Bling

I've been looking at ring porn online for awhile now, even though I had no idea when/if the proposal was coming. Still, a girl can dream, right?

Through my research and talking to other folks I've learned that you don't want white gold or sterling silver for your wedding ring. These are fine for regular rings, but for something you wear every day, you want something that won't wear off (white gold is coated) or bend (sterling silver is too soft). So, it's platinum, palladium (like platinum but not as expensive...wasn't there a club called the Palladium? I think we used to call it the Get-Laid-ium when I was in college.), or something like Titanium. I wouldn't mind Titanium except I want the ring to be shiny, I think, not like brushed nickel. Is Titanium shiny? I'll have to do more research.

I've never really liked diamonds all that much. I LOVE fake, over the top sparkley rhinestones, but the real thing? Not so much.

I like sapphires, but you have to make sure they're the right color. Some just look like a dull black.

Here are some of my favorites so far:

This one is not vintage, but I like the sculptural quality of the set. And I like that the set fits together so seamlessly--you can't tell you're looking at more than one ring.





This one is "vintage style," which frankly is just fine with me. It's the look, not the price tag, that interests me. This peridot is lovely. I wonder if it would stick up too far on my hand, though? I don't want a ring that gets caught on everything. That would bug me.





I adore the style of this ring. What I don't adore is the rose gold (it's okay, but I wouldn't want it on my hand everyday) and the opal (bad, bad luck for those not born in October). Other than that it's perfect!



I like the band on this ring (it's that mokume gane stuff) and part of me really likes the idea that there's a stone underneath that cover (this one's a garnet). Again, I don't think I'd want it for my wedding ring, though. A regular ring, yes, in a heartbeat. But I kinda want to see the bling.




This is one of the more expensive rings I found online that I liked, so that probably rules it out entirely. I love the color of the sapphire, and I can live with side diamonds, I decided. I like the "baguette" style of the side stones (really, I'm learning a whole new vocabulary lately).





This sapphire is also lovely and also too expensive. I like the "split" style of the band. The diamonds, meh.






The thought of a pink sapphire is attractive. I actually tried on a pink sapphire ring at a friend of a friend's jewelry shop last year, and I must say it looked quite fetching. Sapphires come in a ton of colors--orange, purple, pink, blue, and green.






Here's another pinky. The band is more modern and clean, but I like the idea of a cabochon center stone. I also like that it's a pink star sapphire.






And here's a blue star sapphire. I've always liked star sapphires b/c my mom had a star sapphire ring and I was mesmerized my the star in it. I love things with that glimmer--moonstones, labradorite, rainbow moonstone. Oooh, shiny. The price on this one was very reasonable, under $2K.




Ring shopping is fun. I can't wait to do it in person!

Oh, and if you were wondering, Mr. T (quite unlike the other Mr. T) is into understated bling. He's not sure what he wants yet. Perhaps a simple Titanium band.