of the center diamond when trading it in after a decade.

For the past 3 years she has been alternating between a platinum 4 prong halo and a platinum 4 prong solitaire both with shared prong set diamonds in the shank. She wears them separately from a platinum shared prong set 3/4 eternity she wears daily on the other hand. These are more delicate pieces with band widths of just under 2 to 2.5 mm, but they show very little wear with minimal patina.

Other platinum rings that have seen less than a year of daily wear still look like new.

We clean all the pieces with warm water and dish detergent with a toothbrush and ultrasonic throughout the years. We have yet to notice any issues with loose diamonds or prongs.

 

[Bron357]

My current version of my engagement ring is nearly 10 years old. I wear it everyday and night, only taking it off when I wash my hair. So I do everything while wearing it, though I “might” remember to wear gloves.
It’s 18ct white gold and I have it rhodium plated every year. I prefer that look over Platinium.
And I am still in love with it.

 

[missy]

My Cartier black opal is from 1972 and I don't wear it much...maybe twice a year but initially it was worn much more frequently. Opal is very delicate but storing it properly and treating it gently is key and it looks the same as it did 53 years ago



My diamond rings all look perfect still
Bubbalah is a genuine OEC so she is older than me even lol
My three favorite OECs

I used to wear Bubbalah daily but since October have not really worn her because I had surgery on my hands but plan on getting back to wearing her soon. She has held up beautifully for a very long time and wearing her will not change that

I wear my diamond studs a lot

 

[WestchesterButterfly]

My current version of my engagement ring is nearly 10 years old. I wear it everyday and night, only taking it off when I wash my hair. So I do everything while wearing it, though I “might” remember to wear gloves.
It’s 18ct white gold and I have it rhodium plated every year. I prefer that look over Platinium.
And I am still in love with it.

My Cartier black opal is from 1972 and I don't wear it much...maybe twice a year but initially it was worn much more frequently. Opal is very delicate but storing it properly and treating it gently is key and it looks the same as it did 53 years ago



My diamond rings all look perfect still
Bubbalah is a genuine OEC so she is older than me even lol
My three favorite OECs

I used to wear Bubbalah daily but since October have not really worn her because I had surgery on my hands but plan on getting back to wearing her soon. She has held up beautifully for a very long time and wearing her will not change that

I wear my diamond studs a lot

What gorgeous jewels you both have heirlooms!