Engagement. Marriage. Commitment. Engagement rings. Words that strike fear into my heart every time they are mentioned.
I’m single and for me, the future only stretches as far as next weekend. Even then, I usually manage to double book myself or have a last minute change of heart about what I want to do.
So it is with a heavy heart and uneasy breathing that I ask – could I really commit myself to one piece of jewelry for the rest of my life?
What if I like silver now but in a few years, will mature into gold? I love a modern funky ring today but will I prefer a classic tomorrow? I knew there were a huge range of rings out there but it wasn’t until the Mamamia team and I went a-hunting that we realised variety went THIS far.
It seems that couples are no longer opting for the ‘traditional’ wedding bands. They’re mixing things up and trying something all bright and shiny and new. Have a look at some of the rings we found:
This $550 "anti-cheating" wedding ring promises to leave an imprint of 'I'm married' on the wearer's finger (thecheeky.com).
Would you wear any of these for the rest of your life? Or do you prefer the more traditional set of wedding rings? If you are married – do you still like your engagement and wedding ring? With the benefit of hindsight, would you make a different choice?
Comments
114 Comments so far
The non-metal bands are a great idea: I used to date an electrician, and they wouldn’t be able to wear their rings while working if they were metal (obviously).
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My friends just got engaged and their rings have in them ACTUAL DINOSAUR BONES. It’s powdered in with rubies and flattened. Somehow. Pretty awesome.
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I have a gorgeous Tiffany’s 30 diamond ring that cost a lot.
Husband has a black simple band (also Tiffany, but only a few hundred bucks). I got a black band too that matches.
I wear the diamond ring pretty much all the time, but the black ring sometimes when I want to wear other cool rings that don’t really match the look of the first ring. Depends on my look of the day.
I think rings are great, but people change over time, so does their taste – so I think it’s ok to buy new rings if you want. I don’t know if I ever will because I’m only 26 and who knows who I’ll become!
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If you don’t want to commit to a ring, don’t! Husband has 27 wedding bands, mostly bought online (cheaper) and he wears a different one every day.
I only ever wanted the one, and it never comes off. Although technically now it’s two.
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I have one ring, which is my engagement ring, and then at the wedding I slipped it to the Best Man, who handed it over at the appropriate time, so it is my wedding ring too.
I love it every day.
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I wear my wedding set on the right hand (based on religious purposes) and even people think that’s strange!
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May I ask what religion? I’ve not heard of this before.
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The defacto ring I wear on my ring finger is an antique gold wheatsheaf ring. My first purchase of serious jewellery, I’d walked past it for weeks before trying it on, it fitted perfectly and I’ve worn it ever since. On my other hand I wear a great aunt’s plain wedding ring, and a small gold ring with a twist that a good friend gave me when we were both poor students, so I didn’t have to go out into the world with naked fingers.
I do wear rings with stones for occasions or if I’m feeling frivolous, but could only ever wear flat ones all the time, and I love these three.
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I actually kinda like the tattooed ones – and I usually dont like tattoos. Much more anti-cheat than that other strange one
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I have a lovely marquise cut diamond in my engagement ring. The wedding band and eternity ring fit around it and they all have a few little one pointers, with 3 small emerald cut diamonds on the eternity ring. It’s lovely, original and actually, not too huge.
After my ex and I broke up, I kept the engagement ring aside for my oldest girl. I’ll be giving it to her this year (along with some small diamond earrings) for her 25th. She was telling me that her and her bf had been looking at engagement rings recently, so she may end up with 2 in one year.
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I have been married for nearly eight years and absolutely hate my engagement and wedding ring. I told my husband to never propose with a ring, he did not listen.
I have gold, delicate rings. I like white gold and chuncky. My husband also thought it would be nice to make my diamond, diamond shaped (eeekk). Hate it!! He knows now, it took a few years. The question, how long before I can update?
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10th anniversary. Make sure you get what you want.
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My husband did the same without consulting me. I went straight out and changed the engagement ring. My wedding band was plain, so when we had our second wedding two years later, he offered to upgrade it with some diamonds. I’m now hanging out for an eternity ring with more sparkle.
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I’m not a fan of my engagement ring either! I love my fiance to death obviously so I have tried not to make a “thing” of it. But I would dearly love to change it.
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Where do I buy get those music rings from? I love it!
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I picked my rings out – they match. Love them and i don’t think they’ll ever go out of style.
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wow. I’d be mighty offended if i was requested to wear the “I’m married” ring. What a way to start married life!!!
I prefer traditional rings, mostly because I think they tend to be classics and I would want something that wouldn’t date as the years went by. Despite my shopping addiction, I actually don’t like spending alot of money on one item if it wouldn’t translate in decades to come.
