If you no longer wear your original engagement or wedding ring I would love to hear your story.

I have been married 25 years and have not worn my original wedding set (or any other ring for that matter) during most of the last fifteen years. I would like a new wedding ring (or rings) but am having a great deal of trouble deciding what exactly to do with my original ring. (It is a yellow gold set that is soldered together with a half carat (.46) center diamond and two three pointers.)

I am hoping that by hearing your answers to these questions it will help me decide what I want to do.

1. How many years were you married before getting a new ring?
2. Why did you get a new ring? (No longer liked the original, wanted a different metal or bigger stone, etc?)
3. What did you do with your original ring? (Use the diamond in a new engagement or wedding ring, set the diamond in a pendant, save it in original state for sentimental value or something else?)
4. Are you happy with the decision you made regarding your original ring, any regrets?
5. Do you consider yourself a sentimental person in general?

I have learned so much from reading the threads on this board and appreciate all of the input you wonderful ladies give. TIA for taking the time to tell me your story.

1. I've been married 28 years and just got a new set this year.

2. I wanted a bigger centre stone. In my day a .25 to .3 ct centre stone was considered the norm. Mine is a .25ct diamond.

3. I haven't yet decided what to do with my original ring. I've had various thoughts - pendant, purchase a matching diamond and make studs, incorporate it into a new piece of jewellery.

4. I'm very happy that I decided to upgrade the size of the stone. I'm feeling very hesitant about actually taking the original ring apart, and that kind off answers #5 - I'm more sentimental than I thought! When I purchased my new ring, I was sure that I would purchase a matching stone and make studs. Somehow I talked myself out of that (why would I support diamond mining? Why would I spend $800-$900 on just one diamond and then pay more to have earrings made, when I could have a beautiful pair of Amora moissy earrings for less?)

As for my original band, I still wear it with my new engagement ring. My husband has a couple of wedding bands that he switches around (and he's in the market for a new one this year LOL) but we would never "re-do" our originals. A part of it is sentimental but the other part is that when he took the rings to be engraved a few days before our wedding, he actually told the jeweller the wrong date! Our anniversary is Sept 6, the rings are engraved with Sept. 7.

Wow, I'm probably going to sound horrible!
1) We got engaged when we were 18 with a very tiny round diamond. After my husband got back from Iraq, for our second anniversary he traded it up for a .70 princess cut. I've had that all the way until now (we've been married almost 10 years). But we recently sold it and now I have a moissanite and I LOVE it!

2)I got a new ring the first time because the original plan was always to upgrade when we could. Then, I got another new ring because I wanted to go with white gold, I didn't love the princess cut, and the diamond was an i1 crappy dud with no sparkle.

3) Sold it.

4)LOVE my new ring, no regrets at all!

5)I'm not very sentimental. Perhaps I would have been more so if my DH had picked out the ring himself or it was engraved or something.

I still have my promise ring and my wedding set I got married with matching ering and band ... they both are kept in my jewelry chest all tucked back... even though they are two of my least expensive jewelry pieces... they are my most prized pieces I can say I own....

1. 20 years
2. I had been wanting to change to white gold and upgrade our rings for a while. DH's original gold ring was nearly worn out and my e-ring needed major work or resetting. Add in an anniversary plus an unexpected bonus and the timing was just right.
3. My diamond is set in a pendant now.
4. No regrets. I wear the pendant almost every day.
5. I am only marginally sentimental. DH much more so. In this case roles were reversed and he was fully prepared to trade in my diamond but I didn't want to let it go.

When we first got married, back when the dinosaurs roamed, I used a ring that I had bought myself when I got divorced from #1. Wasn't sentimentally attached to it, I had a ring so I used it.

My first engagement ring got destroyed in my quest for a larger stone. Don't even want to discuss it, but it was platinum and custom made by Tradeshop.

I currently wear a T&C channel platinum eternity band (2.4mm) and my 18kwg Grace halo engagement ring. I have the Roseco micropave 2.5mm wg band to wear with the two in the winter as my ring size can go as low as a 6.25, but I get my rings in a 7 for comfort.

