On Friday, October 16th, we picked up my engagement ring from our jeweler! Selecting a jeweler was tough for us because--let's face it--I am picky. I began with a very clear idea of exactly what I wanted. If you know me, you know I was willing to accept only very few, very minor compromises in the design.
It all began with this beauty:
This is an image of a 15th century French gimmel ring. Gimmels were popular for many hundreds of years as their interlocking design is symbolic of union. They were commonly inscribed with verses from romantic poems when they were given as tokens of love or marriage. Here is the same ring as above closed as it would appear on the finger.
Here is a more elaborate gimmel shown open and closed. Note the tiny sculptures of a skeleton and a baby decorated with enamel. This ring was meant to symbolize both the beginning and end of life:
Rewind about 6 months when we fell in love with and bought a pear shaped diamond from our jeweler. Here is a pear cut ring that I adore to give you an idea of the stone.
Now, here's how all of these ideas were synthesized into one stellar ring:
NOT! Because the ring is totally bitchin' I want as many people as possible to see the ring in person before I publish photos of it. Look for a Bling--Part 2 in the coming months!
If you would like to learn more about gimmel rings or rings in general, check out the work of Diana Scarisbrick, especially her Rings: Symbols of Wealth, Power and Affection and Rings: Jewelry of Power, Love and Loyalty.
0 comments:
Post a Comment