<p>I, also, do not have an engagement ring, because I did not want a diamond (hate them). Circa 1975, non-diamond rings would have elicited snide comments. My wedding ring is a yellow gold narrow band with DEAREST spelled out–diamond, emerald, amethyst, ruby, emerald, sapphire, topaz. I liked the idea of a Victorian love token. I don’t think that my mother thought much of it. But, after my mother died, I took her diamond band with 20 stones and had two beautiful pairs of earrings made for both Ds. They will have her with them always.</p>
<p>My ring is a reproduction of a Victorian wedding band…floral etching all around. I’ve never seen another like it and I love it. DH has an etched band…his original (which got lost…and of course was found AFTER I replaced it) was maybe $75 at Service Merchandise (anyone remember that place?). His new one which was for our 20th anniverary was about $300…a little thicker but also just etched (you know…that plain satin look etching).</p>
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<p>That’s where we got ours. I was trying to remember the name of the place the last few days.</p>
<p>Edit: Just found out that they are still in business. The store in our local mall moved out well over a decade ago.</p>
<p>I use to love Service Merchandise. Hated that they went out of business (at least in my town).</p>
<p>I had a look at their wedding bands - their product line is a shadow of what they used to carry.</p>
<p>My wedding band is 18k yellow gold - 1986 - with 6 channel set Quadrillion diamonds. I didn’t want a raised stone and only wanted to wear one ring. I still love the ring but wish it were white gold or platinum now. One day I will take the stones out and have a different setting made for them. My D inherited her grandmother’s engagement ring. It is platinum with a round brilliant cut stone. She could have a nice ring with the round cut diamond in the center and my square cut diamonds on each side. Maybe she’ll design her own engagement ring. My personal favorite is a combination of emeralds and diamonds.</p>
<p>I’ve always worn yellow gold jewelry–it flatters my complexion and I just like it (and I’m happy to see that gold tones are coming back full bore in costume jewelry–it’s been a long time). But when I got my engagement ring in 1974, I let my father-in-law-to-be talk me into a very traditional platinum setting–a former jeweler, he claimed that people only used yellow gold settings to make poor quality, yellowish diamonds look whiter by comparison. My wedding band was yellow gold, and I was never happy with the mismatch, so 15 years later I finally got up the gumption to have the diamond re-set in a very simple, modern yellow gold setting. I still love it. As far as wedding bands are concerned, I like the tradition of the “band of gold”, and I even like the fact that, as a soft metal, gold bands “age” to show the passage of the years–mine, which I never take off (let’s face it, I’d have to cut it off at this point) has lost most of its etching, and has tiny dings and marks–but it’s an apt symbol of a marriage that has survived much wear and tear and is still going strong.</p>
<p>I have a very traditional solitaire set in yellow gold, but the wedding band is half of what was originally a wrap, with one round diamond and baguettes on each side. The jeweler offered to cut the original wrap in two and sold us one of the pieces. </p>
<p>Some time after D was born I had the solitaire and the band welded together so they wouldn’t move independently, which always drove me crazy. Unfortunately, I can’t always wear them now because my hands swell from fluid retention :(. Sometimes it sucks getting old.</p>
<p>Many people don’t realize that white gold is usually plated with rhodium to give it a brilliant finish. I’m not referring to cheap jewelry - Cartier, Bulgari, etc. all plate their white gold pieces with rhodium. This plating wears off fairly quickly but can be redone easily without removing any stones. If your white gold jewelry seems somewhat dull, have the rhodium re-plated.</p>
<p>Yellow gold jewelry will never be “out.” True, about 20 years ago it was rare to see many platinum or white gold engagement rings, this trend comes and goes. My mother’s rings were white gold, mine were yellow gold, and my h gave me platinum rings for our 10th anniversary. I wear both. I don’t like to mix metals, so I’ll go all yellow-toned or all silver-toned. The common thinking is that colorless D-G diamonds look best in platinum because gold adds unwanted color. Most large diamonds are mounted in platinum because it is stronger. My original yellow gold engagement ring - three round diamonds with the center stone slightly larger, has platinum prongs for these reasons.</p>
<p>I think gold looks better with warm colors and neutrals, and it is more flattering on most skin tones. IMO, emeralds and pearls look best in yellow gold. I wear platinum with black, grays and cool colors.</p>
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<p>You can have them enlarged. I recently did it - it costs about $100. My engagement ring and wedding band are welded together. My fingers swell up when it’s hot and I was tired of only being able to wear them part of the time.</p>