1. 3
2. I wanted a bigger stone
3. I thought about selling it, or reusig the stones and metal for other things, but decided I could not part with it, after some excellent advice here from SB922, so I left it as is, and I still enjoy wearing it...in rotations with other sets.
4. Yes! And I am so happy I kept it. I feel in love with it all over again once I had some variety with my sets.
5. Not really, but I have come to realize I am very attached to the set and would be so sad if I had parted with it in any way.

1. How many years were you married before getting a new ring?
- 12 or so

2. Why did you get a new ring? (No longer liked the original, wanted a different metal or bigger stone, etc?)
- Wanted a different metal (white gold), different stones (oval) different style (two 5 stone bands)

3. What did you do with your original ring? (Use the diamond in a new engagement or wedding ring, set the diamond in a pendant, save it in original state for sentimental value or something else?)
- Just kept it "As Is" in my jewelry box. I have 3 daughters and 2 sons. I tease DH that my goal is to collect enough wedding sets that each child could choose from when I'm gone to keep as an heirloom for themselves/their spouse if they have one. No fighting over who gets Mama's rings, though I guess they could still argue over who gets which one

4. Are you happy with the decision you made regarding your original ring, any regrets?
- Very, and DH doesn't mind. So long as I am wearing a wedding band, he doesn't mind what I wear. He does prefer that I keep the set he proposed with unaltered, and he also likes the second set very much. When I recently started talking about using the stones in that set to make a new set, he got a bit peeved and said he would rather I didn't. Not sure why other than he said he really likes that one as it is as well.

5. Do you consider yourself a sentimental person in general?
- In some ways. Dates of special things are important, and I do like to keep mementos from special events, but in other ways I am not at all.

Sorry... I just realized there was a set of questions...

1) 3

2) anniversary set

3) placed it away for safe keeping

4) Nope.. still can take it out and look at it and wear it

5) No not no more.... after being with my hubby for awhile we both realize our love and how we feel about each other has nothing to do with material things...

... there... I answered the questions... shows I was the kind in school that didn't like to read the directions first...

Iwas married about three years when I got a new ring. It was custom made for me by a local jeweler, and it is a big, fat band with a bezel set 1ct stone, so it did Ering and wedding band duty at the same time. I kept getting new rings about once a year.

I got divorced 11 years into the marriage, kept the rings for a while. My original engagement ring is still in my safe, no longer worn, and the wedding bands, mine and his got sold when I needed money, about 5 years ago... I'm sure they are melted somewhere into new pieces.

Oh, and to answer why I changed rings, I was pregnant, and the rings no longer fit, plus the engagement ring wasn't exactly what I would have picked for myself... It is gorgeous, but I was never 100% happy with it.

I am very sentimental, but not exactly about material things... But if I ever get married again, and if I get to choose a ring style that I would be happy with, I guess I would stick with it for years and years.

1) I wore my first ring for 8 years.

2) Part of not getting a diamond was the financial freedom to get a trendy and fun setting, knowing it wouldn't have to last decades style-wise. Below is a photo of my original 90s geometrical number (it weighed about a pound!).

3) We melted down my original when I moved to setting #2. I kept the 5 side diamonds with the intention of including them in future rings, but I've had a solitaire since then.

4) No regrets, since change was the intention all along.

5) On a sentimental scale of 1 to 10, I'm a 4. But I'm finding that my current stack means more to me than I ever expected, because it evolved during milestones for symbolic reasons. This one I might have a hard time letting go of in the future.

1. Married 2 years before first "upgrade". Married 12 years before my forever ring, a T&Co solitaire.

2. My first engagement ring was a .9 solitaire with side stones. No wedding band at all. The ring was pre-owned and horrible, the side stones kept popping out after sizing it down.

3. Sold the entire ring because I wanted the $.

4. It would be interesting to look at it now, but the stone was pretty horrible (I don't really remember) and I never would've worn it again. No real regrets, just curiosity.

5. Not sentimental but I do have a few rings that I will never sell. They're my RH rings now. I'm 1000% in love with my Tiffany solitaire, it's going to be on my finger for the rest of my life. I'm committed to it.

