diamonds as status symbol

[Clarygrace]

I''ve always loved beautiful things, jewelry is one of them...my mother''s brother was a jeweler and my Mom loved diamonds, and her brother was a great resource, my dad''s wallet was too!
She wasn''t flashy about it though, very tasteful and stuff. My sis and I inherited her jewelry when she passed away and both of us enjoy wearing it, as it reminds us of her and we know she''s smiling down and happy that we love her sparklies as much as she did! One day, it will be passed down to the next generation to enjoy and remember Granny by.

 

[reader]

Gems to me have a talismanic quality...I might not be wearing what looks good, but what makes me feel good.

Mom had a 1/5 ct center stone that flashed blue, and I loved it when I was a kid.

I have 2 diamond rings: one is "Freedom". My first husband was abusive, and when I left him, I sold pretty much everything he had given me, took my daughter to a pawnshop and we picked a ring. That way, she could inherit something that looks like a family wedding ring from me, but no bad memories of her dad. (It''s a .68 I1, (huge feather right under the table) with a strong blue flouresence, and you can see rainbows from quite far away)

The marquise represents quite a lot to my small family now. Thirteen years ago, I left my husband with some jewelry,(sold for about 500 bucks later on) our clothes and six dollars in change. My scholarship was gone, no way to even think about getting it back, and my baby was 8 months old.
Now, before I met my fiance, I bought a house, 2 new to me cars,(have to have them for work) and got my kid into the local private school. It took working multiple jobs, and sometimes having to take some awful jobs, but I did it. My fiance was an undergrad when we met, and money issues were tight when we got engaged. So, now he has his master''s and I am working a dual appointment with the postal service (about to get my own route!~all I need is one more retirement!) so money is better.
We both paid for the marquise, and we both paid for his VW bus...to us, that is our symbols of both of us busting our humps to reach our dreams, and supporting one another with them. He plays with my ring when we go out, I''ll co-drive his bus once restoration is further along.
I am warm, I am safe, I am well fed, and when the miles seem endless I have an amazing ring to both cheer me and make me think of my great new family.
I don''t wear makeup, but did waste money on laser treatments for my rosacea this year. I have no fashion sense so I don''t try with clothes. All of our cars have over 120k (my work jeep hit 183k this week...GO JANET!!!) Furniture was recently upgraded to Ikea (hey Ikea is 2 hours away!!) We camp for vacations or sleep in the car for mini-cations. We do have cable and cable internet. Computers were purchased used.

 

[Cehrabehra]

reader!
I love the symbolism of your first diamond... how the feather is there reminding of a healed heart and yet it is so beautiful!
which is the marquise? did I miss something? what shape is the other one?

 

[Cehrabehra]

Not exactly on topic, but not worth its own thread.... LOL

I've been really thinking about all of this size/status stuff... the stuff about the women who aredisappointed in their stones.... how people are treated because of this or that etc. and I feel very bothered by it. I *love* my stone, it is like the most beautiful material thing I have, it's pretty and performs tricks and the ring is going to be more than anything i have ever wished to own.... but I'm having the opposite reaction to some of these women in that I want to ONLY wear it at home when no one else can see it. I haven't been wearing any ring the last week or so - hadn't thought about why just haven't... maybe in anticipation... and I had to talk with some workmen out on the street and I was patting a stone wall and I thought to myself wow, I look single... and wished I had my beautiful gold band on.... then I thought wow, what if I had this crazy sparkle diamond sitting there, does that give too much info about what we have? What does it really say and do I *want* it to speak for me? So I have been thinking more and more and I really like the plain gold band thing. It is mysterious and tells no tales other than "I'm married". It is plain comfort fit so it doesn't give away a year or decade of trend, it doesn't ask you to wonder if it is real, it doesn't ask you to wonder what I paid, it doesn't draw attention to it, it just is and is quietly.

So yes, I still want my beautiful ring, I just don't want to wear it ::sigh:: Not in public. I want to wear it every moment when I'm at home or in the car and I've even started thinking about how I could put snaps or something in my bra so I can take it off when I go in stores. I want it and I want to wear it, I just don't want to be a part of that whole judgmental materialistic thing and love my anonymity. Ugh!!!! I've always been anti-status etc. We are actually doing VERY well financially but I don't like to show it... I love the humility of a plain band and how it focuses all of the meaning and none of the materialsm... and the ring I'm making is a stand alone ring... and I'm not going to wear my band? I'm suddenly sad and frustrated.... this is too much money to not wear. What do you think of he snap in the bra idea? LOL sadly, I'm serious!!!

 

[reader]

Skip the bra snaps. Bras are a great way to lose jewelry. Also, let me be blunt, but breast sweat dulls stones pretty fast.
(The marquise has been posted about a month ago or so, my camera stinks so there really is only one good pic of it..."Freedom" is a RB and bought because of "Mommy! It shoots RAINBOWS")

About noticing and conspicious consumption: Probably the only person who will notice your ring enough to feel odd about it is you. It has become pretty standard for there to be a diamond on a woman''s hand. I''ve been carrying mail in some of the toughest sections of my town, and frankly, only one person even noticed my ring, and she was wearing an over 1 ct old mine cut in a pave setting. That ring has belonged to her husband''s grandmother. It was nice talking to her: she was so proud that despite having her home robbed five times, no one ever took that ring because she never takes it off.
Anything over a carat might look fake to folks in a lot of the world,and, since you have a older cut you can just say "Its a family stone" Since, you really can''t sell a family stone...only other option is to wear it.

 

[Cehrabehra]

reader - I just looked up your ring and I remember it! tht is the most beautiful pic of a marquise I think I''ve ever seen!!

Thanks for the words - I figure at the very least I''m a little bit of a home body and I always have PS and my friends won''t care and maybe it will come in handy in some situations - being a "status symbol" and all lol It''s just sooo not me.