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Diamonds are lovely. But not me. A friend just got engaged and has the most beautiful pearl ring! One of those fancy pearls, with diamonds in the very delicate band. It’s individual and i absolutely love it! Her’s is white, and i’ve told her when i get engaged it will be a grey pearl ring!
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Pearls are beautiful, but not a great choice for an Engagement Ring. They are too soft and will get damaged if worn everyday. That’s why diamonds always top the list – they are are hard wearing and retain their beauty the longest.
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I got engaged two weeks ago and when we went shopping for a ring, I was shocked at the prices! I understand that it’s something I’ll wear forever, but it seems pretty extreme to pay $5000+ for a piece of jewellery.
We set a range of $1000 to $2000 and I knew I wanted a solitaire with a white gold band, but realised pretty soon that I wouldn’t be getting a big diamond with that. In the end I went for a 0.5 carat diamond ring that is lovely and simple.
Buuuut when I get married I think I’d like a wedding band set with little diamonds, so perhaps I’ll transfer my engagement ring diamond into a matching setting. It seems so superficial to care though :/
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A 0.5 carat diamond is actually a good size ring. Have a look at people my age (40s) and their rings. You’ll find on average we have smaller sized diamonds in our engagement rings.
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Or people like me who were poor students when we got engaged and who has a 0.2 ct ring that cost $750.
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That’s good to know! All the people I know who’ve become engaged recently have had around 1 carat diamonds, but I’d prefer to spend more on the honeymoon
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I am not engaged, I’m trying to patiently wait for him to ask. I don’t want anything too expensive because I don’t see it as a good use of money at this point of our lives. But I do want it, I want to stand up and tell all our friends and family that we are committed to each other. They all know and can see it, but if you don’t get married, if you just remain defacto, I think you miss out on having that moment where you truly acknowledge it. Otherwise life just gets in the way all the time and you never truly acknowledge the commitment you’re making.
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Marriage isn’t for everyone and its not the only way to acknowledge a relationship.
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For me i should have said
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I understand what you mean Carla. For me it’s an important way to distinguish that relationship and the depth and intention of your commitment to each other.
I’ve been in a very long term relationship before where we were both committed to each other for life and believed we were soulmates – but never got engaged because it ‘wasn’t necessary’….Then he broke up with me and was engaged to someone else in about two seconds.
It made me realise that sometimes there’s a reason people don’t take that last step – there is something holding them back. For some people marriage just isn’t necessary – but for some it is the natural expression of their intention and commitment.
On a side note, that’s why I think every couple (gay or straight) should have the opportunity to marry. You need to be able to distinguish choosing to marry from accidentally becoming de facto by default.
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I love my rings. Hubby chose the diamond and picked the design himself. We got engaged in Hawaii in ’08 and eloped to Fiji earlier this year. I wanted just a plain gold wedding band. We can get a diamond eternity band later on!
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Looooooooooove that!
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Thanks Lucy! They’re knife edge and fit together perfectly, hubby has great taste……obviously
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Just out of curiosity, does anyone still get plain gold wedding bands? I’ve been married 18 years and it wasn’t uncommon back then. But now all brides seem to have wedding rings covered in diamonds. I can’t remember the last time I saw a new bride with a plain band.
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My wedding band is plain gold. I’m a chef, so it’s practical.
But I also had the romantic notion that I never wanted to take it off, so a plain one made sense for someone who enjoys gardening, cooking, renovating etc…
(ps. Having had 3 kids now I have had periods of not wearing my rings whist preggo!)
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Very sensible! I chose plain gold because that’s what my mother had and my grandmothers too. My engagement ring is estate – I think I’m a sucker for history/tradition.
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I’m 28, been married for 5 years and have a plain gold wedding band with an eternity ring (gold band set with tiny white diamonds) as my engagement ring.
The wedding band to me is traditional and I’m a traditional kinda girl. My mum, nanna, aunties and mother-in-law all have gold wedding bands to to me it also feels like it connects me to my family.
I didn’t want a big engagement ring with a massive diamond (it seems like so many girls these days want a diamond bigger than everyone elses!) but always admired the simple eternity rings so that’s why Husband gave me an eternity ring for an engagement ring.
[ http://perthwife.wordpress.com/ ]
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I’ve been married for 14 years and my wedding band is plain gold. I love a plain wedding band. Inside is engraved with husbands name and forever.
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Yes, I was curious too. There are so many different designs now but I don’t often see plain gold bands. We exchanged plain gold bands on our wedding day. My engagement ring was sapphire, with two tiny tiny diamonds. Very different for 1984!
