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1.21.2014

A NEW / OLD WEDDING RING


you do sometimes find what you're looking for, even if it takes a little longer than expected to find it.

earlier last year, while doing laundry of all things, i managed to smack my left hand so hard against the wall that one of the prongs in my diamond engagement ring broke right clean in half. "BOOM!" to quote henry holbrook. i got a cute little finger bruise out of the deal, but you should have seen the other guy! (good news is that white toothpaste, as the good lord says, really is a renter's best friend.)

just after christmas my mom had to pick up some jewelry she'd sent out for repair and i finally took a minute to get the thing looked at. apparently i hadn't just broken the prong, i'd chipped the diamond. who even knew!? diamonds... fault lines... i got a proper scolding for wearing it while broken and a repair estimate that nearly knocked my socks off. i'm sure i gave her a real beauty of a "whaaaaaaat?!" face. it felt like a good one, anyway.

so you know when your car gets totaled and everybody rejoices because nobody got hurt but you still get a new car? (this happened at our house when i was a kid. i thought it was so strange when my mom would tell friends about the accident and they'd say, "oh that's so great!" like.... what??) of course i loved my engagement ring, but i never really loved my engagement ring. what i really wanted when we got engaged was an antique. something from the 1920s with filigree work and low set, quiet little diamonds, but this was 2003 and there weren't no etsy, if you know what i mean, so instead i sketched up a design and found a jeweler to build it. he swore up and down he could do it, and then... let's just say we had some communication issues. we cleaned through the budget on minor tweaks and never got anywhere close to what we'd agreed on. bummer, what are you gonna do. i decided to love it anyway, though we were planning to replace the setting "someday," just as soon as it made sense. so this has been in the works for, oh, how long have we been married now? ten years? well. long story short.... the time is now. the day is here! (sorry, drive by les mis reference). after all this time, we finally found her. we are thrilled. (yes, even brandon!) 

now this is more like it.


we scoured the internet for weeks before finally stumbling upon OaksBoutique on etsy. jackpot. gorgeous selection, and really fair prices. here's a tiny bit of detail the ring--she's got a 14k yellow gold filigree band with a little over a carat weight of hand-cut diamonds set in white gold. really divine filigree work in that white gold, too. if she were to have a name she'd have to be called estelle. but who names their wedding ring? oh swoon, etsy. swooooon. (imagine the damage i could have accomplished if etsy and pinterest were around when i was planning my wedding. that is a truly, truly frightening thought.) for now we're tucking our sweet broken engagement ring away for another "someday," when we'll dream up something fitting to do with her. she'll always be so special to me, i couldn't possibly hide her away for too long.

oh hey, brandon! i do! again!

33 comments:

  1. Pretty! :D congrats on finding the perfect ring for you, even if it took 10 years. at least you've had the perfect husband for you during that time. that's something, anyway. ; ) *waves to the holbsinator*

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  2. what a sweet story! and girl, your ring is GORGEOUS! my dream ring..someday. i have so many secret pins on the circle shape with small diamonds in it. and here is one just as beautiful! very elegant and pretty. xo

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  3. This is just so gorgeous. Also, re: the old ring, if you're in need of ideas, my mom had her mother's engagement ring reset into a pendant with my brother and I's birthstones via a jeweler friend, and it turned out really lovely and dear.

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  4. So, so beautiful. What an absolute gem (and yes, pun absolutely intended).

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  5. It is such a gorgeous ring! I never looked at any like this before, but it makes me want one! So classy & vintage. Timeless. This post says it all "I love my engament ring, but I never really loved my engagement ring."

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  6. So stinkin' gorgeous!
    I've just bent my engagement ring into some absurd shape and it's a fortune to repair. Maybe I'll go this route too!

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  7. Oh it is a pretty ring!! Very unique looking!

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  8. That thing is a beaut. TDF!!

