That’s my nth wedding ring in the photo. It’s called a Trinity ring designed by Cartier. Am not sure if it’s the fourth or the fifth though. I first saw the Trinity ring online and I went nuts over it. Speedy couldn’t get the tri-colored version in my size though so he got me the all-yellow gold version instead.
Like I said, it’s not our original wedding ring. The first one had been recycled and I don’t know anymore if it eventually became another ring, a pair of earrings or part of a bracelet. Perhaps, it has gone through all three forms. It was a large heavy band with bark etching, custom-made per Speedy’s specifications.
Wedding rings are special and we want ours to be unique, right? It is this obsession over having a one-of-a-kind wedding ring that sparked the $50 million lawsuit that Brad Pitt slapped against Damiani International when the jeweler started selling replicas of the ring that Brad Pitt designed for Jennifer Aniston.
We never considered buying ready-made rings. Speedy was very particular about the design so we commissioned my mother’s jeweler (from Meycauayan, Bulacan) and the discussion over the design began. If you look at ready-made rings, or if you browse through jewelry catalogs, you will notice that the inner part of rings, especially those of wide bands, are hollow. We didn’t want that. We wanted the inner part — the part touching the skin — to be flat. Because the design would make the ring more than one-fourth inch wide, and the top was domed, you can imagine how heavy the finished weddings bands turned out. Solid solid gold.
It wasn’t until months later that I would start questioning the practicality of the design. The rings were so wide and fat that when I held the fingers of my left hand upright, there was always a gaping V between my pinky and ring finger, and between my ring finger and index finger. Not only that. During humid days, I would get blisters. Because the ring was flat inside — that’s over one-fourth inch of metal wrapped around my finger — my skin couldn’t breathe.
It was a heavy ring. So heavy that when Speedy and I fought one time and I threw the ring across the room at him (he dodged and I missed his head), the sound was like a bushing clanging against a series of solid objects. The sound was so startling that we both paused for a few seconds before we resumed arguing. I am not kidding. There are things I can never forget and that episode is one of them. Even Speedy, forgetful as he is most times, remembers that.
We called the ring a bushing after that. It looked like a bushing, actually, except that it was gold, etched and domed. The domed design made it a lot heavier.
It wasn’t long after that we started thinking of having new wedding rings. We had moved in with my mother by then and with the Meycauayan jeweler over at the house at least once every week, well, why not unless I wanted more blisters or unless I really wanted to smash something next time we had a fight and I threw the bushing across the room at my husband.
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I love that diamond ring! It would sure look sexy in my finger…. jewelry is my weakness although syempre hindi ako mayaman so I cannot afford everything I like. When I see rematado sale sa mga pawnshop, nakiki-usyoso ako agad and some department store offers lay-away plans, kahit nga paiyakan style pinapatulan ko! at least kahit pano, nakaka-ipon ako ng jewelry na pwede kong isangla pag kinapos ako ng pera. hehehehe
^ok ang punchline ha? hahaha!
i have been wanting to get new sets, hindi ko masyadong type yung original, not to mention na hindi na kasya sa amin and we’re too tamad to have them adjusted. once talked about this idea with friends and relatives, and they said it was wrong, something about ito kasi ang na-bless ng pari. pero come to think of it, it’s the vows that matter the most, pag yon ang napalitan patay na, hahaha!
I like simple wedding band. It’s our second ring because we both got fatter. this second one is white gold and made in Italy. the problem is we lost weight and need a third smaller ring. hehe
We don’t wear our wedding rings, too. Unfortunately, when my wife and I got married, we decided to shoulder the expenses on our own, asking for help where it is possible. One of our friends came from Saudi who promised to give us the rings as a present. What happened was hers was too big, and mine, too small. We tried to have it fixed but the jeweler said it would not be possible. My ring finger was too big that the gold content would not fit both our fingers. Ergo, when we got married, I wore mine on my pinky finger and hers on her middle finger. That was the last time we saw those rings. But here we are, twenty two years of marriage and still going strong.
The point is, it is the marriage relationship that counts and not material, symbolical things. I’m sure your marriage is just as strong.
Cute ng history ng wedding rings nyo. The trinity ring of cartier is one of my favorite designs. I don’t have one myself pero gustong gusto ko pa din siya. My wedding ring is just a simple band with 7 diamonds that came from a bracelet that my mom gave me when I was younger. Even the gold for the ring came from the same bracelet. Sabi nga nung alahera ko tamang-tama daw yun kasi dapat odd number lagi ang dami ng diamonds na nilalagay sa ring. Don’t know the logic behind it pero sinunod ko pa din.
lady cess, except for the bushing, none of our wedding rings were “blessed”. hehehehehe
noemi, alam mo the most practical talaga is just a band — plain without etchings (so they don’t scratch the skin) and with no stones (for easy maintenance and no need to worry about loose prongs). kaya happy na ako talaga sa Trinity ring. It moves, allowing the skin to breathe, it’s smooth and without stones.
you’re right, tito rolly, ornament lang naman yung ring. kahit magpalit araw araw o kung walang ring pareho lang yun.
Kongkong, odd number para may “center”. The only exception is the eternity ring kasi wala naman front and back yun.
Poor me…di ako makarelate…I lost our wedding ring days ago..and my wife didn’t know yet..help!
How do you break that kind of news?
Sam
Carefully..??
Wouldn’t solid gold be too soft? That’s why they mix it with something else?
Our wedding ring is nicely designed because it’s not too plain or too gaudy that’s why we haven’t thought of changing it. I had mine for resized for free when I gained weight and they also clean it for free(lifetime benefit).
It must be such a difficult thing to say that the wedding ring is lost, I lost 1 of the diamond earrings that my husband gave me for Christmas and I felt so awful that I wouldn’t want to have it replaced. Even if it was .25 carrat.
