Thursday, January 15, 2009

Project Reuse Ex. 4: E-Ring, Part II

First off I should apologize for being a Debbie Downer with my post yesterday about the high environmental and social cost of gold. This blog is intended to be inspirational and fun and not scolding people and showcasing my own guilt for desiring gold and diamonds. Hopefully these few posts can be inspirational for others to choose more ethical jewelry options.

Anyway as promised here is a photo of my e-ring. I absolutely love it! It is an antique from the 1920s in the Art Deco style. I really wanted an antique ring because I am an archaeologist and love old things and also because I have romantic dreams of having a vintage ring passed down in our family some day. Although it will have to be after I am gone because I am not taking this one off.
I also really wanted an antique ring because it is the ultimate in reuse and recycling. Matt purchased the ring himself after I showed him a few pics of what I liked. I am a simple girl so I wanted a simple ring - but something with a little pizazz (i.e. the filigree visible in the ring profile) but not too much. I wanted something that looked like an e-ring but didn't have a huge honkin' solitaire. He wanted to replace the diamond and purchased an Arkansas diamond because in addition to recycling the gold we wanted a conflict free stone.

With every choice there are tradeoffs, pros and cons. So hopefully our ring choice is a more sustainable option than a new purchase and we have done a little more to make our wedding a little greener.

This is also my 100th post. I think it is very fitting that it is about my engagemnet ring, it is what started our wedding process and hence this blog. Today also happens to be the anniversary of our 1st date. Aah, how momentous.

10 comments:

Mrs. B said...

It's gorgeous! I love old vintage things as well. I'm trying to create a 'vintage' themed wedding...we shall see if I succeed!

Anonymous said...

love you and I love your ring

melissa said...

Umm, I am hoping the Anonymous post above is from my mom (who is sort of getting the hang of how to post comments).

Otherwise that is sort of creepy...

AmyJean {Relentless Bride®} said...

I love it, and i love the vintage look!

PS. I want to go mining down in Arkansas :)

RelentlessBride

PS. That is so cute your mom is learning how to post! :)

Rachel said...

What a beautiful ring!!

And congratulations on your first-date anniversary!

Ellen Mint said...

Yellowing of pictures is usually due to relying on indoor lighting and the flash. If you can, it's best to take pictures outdoors without needing the flash. It'll also help to keep the pictures from being too dark.

But when you don't have an option then you can use photoshop to alter the colors. It's just something you have to play with to get it right.

If you'd like I could try editing some of your pictures to show the different options.

Anonymous said...

Happy 100th post! :) I'm posting a purple flower board for you tomorrow.

Hannah said...

Wow! I've never seen a ring like that, it's awesome!

Cyd said...

Gorgeous! I love vintage rings for both the environmental reasons and the aesthetic ones!

Kelly said...

I love art deco (and your ring!) Since you're an archaeologist you need to have a dirty trash the dress session, for sure!