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  10. so sweet! i am glad you finally got what you were looking for! i also want to change my ring, but i want to go smaller. is that weird? maybe someday.

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  11. She is stunning! So happy that you found her!

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  12. It is lovely!!!! I know what you mean about always wanting antique rings. I have estate rings. My engagement band is from the 20's and my wedding bands are from like 1900. I love them because the bands aren't the same and they are flat so they don't fit against my engagement ring. He did really well. They are platinum with the filigree and scroll work and hand cut stones. Estate and antique jewelry is like art. They just don't make them like they used to do they?

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    1. Hey I totally agree with you, each piece of estate and antique jewelry is a piece of art!

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  13. I love unique wedding rings! Mine is actually a black diamond. There is nothing like having the thing you wear on your finger every day be a total representation of your personality. Cheers to a really great ring!

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  14. Wow, what a beautiful ring! It looks so lovely on your finger

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  15. oh my, it is absolutely STUNNING! so happy you finally got what you dreamed up after 10 years ;)

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  16. jackpot is RIGHT! congratulations on finally finding your perfect ring. i love that brandon is excited too. hehe.

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  17. i.love.it! my diamond is actually from the 1940s and my guy bought a new setting and we had it placed since she passed away. it was a little way to include her in my wedding since she is no longer with us on this earth.

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  18. such beautiful ring! ... and story ;)

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  19. I just had my engagement ring reset and it's much more antique inspired now, which I absolutely love! Your ring is gorgeous Natalie. Excited to see more photos of this stunner on your hand. It's hard to miss!! :D xoxo

    By The Shore, a life + style blog

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  20. I have a vintage 1920s ring too and i couldn't love it more.
    Excellent choice, it's gorgeous.

    P.S. you dont wear your wedding ring with your engagement ring I noticed - is that an american thing or a Natalie thing?

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  21. OMG. That ring. It's freaking PERFECTION. So gorgeous!

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  22. So pretty!
    We recently upgraded my ring as well.... but we've been married 4 months (insert a gasping emoji here because that's not long at all..) But here's the deal: my first engagement ring was absolute perfection. Like, insane dream ring. It belonged to my great grandmother, from the 1930s. It is yellow and white gold, with the tiniest of diamonds in the center. Like, tiny. I'm no diamond gal, so that was a-okay with me. However, the band was so worn that it was too thin for every day wear (seeing as it was 70+ years old, and I had already been wearing it for 20 odd months straight). So we "upgraded" for the time being to a white topaz/white sapphire ring. Sigh.
    Yours is perfection, though. Enjoy it. <3

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  23. That IS So Beautiful!!!!! It looks so Perfect on you that it's hard to imagine what the other ring looked like on you. Gorgeous!

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  24. The moral of the story here is that you clearly can never do laundry again. I mean, risk hurting that ring? No. Simply can't be. Let Brandon know it's a very serious rule that you must have someone come do the laundry. In related news: good lord that ring! gorgeous! :)

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  25. My kind of loved ring as well: 1920's + filigree... it is sweet! I am single but I wanted a bit of spark to cheer my everyday. lol. And yes, saint Etsy saved me as well, but I chose moissanite instead and let me tell you it is sparkly!!

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  26. Beautiful, but I need a pic of the old one just for comparisons sake. :)

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  27. That is a beautiful ring! It seems to fit your personality so well. I remember admiring your engagement ring before & trying to figure out what it looked like so it's cool to see this one up close.

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  28. Aw, I'm sorry to hear that your broke your engagement ring but I guess since it wasn't always your dream this was a win win! Can't wait to see what you end up doing with the old one! This ring is beautiful!!
    xo TJ

    http://www.hislittlelady.com

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  29. Hi: love your fairy jewellery I'd love a tutorial on Elven Star I actually have been wanting a tutorial thereon vogue ever since I actually have seen it.wedding jewelry I will create the wire half simply do not know a way to do the remainder lol.

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