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I work in the handmade ring world and have to say that there has been quite a shift from plain yellow gold bands to diamond (or gem) set white metal bands. We work a lot with platinum and palladium as it is such a pain to have white gold re plated.
My guys made the first yellow gold band in perhaps nine months a couple of weeks ago and it featured some hammer set diamonds. We have one or two rose gold ones on the horizon, but mainly it is white metal and embellishments all the way. Sometimes it is engraving rather than stones.
Often if someone has a solitaire engagement ring and they want to force the eye to move further from left to right (to balance the finger size a bit better) then they will choose a diamond set band.
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Hi Melinda, My hubby to be proposed and gave me a lovely platinum diamond ring (I have wanted platinum for the longest time). Now that Im engaged i like rose gold and yellow gold wedding bands.. I was just wondering what are your thoughts on mixing up metals? And I know platinum is the best hard wearing style but what about the others?
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Hi IM.
Well of course it is a matter of personal taste and style, plus being told that you can or can’t put something together is a bit rude anyway. I will give you my spin on it, but ultimately if you put your e ring with a wedding ring that you like – then you have the perfect thing for you.
I am a non-matching type, so I think that the contrast between gold and platinum is beautiful. Although I would probably stick with either yellow OR rose as they can get a bit diluted. Having said that, the classic Russian style tri ring thingy is often three colours…
I really like the look of a single colour ring against another single colour ring. We have just done a two tone halo style and that was wonderful too. I think that it has to be about what suits you and what looks right on your finger.
I hope that wasn’t too wishy washy
PS – congratulations on your engagement!
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I have a jewellery shop, and plenty of people still buy plain gold bands.
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I was married 18 months ago and Mine is a plain gold band. Just seemed right.. When I finally get the eternity ring it will have diamonds in it.
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We have identical white gold bands, which I later found out were made from my parents-in-law’s wedding rings. Makes me teary every time I discuss it – he’s the youngest of five, and my mother-in-law wanted us to have them.
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I got married November last year, my wedding ring is a plain band of platinum and my husbands ring is plain gold that he actually found in the garden in our back yeard
the engagement ring is tiny too, but i love love love it. Waited 12 years, but it is certainly worth it 
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My cousin recently got married (last year) and she had a plain band. If I were ever to get married (hahahahahaha……no) it would be a plain band as well, I like the look of them more than the diamond ones.
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Husband and I both had our rings made for us. I wear mine pretty much everyday, he hardly ever wears his! I don’t mind some of the rings in the gallery but probably would never choose something like that for myself! I’m annoyed though that I am overseas and can’t get my ring cleaned at the place we bought it (back in Melbourne) and I’m too scared to take it somewhere else in case something happens to it. Needs a good clean though!
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Put it into a little material pouch and put that into the cutlery holder in the dishwasher, I promise your ring will sparkle like new.
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This scares me even more lol
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If it has diamonds in it, it has probably trapped a whole bunch of grease (diamonds love grease and repel water). Just use a soapy toothbrush or nail brush (soft bristles) give it a good scrub, rinse well with plain water and dry with a lint free cloth. If it is super bad, you can make a solution with some dishwashing detergent and a tiny bit of ammonia and water and soak it for a few minutes before scrubbing etc.
It is best not to use the commercial jewellery cleaners as they can cause adverse skin reactions.
We actually found a perfectly acceptable ultrasonic jewellery cleaner at Aldi for $25 awhile ago, you could probably pick up something similar on eBay if you want to be super fancy. If it is just plain metal, then you need a polish. At a pinch you can buy a nail buffer and just go over it while you are watching tele or something. It isn’t perfect, but it does improve the look a little. Unless you are talking rhodium plated white gold…then I have absolutely no advice for you.
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I did this last night! I wrapped it in a hankie and tied it tight with a hair elastic so nothing could escape. Didn’t sleep well worryng about what would happen, but this morning my rings came out so sparkly I had comments on them!! Am putting my husband’s in tonight!!
Thanks for the advice!!
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My Grandmothers engagement ring was passed down to me and i bought a plain white gold diamond ring as my wedding ring – my husband doesnt have a ring due to his job.
i love mine so much as my enagement ring has a history and love story already with it
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That is so stunning, Mimi!
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this is beautiful!
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Gorgeous!
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My husband and I had ours made. They both have the words “Desire no other” on them (in French), mine engraved and his is raised. We love them and get comments on them often.
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That sounds beautiful. Can we see a pic if possible?