I want to thank all of you who were kind enough to share your experience with me. Your answers pretty much cover the whole range of “what to do with my original set”, so I don’t think I am any closer to figuring it out. Lol

I really appreciate hearing how each of you came to the decisions that you did and I felt like I could relate to all of them in one part or another.

My original idea was to use my diamond in a pendant since I wear a necklace almost every day. I figured it would get worn more that way than it has in a wedding ring.

But then my husband said that he still really likes my original set, so I felt like maybe I should keep it, get it sized and still wear it in rotation. He would be fine with whatever I decide to do.

My closest friends and family all attach great sentimental value to the ring that was put on their finger the day they got married. I don’t feel that way about my ring, but some have said I may feel differently down the road and wish I still had it.

I guess I will figure it out eventually. Thanks again for taking the time to help me in the process.

We have been married 21 years. This is what we did with my original ring after wearing it 12 years.

The bottom part is my ring and the top diamond is my 10 year pendant. Original center stone is about .33ct and the 10 year pendant is just over .5ct. A local jeweler and I came up with this easy fix and I think it looks like an angel with wings on the side. Over the years I have lost the marquise stones several times as a ring and once as a pendant. The little buggers just don't stay in the two prong setting. I am very happy with it and my hubby is agreeable to our choice. I will probably not buy another diamond and look forward to an Amora Gem instead.

1. How many years were you married before getting a new ring?
8 years.

2. Why did you get a new ring? (No longer liked the original, wanted a different metal or bigger stone, etc?)
we had to sell the original to pay for my daughter's medical bills.

3. What did you do with your original ring? (Use the diamond in a new engagement or wedding ring, set the diamond in a pendant, save it in original state for sentimental value or something else?)
sold it. I sold the set (cried my eyes out standing in the jewelers.) I got home with the money and realized I couldn't recall what was engraved in my wedding band. I lost it, called the jeweler and asked if I could buy the wedding ring back. The engagement ring had more meaning for me, but that's where the money was. Anyway, he gave me the band back. I still have that.

4. Are you happy with the decision you made regarding your original ring, any regrets?
major regrets. I've tried to replace it, but I don't think it will ever happen. I know we did the right thing, but I'll never feel good about it.

5. Do you consider yourself a sentimental person in general?
not really. lol. About certain things, I guess. I honestly had no idea how heart broken I'd be over that decision. It still suprises me how much it hurt.

My original engagement ring is a very pretty opal set in rose gold. I stopped wearing it because I feared damaging it as I learned more about it's delicate properties, but I still have it and wear it as a right hand ring occasionally treating it very gently. Our wedding bands we sort of outgrew and because of their design could not get resized. They got sold to pay one bill or another when gold was high, though no where near as high as it is now. I regret not saving those because they were a very distinctive style. But looking for steel stacking rings on Overstock, I came across it's double although in steel not white (rhodium) and yellow gold so those are on their way as a surprise for the 36th anniversary of when we first met, so I guess that makes me pretty sentimental. Eventually, I got CZs and then diamonds (first one on our sweet 16th wedding anniversary) now more CZs (3 stones for 33 married years), but that little beautiful little opal still holds a great big place in my heart!

1. 5 yr wedding anniversary when I got my new one
2. I wanted a bigger center stone and more bling. I just graduated med school and knew we could afford what I wanted.
3. I still have my original wedding set. I keep it in safe keeping. I also wear it once in a while. I will always love my original ring.
4. I am very happy with my new ring. I do not regret it at all.
5. I am not very sentimental. My husband is though. lol.

I always enjoy reading the answers to this kind of question, dont know why, I just do!!
1. I have been married 28 years, I got a new r-ring after 1.5 years and then again at 20 years, I wore the same wedding band for years..but I bought several other to mix it up

2. I got a new ring because my original e-ring was a very cheap band of ugly diamonds and rubies it cost like a 100 bucks new, then when I got pregnant my hubby bought me a .18ct round diamond, it was pretty...then after 5 years I combined those 2 into 1 ring...I wore that till my 20th anniversary then I got my current 1ct princess

3. My very original setting I no longer have, my reset e-ring I still have the setting but it has no center stone, the tiny .18ct diamond I gave to the hubby after he got his ear pierced.

