The Ring

Of course, every proposal involves a ring. The ring Andrew gave to me has a very special history. It belonged to his great aunt. She was from a well-to-do family that lived in a rural area, and her father didn't want her dating any of the local boys who he considered unworthy of his refined child. To keep her and her sister from feeling like they were "missing out", he showered them with special gifts, including a diamond ring for each of them. (Andrew's brother, Chris, used the other one to propose to his wife, Jen.) I think it is interesting that neither of Andrew's great aunts ever married, but both of their rings are now wedding rings.

This image really doesn't do the ring justice. It is an eighteen karat, white gold ring of hand construction; fauna design. It contains an Old European Cut diamond and is of highly desirable clarity and color. We actually didn't know any of this until we went to have it appraised. It was like going to Antiques Road Show - very fun! It turns out that Old European Cut was hand-faceted and is no longer done. Its method has been replaced by later technology and now is usually seen only in rings from the 1870s through the 1930s. I really had my reservations about diamond rings in general - I've seen brides-to-be trying to outdo each other with the biggest rock - but when Andrew pulled this ring out of his pocket I knew it was perfect for me.