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Luckily hubby doesn’t wear his ring to work, so you can see both
Hope it works…
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My parents had standard gold wedding bands but engraved messages for each other on the inside. I always thought that was cute.
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Can people please post pictures of their engagement rings? I looooove seeing them!! All I have to post a photo of is my very chipped nails and ringless fingers!
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This is my engagement/wedding ring set. I adore them – always happy to share pictures! Some may think they’re boring, and that’s ok. I think they’re classic and I love them. (although they are a bit dirty right now!)
Hopefully at some point in the future I’ll get an eternity ring to balance out the other side.
re a previous post below, I did find it weird wearing the wedding ring with it for a bit, but got over that quickly and now think they look perfect together, even though it’s not symmetrical.
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Stunning! And how perfect are your nails!! I’m so ashamed…
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Thanks!
oh, they’re not normally! just had shellac on the weekend!
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Here you go Jenna! It’s funny, I was explaining to a guy friend the other day how weddings and engement rings are like the female equivilent of porn for some men! Here’s my engagement ring – would honestly have been happy with a plastic ring. To me it’s more about what the ring represents
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Gorgeous! Very simple and elegant.
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Whoops – this was me by the way! Forgot to put my name to the comment.
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Stunning Sarah!!!
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What beautiful hands! Are you a painter or a musician by any chance?
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I had my engagement ring custom made cos I just don’t like those Goldmark type run of the mill diamond rings that every second person seems to have. I love knowing that nobody on earth has the same ring.
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My husband has a two-tone, thick wedding band with a small, square diamond in the middle.
The gold for the band was melted down from his late grandfather’s wedding ring, and the diamond from either that or another of his late grandfather’s ring was used in the band, so it has a lot of sentimental value.
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I got my engagement and wedding rings cut off when I blew up in pregnancy #1, and I’m so slack I’ve not had them fixed. I was not happy with the wedding ring, but I do love the engagement ring; we found it in an estate jewellry shop.
The Christmas after I had my first son, my husband bought me The One Ring. Now I wear that on my wedding finger and it’s soooooo awesome. It looks like this (note, those are Frodo’s fingers, not mine).
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I love the idea of the more symbolic rings, but for me personally they would be better as tokens or keepsakes than something you wear every day. But if a couple decides to go that way as their everyday ring, I think it’s beautiful. Symbolism means different things to each person, and it is a way of showing commitment in a subtle way. I am happy to go traditional, but at least there’s an option for those who are looking for something a little different.
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I love my unique ring and have happily worn it about 8 years now. My wedding band belonged to my great grandmother and was her only jewellery, and works perfectly with it.
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They look GORGEOUS! What are they made of if you don’t mind me asking? I love my unique ring too
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Well, I think they’re all great if they mean something for the people wearing them. A bit of individuality is a good thing!
Does anyone else think that wedding bands kinda ruin the symmetry of the engagement ring? Engagement rings are so beautiful and the wedding band takes away from that a bit? Does anyone wear their wedding band in their other hand, for example? I don’t know. Just a thought I had.
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My wedding ring has the same pattern of diamonds set into the band as my engagement ring, without the stone in the middle. I actually prefer it with the wedding ring. Although I had mine soldered together, so to me, they aren’t two separate rings any more.
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I picked three rings – engagment, eternity and wedding. I deliberately aimed for a set that look like a constellation of small stars when worn together, but doesn’t look odd when I wear the wedding ring alone.
That said, my engagement ring is not a big rock. I couldn’t find anything that I liked to fit around that and didn’t want to be wearing it every day.
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Kate, this was my thought exactly! It seems so unbalanced with just one ring.
So the jeweller suggested I get two wedding bands – one for either side of the engagement ring. We asked the priest if we could add an extra wedding vow to explain the extra ring. He was completely cool with it.
So, in our ceremony we had one ring for committing to each other (standard vow) and the other ring was committment from my husband to love and adore our son (who was 2 at the time) and all future children (we had one more after we got married).
So at the wedding he was not only committing to me but our children as well (which really is an assumption of marriage I suppose). A bit different but worked perfectly.
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My mum always wore her wedding ring on on finger and engagement on the other hand – I grew up thinking everyone did it!
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Agree totally about the balance thing! So I got 2 wedding rings or split bands as some call them. Just plain yellow gold, but I love them. So my husband tells me there is no room for an eternity ring, I’m ok with that. But I have told him I’ll have eternity EAR rings instead!
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I love custom wedding rings – it adds personality. Hubby has a Celtic band that’s been designed to fit his big hands – mine was a boulder opal set in silver with rose gold flannel flowers up the side – gorgeous, so sad I lost it.
These designs are gorgeous
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Yuck- they’re all gross- Diamonds all the way!
