Introduce Myself - A Lurker no more!

[tagafabo]

Hi,
I have been a long time lurker, but have come out of lurking. I''ve graduated!

I''ll make this as short as possible. We have been married for 25 years. I wore my wedding ring constantly, 24/7. To be honest; I am a ring killer. My wedding set was into the jewelers at least 6 times (in 25 years) for gold cracks and diamonds lost. I seriously thought that I''d never get rid of my original set. I was very attached to it. We had the ring custom made, back in 1985.

The picture here is of my original set. Wedding ring, engagement ring and anniversary band. We had them soldered together for stability ... ha ha little did we know I could STILL kill it!

Last time we had it in to our jeweler he told us that this is the final fix. The ring would last another 5 years, then I''d have to think about what to do next. Well, the ring did last five more years. Right after our 24th anniversary, it broke for the final time. At that time we decided we would buy an upgrade on our 25th. (which was March 200

My "large" center stone is 38 points. Not sure total weight of my set, but it was over 1 carat. It seemed HUGE to me in 1985.

Since I was so darn attached to this ring...I couldn''t get rid of it. My jeweler suggested re-using the diamonds by putting them into a necklace...

 

[tagafabo]

Here''s the necklace which is inspired by and similar to Leslie Greene''s jewelery:

Man it''s hard take good pictures!! There are seven diamonds on the 15" chain, and more in the pendant. All the diamonds are from my original ring, with a few added smaller diamonds.

 

[tagafabo]

Here are two photos together for comparison.

 

[LaurenThePartier]

Gorgeous pendant! I love how you've reset your original ring!

 

[tagafabo]

Another of the pendant

 

[Irishgrrrl]

WOW!!! It''s GORGEOUS!!!

And what a great idea to reuse the stones from your first wedding set . . . I can understand how you were very attached to them and wanted to keep them. I think the necklace turned out great! Just beautiful!

So, what does your new, upgraded wedding set look like? Can we see pictures? Please???

 

[kcoursolle]

Wow, I loooove your necklace!!! It is gorgeous and I would love one like it!!!

Are the diamonds in your wedding set in good shape? If so, you could re-use them and re-set them into a lovely eternity band. I''m not sure what your upgrade budget is going to be, but you could use the .30 as a sidestone in a three-stone ring. It would be a gorgeous set!

 

[shortee78]

Love love love how you were able to salvage your original wedding set and make a new necklace out of it. It''s breathtaking!

Congrats on 25 years!!

 

[tagafabo]

Okay enough of the old, on with the new.

As I mentioned in a previous thread before, we purchased my upgrade before being introduced to Pricescope. Yes, we could have saved some $$ and time, but that is behind us now.

We decided to fly 400 miles back to our original jeweler, the same one we used to design our wedding band in 1985. Russ is still there and has actually taken over the family business along with his brother. He seemed to remember us, or at least remembered the troublesome ring!

We chose our setting, then chose the diamond. What does this ring killer do but choose a micropave ring!?!? I wear the ring constantly (except to clean, shower and work out), and so far, knock on wood, have not lost a stone. I''ve had the ring since March. If I do lose stones, I will probably have the diamond reset, as I do not want another high maintenance ring. But I fell in love with the setting immediately.

I will be searching for bands to match, really like pink sapphire bands, probably will put one of each side.

Okay stats on the ring are minimal as we decided to buy a diamond that was on consignment and is not certified. But it doesn''t matter at all to us, as we LOVE it. G-H VS2 2.0 carat. Ring size is 6-1/4 but my actual ring size is 5-3/4. As my jewelers put so eloquently, I have LARGE knuckles. That''s why I have the sizing beads.

Before going into the jewelers I was pretty set on getting a 1.5 carat stone and nothing larger. My husband FORCED me (bad man!) to get a 2 carat. I have to admit, I''m glad he did, because it doesn''t look so big on my hand anymore. Would have regretted getting anything smaller.

Please pardon my old hands ... but I''ve earned every wrinkle!

 

[beachbunny20]

WOW!

I have always been a little skeptical of taking old stones and resetting them into something new (not sure why), but this pendant is so beautiful! I love it!

Did your jeweler design it, or did you? Because if your jeweler did, then they are worth every penny!

 

[beachbunny20]

your new ring = WHOA!

love it. good luck with the micro pave. i''m a ring killer too! and so far, no missing stones (since last october). i figured if i could make it until the wedding in august without losing the ring or any of it''s stones, than it was a good sign! lol. but yeah, your new ring is gorgeous!

