Why I don't wear my beautiful wedding ring.

[GreenTangerine]

Hi Everyone,
I am new here and I have a question about an antique ring. The ring is absolutely beautiful and it was given to me for my marriage by a relative I love very much. It is a turn of the century ring, set with a 9x7 vibrant blue sapphire and surrounded by mine cut diamonds. I feel incredibly fancy when I wear it.

The problem? I am someone who likes to forget I'm wearing a ring. I am someone who likes to put my hands in my pockets. I am scared to death (even though this ring has been checked by a jeweler) I'm going to lose one of those diamonds out of it's pokey little prongs. Which brings me to the pokey prongs. There's one or two on every diamond and also 6 for the sapphire. A jeweler said he could not smooth these in any way, it's just the way it was made. They really tend to catch on clothing, etc. Truth be told, I get annoyed with the ring catching on things and with having to be so careful. I'm more of an absent-minded kind of gal, so I end up going ringless. (My husband doesn't care ) It hurts my special relative's feelings though to see me without

I wish to God I could nab that beautiful sapphire and just put it into a bezel setting. The ring is valued at $5000 currently and I'm loathe to permanently destroy the value by removing the stone.

This is one idea: remove the stone with the sentimental value and make it into a ring I would wear, and 1) leave the setting in a safe or 2) place a custom cut less expensive stone in its place and wear it as a right hand ring sometime. The blue color of the stone is my relative's favorite and it would keep her close to my heart to wear it.

Or remember to wear it around the relative and have a new wedding ring made.

This is the lovely in question:

 

[Rhea]

Do you ever find yourself reaching for it? I think it's a bit large for everyday wear, but I could see myself wearing it during an evening out. I'd vote for keeping it in tact and buying another wedding ring for daily wear, perhaps a smaller sapphire in keeping with your wedding ring, but bezel set it. You could explain to the relative that you love it, but it doesn't fit your everyday life style so you save it for special occasions.

 

[Circe]

That's a magnificent ring! I agree that it's a shame not to wear it ... and that it would be a shame to alter it too significantly (reset all the stones, or the like). But I think that swapping the center stone with a custom-cut dupe and bezel-setting the original so you can wear it safely, comfortable, and regularly is just sensible.

Given the context, though ... do you think you should talk to the relative about it, maybe? It's such a sweet and significant gift. Maybe s/he would have some suggestions?

 

[junebug17]

What a gorgeous ring! I would keep it in it's original state...I don't know, in some cases I'm ok with changing an antique piece, but in this instance I just feel the ring should remain intact. It is a family heirloom and has great sentimental value. And I'm not sure your relative would be happy about it being altered.

I do agree that as beautiful as it is, it's not really practical for everyday wear. I'd get a new ring to wear on a daily basis, and wear this one around your relative and on special occasions. JMO!

 

[LaraOnline]

OMG it's lovely.
I personally would definitely try to give that baby air several times a week!
Perhaps you could try to 'make friends' with your special piece, somehow.
It is a shame you are not enjoying that ring every day.

But while I have an awful lot of sympathy with Circe's suggestion, overall I am reluctantly with Junebug, it would be a terrible shame to destroy a family heirloom, and possible upset your loved one too.

Such a shame the ring is not more your style.

Do you think you could consider getting another sapphire that is of relatively similar appearance, as a nod or tribute to your loved one and the original ring, and have this new sapphire made in a bezel type band, or other setting, which you would prefer? It need not be terribly expensive to get a new ring made, especially if you tend to the classic and minimalistic in taste.

Another alternative to consider would be to wear it around your neck on a long chain. My friend does this, she likes to wear her wedding jewellery this way, tucked into her clothes. Although with the particularities of your lovely ring, that is probably not a good option.

 

[eac]

I really like your solution of resetting the sapphire, keeping the rest of the ring as is, and placing another stone in the ring. You could get an affordable blue stone, especially a blue spinel. It is a GORGEOUS sapphire!

I have reworked several old pieces of family jewelry in this way. My grandmother gave me a massive, ugly gold and diamond pendant. I had the diamond reset into a ring, and recycled the gold into another pendant. The result is two pieces I wear, and I think of my grandmother whenever I look at the ring, which I always wear on my right hand.

My mother has given me another ring from this grandmother of mine, and while the setting is gold and diamond, the center stone is a scratched synthetic. This is going to be another reset project for me - again, respecting the spirit of the piece and the people who gave it to me.

 

[Lisa Loves Shiny]

I really like your solution of resetting the sapphire, keeping the rest of the ring as is, and placing another stone in the ring. You could get an affordable blue stone, especially a blue spinel. It is a GORGEOUS sapphire!

I have reworked several old pieces of family jewelry in this way. My grandmother gave me a massive, ugly gold and diamond pendant. I had the diamond reset into a ring, and recycled the gold into another pendant. The result is two pieces I wear, and I think of my grandmother whenever I look at the ring, which I always wear on my right hand.

My mother has given me another ring from this grandmother of mine, and while the setting is gold and diamond, the center stone is a scratched synthetic. This is going to be another reset project for me - again, respecting the spirit of the piece and the people who gave it to me.

I think a blue spinel of this color would be very pricey. Dark blues, teal blues and blues with grey are affordable, but coveted blues (think cobalt blue) are going to be very pricey.

I would wear the ring as is knowing that sapphire is extremely hard and durable. A few nicks along the way can be polished out by an experienced gem cutter.