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i love them- just not for me
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Oooooo there are some nice rings in there! I like the fingerprint, the titanium, the kevlar and the carbon fibre one. I’m a bit of a revhead so the carbon fibre one floats my boat.
If I get married again, I think I only want a wedding band. The idea of an engagement ring doesn’t appeal to me. I know, I’m a weirdo.
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I don’t want an engagement ring either. I’m not a jewellery wearer – just earrings and a watch to work so a bit of bling on my left hand would seem odd to me. A nice simple wedding band will do. I like the carbon fibre one too!
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You’ll have to let Gamer Guy know.
How’s that all going, Cuppy? I always mean to comment on your posts about him and never do. xx
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Gamer Guy. Well, I haven’t spoken to him for a week and a half. There has been text messages, but nothing else. I will hopefully get to talk to him tonight.
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I’m with you EvilCupcake, loving the carbon fibre ones!
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I agree, I’m not a ‘ring’ person (can never find any to fit my tiny hands anyway!) and I love the look of plain bands, so I’d just have the wedding ring.
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Does anyone actually buy the ‘anti-cheating’ wedding ring? Seriously?
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It wouldn’t really be a sign that you’re off to a great start!
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I really like the thought of the music ones. The tattoo ones are a bit silly, I wouldn’t want to permanently mark myself. I think my first choice would be something sparkly though: such a female!
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My nanny just got hers re-thickened(? sorry not sure of the technical term) because her’s had worn so thin. Her rings are such a simple classic design though that they have never gone out of fashion and she still loves them.
I personally dont wear much jewellery at all but have always looked forward to wearing a wedding/engagement ring. I like the commitment connotation that comes with it.
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Re-thickened. That’s awesome!! I’m going to steal that word . . .
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Would you know if it’s expensive to thicken rings?
My grandmother gave me a ring of hers but the band is so thin and has a tiny break in it, so I can’t wear it anymore. I really want to take it to a jeweller… but I have zero money and am scared that if I go in, I’m going to cave and just say “fix it no matter the cost!!” and then be paying off my credit cards for yonks.
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Just go in and ask for a quote. I have a ring I’ve been wearing for twenty years and want to have it re- shanked and I was quoted about $300 to have it done in gold.
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If you can’t commit to a piece of jewellery for the rest of your life, how on earth are you going to be able to commit to a person?
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I think that was sarcasm. Although your reply could be too
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Sorry it came across a bit harsher then it was meant to sound. I’m not very good with conveying tone
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My parents don’t have wedding rings and my mum never got an engagement ring and 28 years and 4 daughters later, they are still going strong.
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I love success stories
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I can’t! Ha ha, I don’t like the idea of ‘forever’ it’s so….. claustrophobic. Definitely not the marrying type. My partner and I say ‘love you until we break up’
but we’re highly cynical bitches, so results may vary
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A wedding ring doesn’t last for the whole marriage anyway. My gran has worn through three (rings not marriages!), and mum has worn through two (her latest one is extra thick, but she’s going to live to 100 so it probably won’t help!).
I like mine, but will probably change the style when this one wears too thin.
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You’re completely right. I used to work at a jeweller and we recommend having them replated/thoroughly cleaned every 18-24 months, they should be reset maybe every 10 years.
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Really? I wore my rings for 22 years (never ever took the wedding ring off) and they were never re-plated, reset, wore thin or cleaned with anything other than toothpaste.
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out of curiosity, does the toothpaste make the rings shiny or just clean the grot off them?
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They’re shiny because they’re clean (especially the diamonds) .. if that makes sense?
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I’ve worn mine for 15 years and they still look good. If the bands are thinner, I haven’t noticed.
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Can’t view the gallery but I am all over Khloe Kardashian’s engagement ring.
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I think it looks gaudy! Not that I’d have any trouble wearing it should someone choose to give it to me…I’m so very tolerate like that
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Very pretty, but not very practical. Mine is not huge, but I still find it catches on things including my kids when dressing them sometimes!
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I love KoKo’s ring! I don’t usually like such huge rings – but her set is stunning.
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That’s my kind of bling!
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If i’m going to wear a ring for the rest of my life, then I would love it to be similar to this. Also, shouldn’t the ring be valued at 3 months of your partners salary (I’m sure u read something, somewhere)??
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Yes, de Beers started that notion with a very successful marketing campaign back in the 30s – but they suggested one months’ salary. You could always try for three though
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The only ones of those I’d really consider are the rustic bark ones or the music ones.
I like the idea of the Claddagh rings, because I know and love what they symbolise, but I’d like it a little more simple.
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