Vintage Engagement Ring?
I was at the jeweler this weekend getting a sizer put into my wedding ring (I'd
lost a fair amount of weight, and it was falling off). I saw an
antique-reproduction ring in the window that I fell in love with. It's
platinum, squarish-shaped with a diamond that lays flat in the middle, and
embellished on each side with designwork and a diamond chip. I've always wanted
a ring like that...I'd thought I would inherit one, but that's a long story.
Anyway, in spite of the extravagence, I put it on, it was beautiful, and I
bought it.
Now I'm wondering something. Since it's a repro ring, not a traditional style,
was it intended as an engagement ring and did I just not recognize that? (I've
found a similar ring, though not as nice, on the net being advertised as a
"fashion ring" but also as a "reproduction Victorian engagement ring.") And if
*was* intended as an engagement ring, is it odd of me to wear it on the other
hand, a gift from myself?
It's a lovely design and totally wearable just as a
decorative piece. Anyway, if anybody gets sniffy about it
being an "engagement" ring (not that I think they will)...
well, you _are_ planning on spending the rest of your life
with yourself, right? ;)
I think it may be a repro engagement ring, but it doesn't look
engagement-y to me; these days, though anything goes, it seems that any
sizeable solitaire or stone-centered, no matter the type, is what says
"engagment". Several people thought a pale purple spinel solitaire ring I
wore on my right hand was an engagement ring. If you wear yours on your
right hand, I doubt anyone would think it was an engagement ring, and even
if someone did, no biggie--it's a beautiful ring! Contragulations on the
weight loss and the purchase :)
I hate to admit it, but I did ask my husband today to call the jeweler -- whom
he's come to know fairly well since we bought our wedding rings there 11 years
ago and he's bought a few other significant gifts for me along the way -- and
talk to him "man to man" about the ring. (I figured
anxious-female-to-professional-jeweler might not go over quite as well.) The
jeweler told my husband that he's only had the ring in for a short time, but
it's a "user-defined ring" (my husband's words, not the jeweler's) -- in that
it's been bought for different reasons by different people. When my husband
pinned him down, he said that he's sold six of them -- half of them as
engagement/wedding rings and half of them as fashion/decorative rings. So
apparently it can be worn either way legitimately, which satisfies me.
I've looked at estate-type rings a lot in the past that looked similar and have
loved them, but prefer new. I'm happy to have the ring. Ironically enough,
while my wedding ring is being resized, I have the ring I just bought on my
left-hand ring finger. To me, it's satisfactory as a wedding ring substitute,
but it really doesn't look the part. I'll be happier once I can move it over to
my right hand, where it "belongs."