[kaplods]

I don't remember when I had to stop wearing my wedding set, but it's been at least 3 years. I've not gotten it resized, because it's crazy expensive (they charge you to take the rings apart, resize each ring and then to put it together again).

I've had a couple cheap bands that I've worn (under $15), but when the last one got too big (and fell into a public restroom garbage can - no way I was going in after it), I decided that if I was going to replace it, it would be with a nice ring.

Well yesterday, we found THE ring in a pawn shop (hubby and I love pawn shop jewelry).

I love the ring's simplicity. It's a thin 14K gold bypass band with 3 small diamonds channel set between the bypassing band.

Hubby was astonished that I wanted a ring with diamonds in it (I've never been a diamond fan, I like colorful stones. My original engagement ring was a 2K aquamarine, which around our 5th anniversary I had replaced with a custom-cut aquamarine). My wedding band surrounded the aquamarine with small diamonds (my husband's birthstone) and blue saphire (because they're purty - but we considered it appropriate that they're said to symbolize fidelity).


It's just nice to have a ring on that finger again.

The ring is delicate enough that when I get to goal, it can be sized down to fit my pinky.

[mottainai]

That's great, kaplods!! It sounds really lovely. So glad you were able to find one you like.


My wedding ring story: I've only been married for 10 months, but DH and I are already wearing replacement ones! Our originals were very expensive gold bands...and after only a few months, I had a scare of losing mine (found it in the produce drawer in the fridge lol), and DH totally lost his while snowboarding! So we're both wearing like $20 silver bands now, I'm keeping my original safe for special occasions, and saving up to buy him a new one within a couple of years. xD

[time2lose]

That's great, kaplods! I understand as I have had several versions of wedding rings. I have never looked in a pawn shop for jewelry. Hum, I will have to try that!

[4star]

Yay! That sounds very pretty and it's got gems...I never met a gemstone I didn't like. Gosh, your original ring sounded beautiful too. I love blue sapphires.

My band is too big now so we bought a titanium band to wear that holds it on and now it just looks like a 2-tone wedding band. I will usually wear the engagement ring between them(when I wear it).

[kaplods]

Originally Posted by time2lose

That's great, kaplods! I understand as I have had several versions of wedding rings. I have never looked in a pawn shop for jewelry. Hum, I will have to try that!

You'll love it, because the price savings is tremendous, and some will guarantee that the ring will appraise (for replacement value) at or above the sale price.

For example, the pawn shop where we bought this ring has such a guarantee, so that if we take it to a jeweler within 30 days to have it appraised and it doesn't appraise at or above the purchase price, we can get our money back.

Hubby really knows his gems though and so he just asked for the jewelers loup and looked himself.

The first ring I looked at was a gold band with six or seven channel set diamonds (it was a more "impressive" looking ring), but when hubby saw it under magnification, he admitted it was a good value, but one of the stones was cracked, and two more would need to be reset. He told me it would probably be "worth it" to do the repairs, but I wanted a ring that didn't need any work done to it (beyond resizing if it still fit in the budget).

Depending on the pawn shop, sometimes the rings can be sold at 1/2 to 3/4 of their retail value (sometimes you can save even more).

In the car, hubby told me he thought we'd gotten an exceptional deal (more like 1/4 of the retail price), and he wondered whether the ring had been in the shop for a very long time, because he thought it relatively underpriced compared to the other rings.

I think it was probably underpriced because it's not flashy at all. It's very understated, so I think it's a ring that's easily overlooked.

That's another factor that can work for you. If you like jewelry that isn't currently in demand, you can often save even more.

I love aquamarines, and in Illinois where we lived they were very popular, so they didn't come into the pawn shops very frequently, and they were (compared to the other gems) not so well priced.

Where we live now in Wisconsin, they don't seem to be as much in demand, so there's often many rings to choose from, and they're very well priced.

I almost bought a huge aquamarine that even I could tell would appraise at a value MUCH higher than it's price tag, but I didn't really need another aquamarine as much as I wanted a wedding band (though the part of me that says I can never have too many aquamarines was a bit disappointed).

As much as I love aquamarines, the channel set diamonds are much more practical. Aquamarines like emeralds and other beryls are relatively soft, so they chip and scratch quite easily with daily wear.

[LockItUp]

Wooohooo! That's great!!! I was ecstatic when I could wear my engagement and wedding rings again!

Your aquamarine and sapphire ring sounds gorgeous!!!

Can you post a pic of your new ring?

[theox]

Congratulations! That's really cool, and it sounds like a pretty ring!