Who says only diamonds are forever?
Posted in davash, what to wear by davash
When I started looking into alternative engagement rings, the most common advice I heard was to substitute my birthstone for diamonds. As my birthstone is the diamond (as an April baby), I thought this was poor advice. So I had to take matters into my own hands. It’s not that I dislike diamonds - in fact, the Jessica Fields sapphire ring I’m wearing now on my left hand has diamonds encircling the ring. It’s just that I think other gemstones are so much more interesting. So, using my gorgeous bauble as my inspiration, I have compiled some of the most gorgeous non-diamond-solitaire rings out there.
Clockwise from top left: Diamond dot com, Jewels For Me, Ice dot com, The Clay Pot, Topazery, Macy’s, Jewelry Central
So what’s your position? Are diamonds a girl’s best friend or do you wear an alternative e-ring?
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I have a diamond center stone surrounded by sapphires, and I love it. But I wouldn’t have complained if it were the other way around. Diamonds as an engagement ring is a relatively recent tradition… so unless you are one of those people that is all about the bling and material aspects of life - its really not your only choice. Plus there is the additional tag on that unless you put in a good chunk more effort to ENSURE that your diamond is either man-made (”artisan”) or from Canada - there is no guarantee that its conflict free or eco or enviro conscious in its harvesting. (I love my man - my ring say’s “eh!” … canadian because he knew it was important to me).
Only thing to keep in mind with alternatives - it still needs to be a hard stone. Rings take a lot of abuse and some beautiful stones (opal etc) are uber fragile.
Good luck!
My engagement ring is a fire opal- yes, yes, I know they carry an omen of bad luck…unless you’re born in October! And I am! Another added bonus? The opal’s color is usually a beautiful shimmery blue, just like the my Fiance’s eyes. I have never liked diamonds. I love color, and I knew my ring had to be colorful. He choose right.
i have a diamond, but it’s an antique ring– eco and socially friendly and different than the mass-produced mall rings out there! not everyone understands why i would want a ‘used’ ring, but it’s so perfect- i can’t imagine anything else, and the design is so lovely compared to new cram-as-many-diamonds-as-possible-onto-every-surface rings!
my ring:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/intermittent/1213781481/
My engagement ring is a black diamond with pave set white diamonds surrounding it and down the actual band. It is classic and simply gorgeous! It is an antique bought from a local jeweler my now husband and I frequent. For now my wedding band is my late grandfathers plain platinum band. But I’m hoping for our 5 and 10 year anniversary to find antique pave bands to go on either side (with a great big vow renewal and reception to boot!!) lol I wanted something unique, and would have sworn I was getting an aquamarine with pave diamonds I had my eye on (at the same jeweler). So I was beyond shocked when I received my ring. I did received the aquamarine ring for Christmas to wear as my something blue!
I have a vintage reproduction ring that has a princess cut sapphire solitaire surrouned by tiny pave diamonds. It’s dreamy and so unique…
Mine is a berry pink tourmaline in a micro pave setting. I couldn’t have been more pleased with the choice.
We are getting an antique ring that has a diamond in it, but if I hadn’t fallen in love with that I know I would be sporting something a little more colorful. I think an opal sounds beautiful!
My ring is an antique and looks very similar to the top left, an oval sapphire surrounded by diamonds, only it’s yellow gold. I absolutely love it!
I can’t really say that I like the vintage looking ring and wouldn’t personally have one as my engagement ring but the ones above are really pretty.
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