bling bling

As soon as Ross proposed that engagement ring hardly ever left my finger! Keep in mind, three days later we were leaving for vacation in Cabo, Mexico and I made the executive decision to bring it along. It was just too pretty to leave behind :)

The ring survived Mexico (crashing waves and rip tides included) but it was time to visit a jeweler. You see, the ring was 60 years old and Ross' grandmother was an OB-GYN, so she was constantly taking her rings on and off to deliver little babies into this word. :) This lead to a slow wearing-down of the setting over time. We knew we had to get it re-set and Ross wanted me to be actively involved in that process.

We planned to take two weeks off for vacation, which meant we had the entire second week to dedicate to wedding planning in New Jersey! Two of these days were slotted for trips into New York City for ring shopping and consultations. It was SO much fun - each time we went over the George Washington Bridge I was reminded how much I love and miss New York City.

After meeting with our jeweler, we quickly realized a custom setting would have to be created. So we left the ring with him to get the whole profile (4 C's... Color, Cut, Clarity, Carat... come on girls, you know what I'm talking about). I knew almost immediately I wanted pear-shaped side stones to go with the circular center stone. I usually feel that three stone rings look like anniversary rings, rather than engagement rings so I wanted to stay away from three circles. With the tapered end of a pear, it kept the setting really clean and classic. I was also excited about have a unique setting, rather than a trendy setting or a typical ring! Two days later we hopped back into NYC to pick out the side stones. He brought two sizes with him, guess which ones I picked? Okay, in all honesty, the bigger ones just suited the center stone better. I promise!

The next week and a half without my ring was torture. And of course the day that it showed up, I get an email at 9:15 am alerting me a FedEx had arrived at my front desk. Naturally, I metro'd back home to pick it up and then ventured back to the office. (Not that I accomplished anything that day... I had a sparkly diamond flashing in my eyes every time I typed!)

"BEFORE" -- Engagement ring, pre-reset, with my Shellac manicure for Cabo!

Spec sent to me from jeweler... sans the "fangs"!

"AFTER" -- About twenty seconds after I took it out of the box!!  

Side-view of the setting.

I absolutely LOVE my ring!! It's exciting to have a piece of Ross' family passed on and to be able to tailor it and make it unique. Every day that I look at my ring, I'm reminded how lucky I am to have the most wonderful man in the world as my fiance. Knowing I get to spend the rest of my life with my best friend is SO exciting.

So now the big question is, what should I get for my wedding band? At first I thought a plain platinum band. But now that I have this beautiful diamond ring, I have an urging feeling inside to make it even more sparkly. However, the responsible and pragmatic side reminds me that I can't wear a diamond ring while I'm taking part in any physical or dirty activity (such as tubing down a river or gardening - both of which I have done this summer). I also want to wear my wedding ring when we travel - diamonds are attractive to pick pockets and thieves... another thing to consider. What do you think would work well as a wedding band?

A potential contender I made up on a Post-It note! Two pears, three round stones.