4. Yes I am happy with my decisions...however I am craving a reset again....

5. I really am not that sentimental, I sometimes wished I had keep my original e-ring as it was, but thats water under the bridge and I cant change that. My hubby on the other hand tends to be much more sentimental then I am...

1. 5 years.

2. Although it was a beautiful ring I wanted to keep it safe and save it for my daughter. I got a copy made of it with Ashas. I also didn't pick it originally and wanted something different.

3. I saved it and had it set aside. However, when we moved to our first home. I couldn't find it ANYWHERE!!! I am still so upset about it. It makes me really sad to even think about it anymore, even though I love the ring I now have I would love to have that original back. I even had to sell the copy I made, looking at and wearing it just made me too sad.


4. I completely regret losing it. I wish I had it back. It was a beautiful piece.

5. Yes and No. I didn't think I was so sentimental about the ring until I lost it!!

Not the best picture of it but it was the only one I could find of the set.

1. How many years were you married before getting a new ring?

1 month for a replacement bc the first one broke. 3 years after that for an upgrade.

2. Why did you get a new ring? (No longer liked the original, wanted a different metal or bigger stone, etc?)

Well, to be honest the first ring that we actually wore and got married with was a super cheepy silver ring we bought together at a trinket shop in SF for a couple of bucks. Jewelry didn't matter to me at all at the time. I just head over heels in love and it meant a lot to me because it looked exactly like my parents wedding rings. It broke after a month (maybe it wasn't even silver, LOL!). I got a sapphire to replace that, and I loved and wore it 24 hrs a day until the shank cracked after 3 years, and then I came here researching my upgrade. Thats when the addiction began LOL!

3. What did you do with your original ring?

I still have both it. The cheap broken one sits in a box of other mementos we have, and the sapphire wear it as RHR from time to time.

4. Are you happy with the decision you made regarding your original ring, any regrets?

Of course! I still have it and still enjoy it.

5. Do you consider yourself a sentimental person in general?

Yes.

1. How many years were you married before getting a new ring?
- 10 yrs

2. Why did you get a new ring? (No longer liked the original, wanted a different metal or bigger stone, etc?)
I had my original in a tiffany style 18kt gold solitare w/platinum head, .82 RB. we upgraded the entire set to platinum wRB 1.12 ct F/G SI1 and baguettes
3. What did you do with your original ring? (Use the diamond in a new engagement or wedding ring, set the diamond in a pendant, save it in original state for sentimental value or something else?)
I have the original solitare setting, w/a 1.25 RB Asha in it. AS for the upgrade to platinum- I stupidly sold that for a 2.1ct Round stone in a platinum antique ring w/kite sides BUT, I was ripped off ,the round stone ended up being a M /I1 was told it was G-H VS. I sold that 2 yrs later, I grew to hate that ring
4. Are you happy with the decision you made regarding your original ring, any regrets?
I don't regret the upgrade to the platinum w/baguettes but I will be forever haunted by selling it.My husband ened up suprising me w/a new set which will never leave me EVER!
5. Do you consider yourself a sentimental person in general?
Yes, I do. So why for the life of me I did what I did, boggles my mind. probably the pursuit for a bigger stone, which I never felt comfortable wearing as a wedding ring.
Thankfully I still have my wedding band and the original solitare
My advice to anyone thinking about it -contimplate it for very long time

1. married @ 7 yrs. 2.wanted something unusual wife said. 3. still have ring, added 1.48ct alexandrite to ring. 4. no regrets! 5. yes, but have also told my family to pound-sand, personal reasons.-steve...

I was married for maybe a year before I upgraded No regrets! My original sits in a jewelry box most days, but I can't bear to part with it. Plus I still wear it sometimes depending on what I am doing. I actually have a whole collection of rings so I cycle through a few different rings depending on my look for the day. Maybe I will sell some one day, but I kinda doubt it...they all are special to me. You should wear what makes you happy ...my hubby doesn't care if I switch out my rings as long as I don't switch out my man!