Wedding Ring Dilemma

I'm on the mailing list for Brilliant Earth, the lovely company that made my engagement ring. I was pleased to note they've started offering "matched sets" online, including adjusting and contouring one of their existing wedding bands to my e-ring setting:



Cute, right? I hadn't realized it, but somewhere in the last few days I got very, very attached to this band, thinking I could just swap out the diamonds for pink sapphires. Sigh.

So I emailed BE and asked them what their stone stock was like and whether we could get a discount if we bought a wedding ring because we also bought my engagement ring there...I wouldn't be so pushy, but I noted that the price for my engagement ring setting has now gone down about $200! So I felt like it was worth asking.

That led to me being shot down on all fronts when their customer service rep told me no, there was no discount, and no, they were no longer able to source pink sapphires in that size...I had wondered why all the pink sapphire wedding bands disappeared from the site a month or two ago. How could I have known? Not only do I not like diamonds, I really think they're going to clash with my e-ring, and I'm not one of those girls who just wants to wear just a wedding band. I want to wear both! I love the idea of a wedding set.

So, I'm super bummed. This leaves me with a few choices:
1. Try on their plain bands to see if I like them with my e-ring.
2. Have them custom-design something without stones to go with my e-ring.
3. Try to find a vintage or vintage repro setting at another jeweler, either with pink sapphires or (more likely) with detailing, but no stones.
4. Have another jeweler custom-make me the exact ring I want, but with unethically-sourced stones.

Out of all of these ideas, 2 and 3 are looking the most appealing. I've found a few alternative ideas online. Here they are for your judgment:

This is from an antique jeweler in SF. I like the engraving along the sides, and I could see if they'd offer it with just pink sapphires, no diamonds, but ultimately I don't know if it will really go with my existing ring. It's also very expensive.



Another pink sapphire and diamond option. I like the milgrain detail, but other than that I think it's just okay.
Pretty engraving, but perhaps too organic for my e-ring setting?
Again, not sure if this will "go".

Also very pretty. I wish the band were curved.


This one has potential! Not sure about the flower design, though.

Again, possibly too "organic" feeling.




This one is from greenKarat, another company that uses renewed metal. This design is not quite right, but they'd also do custom work...then again, if I'm going custom, why not go to the source and get something better matched to my e-ring?




This is a pretty floral ring with lavender sapphires. This company does lovely engraving and custom work, so I could potentially get exactly what I want if I give up on renewed metals and sustainably mined gemstones. Which sounds unappealing when I put it like that.



That same company offers this ring as a men's wedding band, but they'd offer it thinner, I bet. This is pretty.


Another from that company, this time with diamonds.

This ring is from Brilliant Earth. I really like it but I don't know how it would look with my e-ring, and I think it's too wide anyway.

Another from BE. It's a good width but again, not sure if it would go.


This ring is from some antique store online; it's a reproduction, and I like the slight curve. It's also very reasonably priced! I think it might work with my e-ring.


So, any thoughts?

Pink Sapphire is the new Diamond?

I was perusing the Brilliant Earth site a couple of weeks ago and noticed some new stock. You may remember that when I picked my ring out, they only had diamonds or blue sapphires shown on the site, except for one pink sapphire and diamond wedding band; it wasn't until our appointment at the showroom that I got to see the larger pink stones.

Now, they've got two new pink sapphire engagement rings listed on the site. I wonder if we had anything to do with that? Or is pink sapphire the new diamond? Here they are:



While I think they are both gorgeous, I still think mine's better. (Of course.) I got a compliment completely out of the blue the other day at Tully's (meaning, I didn't shove my ring under this person's nose on purpose, and she still noticed it!) and I felt very proud of Mr. T and I for doing such a great job at ring selecting.

I noticed that Brilliant Earth also has some new wedding bands with pink sapphires in them, too. This is great since I plan on going back for my band, and I've been at a loss for what I'd get...I thought we were going to have to do a completely custom ring. But this might work, with alterations:

Of course, I'd want the whole thing to be pink. Screw the diamonds.

I also thought this one might work:

Again, if they could do it with pink, instead of the diamonds. Those swirl patterns match the pattern on the band of my ring, so it might be a nice fit.

I love window shopping!

Downright Wifely

Sunday night I made banana bread. On Monday I put a piece in a ziplock and tucked it into Mr. T's bag. Later I asked if he had seen the bread and he said, "Yes, that was downright wifely of you." I told him I was practicing for my upcoming role.

The library thing is officially out of hand. I have three books checked out, and two more books waiting to be picked up. I think I'm going to need to space out my reservation requests in the future!

For now I'm reading The Curse of The Spellmans (I read the first in the series and loved it; it's also set in SF so I get to say, "I know that street! I know that bar!" in my head as I read). I fobbed One Perfect Day off to Mr. T for the time being. The other day he was fuming because he read about how the concept of a diamond engagement ring was propagated by the diamond industry (De Beers in particular), which I knew about. I told him, "Aren't you lucky you're marrying a girl who doesn't want one?" He gets angry about consumer manipulation. I'm not sure that passing this book off to him was the best idea! Perhaps I will distract him with Rock On!, which I pick up this weekend.

Also on my library list:
Touchstone
Gun, With Occasional Music

I'll post reviews as I go, as I can! I've got to rein in that library habit...


Image courtesy of www.threadless.com

More Ring Porn

We found the ring!



I'm just kidding. This is NOT my ring. I was browsing through M.S. Rau Antiques' site, and they have some crazy antique jewelry. This one is a 15.73-carat sapphire. Yes, FIFTEEN. I don't think I could lift my hand while I wore it.

Also, I sorta liked this one, although it goes against everything I said I didn't care for: diamond, gold, etc. But...it's a pink diamond. And it's rose gold. Regardless, there's no way I'm owning it, because on a site that unabashedly advertises $150K rings, this one is "Price upon request." Actually, so was the sapphire.



I don't know when we'll really look for the ring. In a few months, I think. I'm considering having it made by a friend of a friend if we can't find just the right thing.

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.