Comments on: Indie Engagment Rings

By: Melissa

Melissa — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 19:01:20 +0000

Would love to see your ring!

By: Engagment ribbon | Youkraft

Engagment ribbon | Youkraft — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 08:50:13 +0000

[...] Indie Engagment Rings « A Practical WeddingIt might be about the smallest ribbon ring Tiffany has ever made, but we didn’t want to have to take out a loan for it. While it’s not unique, it is different. And people always remark how it fits my personality (style and size wise). [...]

By: Liz

Liz — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 04:12:48 +0000

Beautiful!

By: Heather

Heather — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 05:44:59 +0000

I don’t have my ring yet, but it’s being made from a piece of my fiance’s grandmother’s jewelry. I just picked the setting today (she sent suggestions from Florida where she lives, to my fiance in New York, who mailed them to me in Texas). The stone is marquis cut and I like a semi-sideways setting for it.

My fiance has a watch that I was going to propose with but I gave as an anniversary present instead.

By: Olivia

Olivia — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 00:10:04 +0000

I love these stories.

My ring belonged to my fiance's french grandmother's cousin. I just had it appraised for insurance, and the jeweller said the diamonds are about 120 years old! It sounds like it is Victorian era, with a crescent moon of rose cut diamonds and a little star with an old European cut diamond.

It's amazing to think that something this tiny has not gotten lost the last hundred years!

By: Darsey

Darsey — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 10:39:11 +0000

I'm so thankful for this blog!

After reading through it, I began my search with my boyfriend for the right ring for us. We went to Twist, an incredible jewelry store in Portland, Oregon, where we live, and found some awesome artists like Pippa Small, L. Frank and Me&Ro;. I shared my search with one close friend who understood my personality and aesthetic, and, without ever seeing this blog, she recommended some rings from Conroy & Wilcox to me, too. My fiance ended up going with this version of the sapphire ring pictured on this blog, and I am so absolutely thrilled with it. It is so clear, so lovely, so simple, so refined.

We got engaged just a couple of weeks ago, and upon going home to South Georgia for Christmas, I was reminded that folks down there aren't quite used to non-conventional rings. While most women simply called the ring sweet or dainty, a few were blown away by it and thought it was perfect for me. I now understand the slight strangeness women encounter when people respond hesitatingly to their ring choice, but when they see how much I love it, they warm up to it and are encouraged by my enthusiasm. It's a great symbol of our engagement, and I want nothing else!

Thanks again for posting!

By: Heather

Heather — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 13:24:18 +0000

My engagement ring is not indie, antique, passed down, or anything like that. It is brand new and purchased from a regular jewelry store in the mall. It wasn't custom made, and it fact, I can go in the store at any time and see the exact same ring that I wear in their glass case. It's not particularly big or small. But, I LOVE it. I love it because it's beautiful to me and because my fiance picked it out for me. He looked at all the rings and picked one out that he thought would fit me best and he did a great job. Every time I look at my ring I think of how much he loves me and our love for each other. I love wearing my ring because for me it says, my fiance and I love each other and this is our physical symbol of that love. I agree that the symbol of two people's love doesn't have to be a diamond and it doesn't have to be anything at all; but it is in fact extremely personal.

I loved reading all these stories about everyone's rings and how special they are. I can understand the hesitation some women have about diamonds and what they can often stand for. I just wanted to share my story because I have a super-regular-traditional ring and couldn't be happier. I think that a woman's ring choice is personal and I wish it didn't have to be about who has more carats or what kind of stone, but more about appreciating what lead two people to have a ring in the first place: LOVE!

By: Aurah

Aurah — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 22:52:48 +0000

I love this post. Wish I would have found it sooner! I have a non-traditional engagement ring that my fiance and I picked out together. It was important to me that it was hand made in the city that we live in and got engaged in, San Francisco. Sarah Graham, http://www.sarahgraham.com/ I ended up with two of the Pebbles rings, with three different sized diamonds.

I love my rings and think they are so much more "me" than a big diamond sitting on my finger. But I would be lying if I wasn't a little bit self-conscious about how others react to me when they see it. Most people don't comment at all or say something awkward like "neat" or "interesting." Really??? When I've seen a friends engagement ring, no matter what it looks like, I view it as a symbol of their love and commitment to one another. And THAT is beautiful… so I say so. I'm trying to remain true to myself and conscious of my beliefs but it can be damn hard when I've got a bunch of big diamonds staring back at me. I'm guilty of feeling the pull. I'm so grateful for the comments here and hearing other peoples' stories. Yay unique rings!

By: Heather

Heather — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 06:40:31 +0000

Rebecca, I understand what you mean about the price being so important. We found sapphire estate ring that I completely fell in love with. And? 60% off! I always had a much smaller budget in mind than he did, and when two friends reported that their rings clocked in at five figures, I was shocked! I couldn’t imagine wearing that much on my hand every day when there’s just a huge list of things we could do with that money. So while I’m glad they love their rings, I’m much happier with my three figure dream ring. But he’s caught some flack from people because it isn’t a platinum diamond ring. And when he tells people I offered to pay for half (which he won’t let me do), they have insisted that he did the right thing. Sigh.

By: Danielle

Danielle — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 21:27:49 +0000

Upon our engagement, my fiance’s mom (who lives far away) scanned some pictures of his great-grandmother’s ring, which she’d been keeping, and emailed them to us. I wasn’t in love with it from the images, so we looked in the local mall and jewelers. But I also didn’t like the style, prices or dubious ethics of the big showy diamonds.
So I decided to give the fiance’s great-grandma’s ring another chance. His mom sent it through the mail (unaware of the contents, our landlady threw the package down our stairs upon delivery! Luckily the ring was unharmed).
I tried it on and the ring fit just right. It’s a slim yellow gold band with a white gold setting for the small diamond. According to the fiance’s mom, the diamond is cut in an “old mine” style, which just isn’t used anymore.
The ring is small and sparkly and not too showy, which fits my style just right. Plus it has so much history and is a part of his, and now our, family. I also like how, just as in a good relationship, patience was required to recognize its true value.