<p>For the non-chemists, this all reads like “blah de blah blah blah” … Toothbrush and / or hand the ring to the nice folks at Bailey Banks & Biddle next time I’m at the mall!</p>
<p>Sorry, Pizzagirl ;)</p>
<p>Some good advice:</p>
<p>[Just</a> engaged! Now, how do I keep my ring clean?](<a href=“http://wedding-talk.yumsugar.com/Just-engaged-Now-how-do-I-keep-my-ring-clean-243962]Just”>http://wedding-talk.yumsugar.com/Just-engaged-Now-how-do-I-keep-my-ring-clean-243962)</p>
<p>I love jewelry…diamonds, emeralds, pearls, etc. Not into the craft show stuff. I clean my stuff with an electric toothbrush (not the pearls). My mantra: Any woman who says “My fingers are delicate, therefore I must have a small diamond.” ate from the stupid tree.</p>
<p>^ I agree with ellebud. 
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<p>My taste change all the time. I went through a period where I only wear certain Elsa Peretti silver jewelery. Then I would only wear “9999” gold jewelery. Now the only jewelery I wear is a pair of simple “9999” silver hoops made by the Miao tribe of China. I would love to wear rubies but after the fiasco of buying some from “Cambodia mines” at Siem Reap that turned out to be from a lab, I gave up.</p>
<p>I’m probably as anti jewelry as they come. I don’t even have my ears pierced. </p>
<p>That being said, I do wear a watch on most days… and I have a bracelet from NY&CO that I wear occasionally… and a few necklaces that I’ll sometimes wear with a dress but that’s about it. I have a necklace that a friend of mine made me which is just a chain with six different colored guitar picks hanging off it and I wear that sometimes too. Other then that… that’s about it. I have a few rings that I have gotten from ex boyfriends but I’m not about to wear them.I had to laugh because before X-mas my BF randomly was like “you don’t like jewelry do you?” I was like well it depends what kind and hes like “i’m not buying you something you won’t wear.” haha… So the other week I showed him all my old rings and he was like lets sell them and buy you a new one, ha!</p>
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<p>You’re right - they all do it, but I’m not going to hand my ring over to a shop clerk at the mall. I’m not afraid that they’ll switch out the diamond because it’s highly doubtful that they have a similar stone available. I’m afraid they’ll head out the back door and take the next flight to South America!</p>
<p>I had a double-strand pearl bracelet I received for my 20th birthday. It had a diamond clasp that my father had designed and had had made when in Hong Kong, so it had tons of sentimental value beyond its actual value. Years ago, I took it to CD Peacock – which was always touted as “oh, THE jewelry store in Chicago” at the time to have it restrung. Long story short – they LOST it. Then, they offered to replace it, but I said that I needed to have it taken to an independent / outside jeweler to ensure that I was receiving the same quality as what I had lost, because for all I knew they’d give me junk and I wouldn’t be able to tell the difference). They fought with me. It was a nightmare and I finally just got the money and had my father get another bracelet in Hong Kong.</p>
<p>My BIL bought my SIL a diamond pave heart necklace when she had their first baby, and spent a decent amount of money on it, as it was meant to be a really nice gift. Her second baby grabbed at it one day and it broke; she took it to an independent jeweler to be re-soldered … and found out that the stones were fake. Even though BIL had paid real-diamond prices.</p>
<p>I am not a ring person, not even a wedding ring, although my H wears one. I don’t wear much jewelry, but I do wear earrings. I have about 10 pairs of smallish gold earrings, mostly antique. That’s my passion, mostly LOOKING at estate jewelry. I have four antique cameos, which I like because I see them as pieces of artwork, rather than bling. Same thing with my micromosaic St. Peter’s.
My favorite is a small cameo of a Spanish lady with a lace mantilla. An older friend who was my surrogate mother wore it, and I always secretly coveted it. When I had breast cancer at 37, she used to accompany me to chemo as my good luck charm. She gave it to me so that when she was too old to go with me, I could wear it to checkups as my good luck charm. I wear it and think of her everytime I do so. It has worked–19 years healthy!</p>
<p>^^What a lovely story. That’s what make jewelery meaningful and precious to me. The memories - I only have one and it does not belong to me yet, maybe never. Mom have a piece of jade and diamond jewelery so ostentatious that she only wore it a few times in her life - for the weddings for her children. The family legend was that she saved years for this jewelry and when she finally had enough, there was at the same time a piece of land that was available to buy at about the same price. She hesitated but eventually chose to buy this necklace. </p>
<p>Many years had gone by now and she said maybe she should have bought that land instead since the last time she checked the land she passed over was worth millions - it was in Hong Kong. </p>
<p>She said she was going to give the necklace to me but then she changed her mind and said she was going to give it to my daughter instead.</p>
<p>I don’t wear a lot of jewelry. I like some inexpensive necklaces that set off an outfit but if they are large or heavy I never wear them again…
Four or five years ago I had to have my wedding ring re-sized. (yes, fingers swell in the south but in my case it’s that I have gained 25 pounds since my 19 year old self first slipped that ring on.). I went a half size too large and one day at work I realized it was not on my finger. Searched everywhere…had all the students searching, borrowed latex gloves and went through the trash in the lunchroom where I had been on duty. No luck. The next day our wonderful custodian brought it back to me - I hadn’t thought to search the ladies room wastebasket. Washed my hands and dried them and threw away my ring. I am so glad, to me it’s the sentiment, this is “the” ring that I love.</p>
<p>Fafnir, we are twins. Diagnosed at 37 in '93. Alive and sassy today because of aggressive chemo. My good-luck necklace was my college “charms” …sorority letters, service spur, PBK key, etc.</p>