“solid gold” is commercial term. it can mean anything from 12K to 22K. 22K to 24K is usually called “Chinese gold”.
Yang lost stones, that happened so many times with me already. It feels awful for a while but then wala naman magagawa.
Grabe, deadly weapon pala ang wedding ring mo. Amusing story, though! Same here with our wedding rings–especially made–and one-of-a-kind yung sa amin. I had my band designed so it hugs my engagement ring. It is shaped as if it is my hubby’s band’s, other half…btw, I’ve been meaning to ask–bumalik na ba si Salt?
wow so many “wedding” rings
Would you believe I was the one who bought our wedding rings? I went to Chinatown with a friend as my soon-to-be-hubby was still in London. And my ring is bigger than his in size… The alahera kept on arguing with me that it’s impossible. To shut her up I said my fiance is “tingting” in size.
I outgrew the ring & haven’t worn it for at least a year. Hubby doesn’t wear his when he’s at work (which is always). The other day we were going somewhere & he wore his & insisted I wear mine, too. I told him I won’t until he gets me a bigger & “brighter” version. Hindi sumagot!
lette, di na sya bumalik. sobrang nakaka-depress i haven’t updated the cat blog since we lost him.
LOL Auee, isulat mo nang buo yung kwento sa blog mo. Kung ako yung alahera, I wouldn’t have believed either na mas malaki ring size mo.
Hehehe… I threw my wedding ring too – but not at my husband, but outside the window. When things cooled down the following day, I went to the vacant lot where it landed, but never found it.
Since then, I never wore a wedding ring anymore. Ayaw ko na rin magpagawa, kasi for me – it would have no significance anymore, unless we wed again.
LOL laking gastos pala kung nagkataon. hehehe
Actually, if we really think about it, “rings” — that’s a slave custom. Like branding with hot iron.
Sorry to hear about Salt Ate Connie. I know how you feel. Our dog has been diagnosed with cancer and it’s been tough, and it’s difficult to blog about it. It was also tough on the bulsa.
KK, like you can’t talk about him, di ba? Sometimes, I dig through my hard drive and see all his pics and well… kaya wala mangyari sa resolve to go on with the cat blog. Everytime I see Salt’s pics, kaka-depress pa rin.
Yung amin thick plain wedding band pero may engraved na names, name ko sa asawa ko, name ng asawa ko sa akin para magkaalaman agad at wala ng magbalak hahaha!
I love the way you captured your ring. Galing! Pwede nang pang-ad!
wow! daming wedding rings! Our wedding rings were made by my husband’s uncle, who is a jeweler. The rings were given to us as their gift on our wedding. My husband saw the design on the internet and printed it to show his uncle the design. It was made from white gold, a simple wedding band without any diamonds on it. We have resized my ring because my fingers got fatter…only my fingers ha…hehe…
Mitch, ang hirap i-photograph ng ring, grabe! Lalo na yung may bato. Parating may reflections. Take 1, take 2, take 3…
Bang, okay yun ah, libre na wedding rings. kami wala kamg-anak na jeweler eh…
Re : captured ring, at least it’s worth it – the last take.
I’ve told my significant other that I’m not a ring wearing kind of gal, so just buy me a watch (I showed him the Phillipe Patek watch, and he really blanched!). He’s now trying to suggest we get rings na lang hehehe.
i enjoyed reading your column especially about the wedding ring. even before i got married mayroon na akong design ng wedding ring na gusto ko. pati nga invitation eh mayroon na rin. kaya ng mag-asawa ako eh nasunod yon. siguro sa kababaihan eh ako ang kakaiba kasi mas type ko ang white gold. ever since kasi wala pa akong watch na pure gold it’s always white o kaya eh combination pero mas ang silver.
mitch, i would have taken more (hoping for even better ones) kaya lang the kids were pissed already because i had that red cloth spread out on the entire coffee table in the living room. bawal gumalaw (baka magka-shadow), bawal mag-electric fan (baka liparin yung cloth), bawal maingay (kasi nalilito ako) hahahahaha
Mila, re watch: now that’s practical. and smart. hope you convince him hehehehe
yette, my mother is a white gold person too. her reason is that with white gold, it doesn’t matter whether it’s 12k, 14k or 18k — they look the same.
i will go for that diamond ring anytime. as for the “bushing” i would love to have it, for security purpose (it’s a deadly weapon, i think) LOL
If it had angles, the deadlier hehehehehe
I bet ang mga regalo sayo ni Speedy mo yung di complicated ang design or plain lang para safe na di sya magkabukol LOL!
Ay terible ka palang maging photographer, susuko ang model sayo hehe!
Hi Connie. What an interesting story behind your wedding rings.
Our wedding rings are white gold replicas of Tiffany & Co. bamboo jewelry series. I haven’t worn mine for a while now. I lost weight and the ring became loose. When I went to Boracay with friends, I almost lost it. I found it later on inside the room just hours before our flight home. After that I just kept the ring at home.
LOL Mitch, sya kasi yung mahilig sa mabigat at makapal. Husay nga umilag hahahahaha
Rach, I love bamboo design. The ring that Speedy gave me on the night of the cheese cookies, pinatunaw ko ang had them made into a set of ring and earrings — star rubies with a bamboo frame. Ma-picture-an nga minsan hehehehe
my soon ex husband said our marriage partly ended when i threw my wedding ring at his face
i said on fit on anger it was just the symbol not the marriage itself well he did not get it
over na rin i love that cartier ring
some people take everything personally, ‘no, sha? like an angry act is equal to hating the person totally. tsk tsk.
Unrelated comment: re: about our pets,I finally talked about our dog in my blog.