So this weekend my soon-to-be-official-fiance and I went engagement ring shopping and we designed the ring! When this baby lands on my finger it will be the nicest piece of jewelry I have ever owned, and for obvious reasons, will be my most treasured adornment. What is your favorite piece of jewelry? Do you wear it every day or just for special occasions? What makes it so special to you? Are you a silver, white gold, yellow gold, or platinum person?

-- Anonymous, January 24, 2001

Answers

and to answer my own question...

My blue moonstone bracelet is my favorite, because it has 9 blue moonstones-my favorite stone and my favorite number. It was a gift from my partner which he sent to me when we were far apart and I wear it almost every day. While I would love to be able to afford platinum, I wear silver and white gold. I also inherited this tiny little ring with what seems to be a rhinestone in a super elaborate setting, and while the ring has no worth to anyone outside of our family, that funny little rhinestone has a long and colorful history. I can't wear it because it is so tiny (and I wear a size 5 ring!) but when I want to feel close to my Great Granny, I hold it and think about her.

-- Anonymous, January 24, 2001

When my wife and I got engaged over nine years ago, we went to a custom jeweler and designed our own wedding rings. They are very similar to each other, but hers is bigger, heavier and has twice as many diamonds as mine. After a couple of years, she decided it was too heavy to wear all the time (she was a programmer and typed all day every day, so it got to be a literal drag), so she switched to a plain gold band. A couple of years after that, my ring wouldn't fit me anymore, so I got a nice heavy plain gold comfort band ring and now my wife wears her gold band plus my original custom ring. My original ring is still my favorite. I got lots of comments on it all the time because it's so unusual.

Last year we finally found the claddaugh rings we'd been looking for. So every day I wear my claddaugh on the middle finger of my right hand and my wedding band on the ring finger of my left hand.

Is a watch considered jewelry? We bought matching gold watches on a cruise a few years ago during which we renewed our wedding vows. Although I have other watches I really like, now I only wear this one, and I wear it every day. Every piece of jewelry I wear (two rings and a watch) is related to my marriage somehow. :-)

As far as which metals do I like, I like 'em all. :-)

-- Anonymous, January 24, 2001

I have a garnet and silver bracelet my boyfriend gave me when we first started dating that I love. It's so pretty that I would probably like it the most even if I bought it myself, but he was really sweet when he gave it to me. In passing, and on different occasions I had mentioned that I really like garnets (deep red ones, not orangey ones) and that I detested yellow gold... and he remembered! I wear it almost every day.

I also have a polished pewter cuff bracelet my parents gave me that I really like because it's unusual. It's got carnations etched into it and is engraved to me on the inside.

I suppose it bears mentioning that my birthday is in January... hence the carnations and garnets. I also like pieces that are traditional or old-fashioned looking. I have some beautiful things from my grandmother - rings, bracelets, and an antique watch - but I never wear them because they're yellow gold. The things I wear are all silver or white gold, and I have one pair of platinum earrings.

-- Anonymous, January 24, 2001

My favourite piece of jewelry is, of course, my engagement ring. It wasn't specially designed or anything, but it is exactly the kind of ring I wanted: not too big and not too common. It's got a round cut centre diamond with three little diamonds flanking it on each side. What really sets it off is this satin matte polishing on either side of the setting which then tapers into the plain gold of the band. My fiance and I picked it out together, and decided that this one looked "right" on my hand. When we finally decided that this was the one, we kissed and I got teary and so did the salesgirl. I'll always remember that. :)

-- Anonymous, January 24, 2001

Mine has to be my engagement ring. It's the only piece of jewelery I wear. My darling fiance went through weeks of painstaking searching to find a diamond that was pretty darn close to flawless. :-) It's one carat, princess cut...that means square...set in platinum. I couldn't think of anything more perfect for me.

-- Anonymous, January 24, 2001

My plain, wide, yellow gold wedding band is my favorite piece of jewelry. It belonged to my great-grandmother, and has been worn by the eldest daughter in the family ever since. There's a story behind it, which is what makes it special.

Second favorite piece is my watch. It's marcasite, with a slide bracelet band made up of goofy dogs. If you don't look closely you don't notice that they're dogs. So I can "sneak" wearing something kinda tacky even when I'm dressed up.

-- Anonymous, January 24, 2001

I'm not fond of jewelry for myself, but I enjoy buying it for my wife. I wear my college graduation ring on my left hand so it does double duty.It's made out of Siladium (??) it says and has a genuine Aquamarine which is pale medium blue in color. I own a couple of very expensive watches that I inherited but I never wear them because I'm hell on watches. I wear a gold-colored $30 watch with a black face that tells me what day it is from Wal-Mart. I've owned a succession of them and when they quit, instead of getting a new battery, I just get a new one and give the old one to a grandkid or nephew or niece or another kid to play with.

-- Anonymous, January 24, 2001

I love gold-gold. It matches my hair. I have bought myself my favorite pieces of jewelry. My favorite I just bought. It is a beautiful oval dark ruby with four small square rubies inlaided on either side and a small dimond on either side also. It had been marked down like 60%. Jewelers sure rip us off. I know someone who goes to Mexico, gets beautiful stones and then has someone up here design the rest for her. She has gorgeous pieces that cost a fraction of what stuff up here costs (unless you get it right after Christmas.

-- Anonymous, January 25, 2001

In the past I was afraid to be alone, so a friend of mine got me a little necklace with an angel hanging off it. She said I wouldn't be alone with the angel to look over me, and it made me feel a lot better. I never take the necklace off.

-- Anonymous, January 25, 2001

Our wedding rings are silver, and shaped like totem poles, if that makes sense. It's like the totem is wrapped around our fingers. Sadly, we both got fat and can't wear them now, but they're still cool, and my favourite piece. I'm not a big jewelry fan, so it's not like there's a lot of competition for that honour.

-- Anonymous, January 25, 2001