 

[tagafabo]

another pic

 

[tagafabo]

another one which is my avatar (sp?). My ever so patient 2 year old rescue labradoodle, Elmer John

 

[tagafabo]

This is the last photo as I''m getting too many error messages on pictures. I wanted to add two more, but having problems. I''ll attach one silly one now and try to add more much later.

Thanks to all of you for you great compliments!

"My Ring Worm"

 

[gwendolyn]

Wow, that reset is amazing! I love it!! Your upgrade is gorgeous too, and your dog is pretty darn adorable as well. I think that covers everything--OH! And your hubby is a doll to have insisted on a 2ct stone.

 

[Miranda]

Congratulations on 25 years!

First off, your dog is just adoreable! What a sweetie! Second, welcome to PS! Third, WOW your pieces are gorgeous! Great job with the reset! I love that necklace. And your ring is blingtastic!

 

[kcoursolle]

On my goodness!!! I didn''t realize you already had something picked out. Your new ring is simply incredible!!! I love the micropave and it looks great on your finger!!!!! Gorgeous!!! And 2 carats to boot...what a guy! What did you do with your old rings?

 

[MonkeyPie]

Your new ring is GORGEOUS! Maybe if you lose any stones in this one, you can put a colored stone in it and use it as an occasional right hand ring - that amazing setting cannot go to waste!

 

[Catmom]

I absolutely LOVE your pendant remake!! It''s beautiful and your new ring is gorgeous!! Congratulations on 25 years!

 

[shortee78]

Your new setting is gorgeous!!! Wow, it''s amazing that you flew back to your original jeweler. Now that''s loyalty!

I also love how you said "bad man" about your husband and how he FORCED you to get the bigger rock! Sounds like my hubby! When we were initially thinking diamond upgrade (no longer thinking it btw, not for 6 more years), I wanted a 1.25 carat, but he was set on a 1.5-er.

 

[tagafabo]

I''ll be darned, I was finally able to add another picture.

First of all, thanks to all of you for looking and your comments. I LOVE looking at all of your jewelery. Wished I would have found Pricescope before. I have referred many people to this website. It has to be the most informative website I''ve ever found and full of knowledge! I''m addicted.

kcoursolle - I thought about an eternity band, but I changed my mind to the necklace you see in the photos. The diamonds were reused in the necklace.

beachbunny20 (my fellow ring killer) - my jeweler did design the necklace, inspired by one of Leslie Greene''s, which he had on display to show me.

Gwen - thanks. I have read a lot of your posts. You are always so positive, a sweet person.

Miranda - Elmer John thanks you! And so do I!

MonkeyPie - We are on the same page. I thought that I''d put in a colored stone and wear as a RHR. I love color changing garnets (my birthstone).

shortee78 - Yes, going back to the original jeweler was very romantic. My husband usually not romantic, but this time proved me wrong. He''s awesome. Sometimes hubbies know better! We also decided to buy him a nice watch too, since he has put up with me for 25 years! Ha ha.

Thanks again to all of you. I may not be able to respond to other posts for a few days, as we are moving (only 1 mile away) and I am doing a lot of cleaning and packing.

Thank you, Tammy

 

[Diamond*Dana]

Holy cow, your necklace turned out beautifully! And I love your new ring...so pretty!

 

[2danes]

Tammy,
Thanks for sharing your story! I got a few good giggles and "awwws" from reading it.
Your necklace is absolutely amazing! Spectacular work, and what a perfect place for your original diamonds.
Your new ering is to die for. Congratulations to you, and 25 years!!! Wow! That''s just fabulous!

Annie

 

[ahappygirl]

Congratulations on 25 yrs of marriage! I seriously love the pendant. What a treasure to have!! AND of course that 2 ct firecracker is stunning. You chose a beautiful setting to showcase it. Wow.

Congratulations again!!

 

[Skippy123]

Wow, beautiful pieces and your 2 carat ering!!! Congrats on 25 wonderful years!!! Wooooo hooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 

[julesbeth]

For a first post, you knocked us out of the ballpark! Your two pieces are just gorgeous. Its so wonderful that you we able to re-use your diamonds into that fabulous necklace and your new upgraded ring is just to die for. Congrats on 25 years!

 

[septembergirl]

This is such a great post! I love the new life given to your original wedding set; it seems like it is symbolic of the way love can continue to evolve and get better with time! Your new ring is stunning and you are a lucky lady! Congrats!!!

 

[twocarat]

wow i love that ring is that pave or micropave..... ???

 

[twocarat]

nevermind i just read the whole thing haha sorry ...........i love your ring!!!

 

[Shay37]

Your new ring is really beautiful. I also love, love, love the pendant.

shay