Engagement Ring Problems

Re: Engagement Ring Problems

• lmward member

  

  May 2012 edited May 2012

  I sort of had a similar problem (i'm allergic to my rings)  and I just called the jeweler and asked what I could do short of getting a new ring.  The staff at jewelry stores are super knowledgeable, I would call and just ask, they might have some good solutions for you.  They totally helped me!

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• Ayntastic member

  

  May 2012

  Imward, that is excellent advice.

  
  

  My dad and step-mom travel a lot, so she bought a ring at Target that looks very similar to her wedding ring to wear when they are out of the country - she leaves the real deal at home.  What if you found a similar but significantly cheaper opal ring to wear every day, but saved the real ring for special occasions?  Not ideal, I know, but I can't imagine not wearing a ring - maybe this is a possible short term solution until a jeweler can fix you up.  

  

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• [Deleted User] member

  

  May 2012

  Imward: Thank you so much for the idea! I have been worried about talking to the jewelers in my area as they all seem to specialize in diamonds/are chain stores with less-than-stellar reputations. Hopefully soon I can travel to a larger city and find a jeweler of repute to work with.

   

  Ayntastic: I thought about doing this, but my fiance is kind of ambivalent about it. I think it is because he spent a lot of money on my ring and given our financial situation (college students, him unemployed and me working part-time minimum wage) he is upset that I'm not wearing the thing that he saved all of his money for. I understand his feelings and it makes me feel horrible-- if I had known that opals would have problems like this I would've just gotten a sapphire or something a little more resiliant instead (just not a diamond).

   

  In particular I am worried about the future with my ring. I am absolutely paranoid that even if I get it fixed that somehow it will break and I will lose the stone. I would rather buy a new ring and keep this one special in a display or something in my home (and therefore safe from being lost/destroyed) than live in constant fear that the one material object I hold dear could be ruined forever. Is there a way to get my fiance to see my point-of-view? Sorry this is turning into a rather emotional help-me thread. 

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• dewingedpixie member

  

  May 2012 edited May 2012

  You may want to consider a bezel setting, these work well with opals. Talk to a jewler though and see what they say. Perhaps get a cheaper ring to wear as stated except on special occasions and then do a bezel setting set for your wedding or 1st aniversary. I personally love opals but they crack easy, and they do contain water. I considered opal in the enagement ring we are building for the side stones but realised it just wasnt going to work with how crazy active I am.
  
  You mentioned you dont have a lot of good local jewlers so I'm going to make a recomendation as well. Please note this place is not cheap, but we're currently dealing with them to set my engagement ring. They are WONDERFUL, extremely responsive and will tell you everything you need to know. Every piece from them is custom. I can 100% back up their knowledge, service from affar, and vouch for them being worth the cost as we are near DC and they are in AZ. The stone we initially sent to be set had what we thought was a feather inclusion in it, it ended up being a fracture. My setting is high tension it wasnt going to work out well for durability. They immediatly contacted us with the gemologist's report, and photos. They asked us what we wanted to do and gave us a professional opinion. They also sent us another stone that I chose from their inventory over night to insepect when returning the initial we decided not to set (we are saving it for a necklace later down the road). To top it off they are currently now sourcing a second set of side stones since our new stone is not the same as the first and we made a color alteration in the design accordingly. They have a long wait, and high price but they are worth every penny. They will do a quote with a stone in hand and tell you your best options for your situation. www.krikawa.com This might be a good option for a reset down the line, they also do financing.
  
  
  I also want to add I love your engagement ring. It is absolutely stunning. I'm a non diamond girl too we started with a  color change emerald green to amethyst purple sapphire, and are now going with a purple one . I just love seeing non-traditional rings, and yours is absolutely lovely. You're a lucky girl I hope you find away to set that beautiful opal so you worry less, and show it off more .

  

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• erollis member

  

  May 2012

  I love opals, not just because they are my birth stone, because they are gorgeous! I love your ring. You are a very lucky lady.

  
  

  It sound like you need a different setting. Also be careful! My promise ring for 8 years was an opal. The original ring I had was 4 prong and it came out and got lost in the washer for good. It was eventually replaced by another opal ring, 4 prongs, that never had an issue. My high school class ring, I spent my own hard earned money on, that was very expensive was an opal. I wore that every day for 2 years then the stone broke in half. Opal is a soft stone that I found out the hard way that Opals are a soft stone and can damage easy. I still have opal jewelry but I do not wear it daily for fear of it getting wreaked. I also found that Opal earnings are easier to keep even if worn on a daily basis. Maybe it's just me, I really don't know.

  
  

  Please send it to a jeweler to get it in a setting where it will no longer come loose. I would also look into getting a similar ring that you can wear everyday and wont be to terribly heart broken if something happens. Save the original for nice dinners and special events. I do get the sentimental attachment but It would be terrible if it did get permanently damaged or lost.

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• [Deleted User] member

  

  May 2012

  Dewingedpixie: Thank you so much for the compliment and the suggestion! I am going to check out the jeweler you mentioned and see about a different setting. Hopefully it will be an easy job and won't be *too* expensive... That's awesome that you are using a purple sapphire! Purple is both my and my fiance's favorite color. 

   

  Erollis: Thank you! I love opal jewelery because every one is completely unique. Unfortunately, it seems that it comes at a price... I will definitely look into a new setting and a substitute ring, hopefully I can find a solution so that it won't break! It has a chip in it (don't know how that happened), but it isn't broken that I can see. I suspect that the tightening caused the corner to chip.  That's really neat that you have an opal in your class ring! Mine was expensive even with the cheapo "lustrium" metal and a clear enamel "stone". I used to wear it all the time but it only fit on my left ring and now there's a more important ring on that finger! 

   

  Thank you so much for all of your suggestions ladies, I really appreciate it! I think I'm going to tell my fiance that it has to be reset in order to keep it safe, so he's just going to have to suck it up and deal with his "no changes" rule being broken. 

   

   

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• [Deleted User] member

  

  May 2012

  Update:

  This seems so minor compared to what just happened. Please see my thread in Wedding Woes ("Worried about my FMIL ") for what is going on.

   

  I could really use the help! 

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