Diamond Engagement Rings - What's the latest Fashion?
Not to digress too much on this thread, but what is the opinion
regarding non-diamond engagement rings? I've never been too fond of
diamonds, and would rather have something like a sapphire, which is my
favorite stone. I know the *traditional* stone is a diamond, for the
symbolism, longevity, because it's the hardest substance, etc., etc.
So, what's the consensus?
But even if we didn't, we
both have the same values about marriage and fidelity. We've been through
enough together to bring things out into the open if something is wrong,
rather than try to escape the problems in someone else.
We're also another couple that spent about $3500 on our wedding for
200 people, including my ring, my dress and our honeymoon. People talked
about how beautiful and meaningful it was, the food wasn't the normal
wedding fare, I made most of it myself, and it was personalized. It was
comparable to a $10,000 wedding in our area (which was the average for a
wedding of that size at that time), and people were surprised at how
little we spent if they asked advice for doing their own weddings. We
were fortunate that Rich had a diamond already, that was nearly flawless,
although not too huge about 1/4 carat and I wore it as a solitaire for our
engagement and designed a wedding ring with a jeweler that was unique and
beautiful. I also know how to shop well and was able to get incredible
deals on everything.
Anyway, my point is that people put so much emphasis on the ring or on
the wedding day instead of on the marriage. I wish people would put as
much effort, even if they didn't use the same amount of money, into
preparation for marriage as they do for the one day. People are excited
about the idea of the big dream day, but they don't even find out if their
values or morals are the same before getting into a lifetime commitment.
Well, I don't know what the consensus is, but I say go for it! I have
a wedding ring that is made of a 1/4 carat diamond bezel set and .10
carats of sapphires channel set in kind of a wave pattern in yellow gold.
I got to design the ring with the jeweler and it is beautiful! We've
talked about adding a small band to follow the curve of the ring with
small diamonds and small sapphires channel set, but that's it. No huge
rock for me.
I worked with a woman who had a gorgeous nearly flawless natural
emerald that was huge (!) for her engagement ring. It didn't seem to
invalidate her marriage. Apparently the diamond solitaire is a primarily
American invention. I've had some really rude comments from people about
"upgrading" my ring, or that it wasn't really a wedding ring (Oh, really,
it was when we got married). I even had a woman who said, in front of
Rich, while we were on our honeymoon, that I needed to _make_ him get me a
larger diamond when he could afford it. I don't want a different ring! I
want this one.
I would strongly recommend having a ring custom made. It costs much
less than you think it would, my ring is valued at about $1300, but we
only spent $350 on it because we already had the diamond. All the design
work, the gold, the sapphires and the labor was less than $500. It was a
lot of fun to work with the jeweler, too.
My ring is huge, 6 carats with 2 diamonds on the sides - BUT....and this is a
BIG BUT....
I waited **21 years** for that ring