<p>I don’t ever wish my rings were a different metal even though gold is out of favor at the moment. I do wear a lot more silver these days but I guess I see my wedding ring as a symbol of ourselves at the time we were married and I will always love it just the way it is. Though, I did have the good fortunate to have a husband who took me to the jewelers and let me pick out my ring. It’s a very pretty ring - still get comments on it 22 years later. I also know with absolute certainty that fast forward another decade or so and platinum will be out of style and gold or another metal will probably be back in, so it’s kind of fruitless to try to keep with the current fad in rings. I have a friend who refuses to wear her yellow gold set (she doesn’t like gold anymore) and instead wears a fake CZ platinum set she picked up for $25. I can understand having your diamonds reset but not why someone would chose to wear a fake set over the real thing…though she recently left her husband so maybe the fact that she chose to wear a costume jewelry ring over her actual wedding ring was a symptom of a marriage in trouble.</p>
<p>I agree yellow gold now looks a bit dated but that’s life. My ring is an oval solitaire on a plain yellow gold band and I love it still. </p>
<p>My mother took the stone from her first engagement (to my biological father, who died years ago) and had it made into a necklace for me that I got on my 21st birthday. Just s simple drop on a gold chain. It looks a bit dated though but I don’t know if I should have it set / put on a white gold or platinum chain – thoughts? It also seems that the solo diamond drop look is dates and the trend is to put some small diamonds around the stone and make it more of a pendant. Thoughts and advice?</p>
<p>I think a simple solitaire diamond drop on a necklace is classic, I don’t see any reason to put more diamonds around it. I just gave D1 my diamond necklace set in gold, she wears it all the time. I have noticed she is wearing few more pieces of gold jewelry lately. Maybe it’s coming back with the younger set. </p>
<p>I have upgraded few times with my “engagement” and “wedding” rings. I don’t see anything wrong in doing it. They are set in platinum.</p>
<p>No upgrades or resettings here! Still sporting my yellow gold engagement ring with a solitaire diamond (purchased unset and later mounted) and a yellow gold wedding band with small inset diamonds. He wears a simple yellow gold band. We both have engravings on the inside. Still love them. Still love him.</p>
<p>I personally think that yellow gold is timeless and will never go out of style and I’m surprised that so many think it looks dated. </p>
<p>One way to update any look is to wear a wrist full of Alex and Ani bracelets - very trendy and attractive.</p>
<p>[Alex</a> and Ani | Eco-Friendly Fashion - Home Page](<a href=“http://www.alexandani.com/]Alex”>http://www.alexandani.com/)</p>
<p>PG, I agree with oldfort - your necklace does not seem outdated and what a wonderful gift from your mom. </p>
<p>When H and I got married he could not afford an engagement ring. We exchanged yellow gold 18K bands. Mine is wide and in a basket weave pattern in style or out I love it and will always wear it. </p>
<p>A few years after we were married and Hs practice was doing well, he wanted to buy me a diamond ring. I liked having only the wedding band and bought Nordstrom stock instead. That was a year before D was born. When we sold the stock a few years later the money was used to start Ds college fund.</p>
<p>How about tennis bracelets? Dated or timeless? (I don’t have one)</p>
<p>PG: I’m not a jewelry person–so this may just be ignorance on my part, but what is a tennis bracelet?</p>
<p>Never like tennis bracelets - very boring and most of them look cheap.</p>
<p>Bromfield - a hint - Chris Evert “invented” them.</p>
<p>Apparently CE was wearing one at a tournament and it broke, so she asked them to stop the tournament so she could collect the stones. You’ll know it when you see it, Bromfield. They did connote elegance at one point, but they now look somewhat dated to me. But that’s what I’m tagging my diamond pendant with, too :-)</p>
<p>This is pretty much what my diamond pendant looks like (though the stone is smaller than the size depicted here). I don’t know, I just don’t see this look much anywhere and I’m just not sure if it screams aging forty-something to wear this.</p>
<p>[1-1/2</a> CT. Certified Diamond Solitaire Pendant in 14K Gold - View All - Zales](<a href=“http://www.zales.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3528978&cm_ite=necklace&cm_cat=goo&cm_pla=necklace&cm_ven=paidsrch]1-1/2”>http://www.zales.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3528978&cm_ite=necklace&cm_cat=goo&cm_pla=necklace&cm_ven=paidsrch)</p>
<p>I got my first tennis bracelet in my 30s. It’s about 2 carat all together. My kids say it looks cute (as the diamonds are too small). I like tennis bracelet, especially when diamonds look like they just float without a lot of metals. I would like to upgrade at some point. </p>
<p>When traveling around Europe, I still see a lot of women wearing them. They wear multiple instead of just one.</p>