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I have a friend of a friend who got engaged recently, and I have to say, I think her ring is (gasp)….too big. I’m sorry! It’s too big! It is not one, not two, but THREE large teardrop-shaped diamonds. This ring has been the subject of heated conversation among my friends. Here are the things we have been talking about:
1. Can it possibly be real? This person is not a celebrity and her fiance is an awesome, regular guy - could it be that it is a CZ? And if it is, is there really anything wrong with that? Discuss.
2. In every photo on Facebook, she seems to be pushing her ring back to the top of her finger because it is always falling to the side - what should she do?
3. Is a ring less fabulous if it looks too big on a woman's hand? Our group was split on this one - some said a ring that fits your hand - and your personality is high on the list of engagement ring musts - and others said give me more!
3. Is it more difficult to get insurance? This is an interesting question that we didn't know the answer to. When you buy a piece of jewelry that costs more than an average house, your next stop should definitely be an insurance agent - but are they less likely to insure a big ring - particularly if you are in a city and riding public transportation - without a bodyguard? Comment.
My girlfriends and I love our bling - and we definitely didn't all agree - some think that bigger is definitely better - and others prefer a more delicate look. But we did all agree that at the end of the day - you have to do what suits you!
Angelina Jolie’s Engagement Ring: What Do You Think?
So, by now we all know that Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are engaged. Congratulations to them, of course! It’s about time, and we are so glad the kids convinced you.
Now let’s discuss the ring, shall we? We’ve all seen it. In case you've been living on Mars, the soon to be Mrs. Pitt’s ring looks like this:
It's designed by Brad Pitt and Robert Procop (who worked with Angelina Jolie on her jewelry line last year). Since there has been no official statement as to the size or price of the ring (and really, why would there be?), here are what experts are estimating:
While I love the large diamond in the middle, I am not feeling the art deco band, which I think crowds the main stone a little too much. I know, Brad Pitt loves to design, as was evident from the ring he gave to the first Mrs. Pitt (Jennifer Aniston). In case you’ve forgotten, that ring was co-designed by Brad Pitt and Silviana Damiani, and it looked like this:
I know Brad Pitt has a flair for design, but personally I am not feeling the “multiple diamond" rings that he seems to prefer. Just my opinion of course, but I feel like the big diamond should stand on its own, and both of these rings feel over-designed and crowded to me. Angelina Jolie’s style is much simpler and sleeker than Aniston’s, and her ring does reflect that.
Am I criticizing the ring? Of course not. It’s gorgeous. Angelina Jolie is gorgeous, and Brad Pitt is a lovely and thoughtful person for designing an engagement ring for her. For the record, I do think Angelina Jolie’s ring is MUCH more attractive than Jennifer Aniston’s. I just wish that Brad Pitt would scale back on the design and let the beautiful stones he picks speak for themselves.
At any rate, we are going to hope that Angelina knows about BlingGuard, because she’s definitely going to need help to keep a multiple carat stunner upright on her tiny fingers.
What do you think of Angelina’s ring? Would you wear it?
I don’t know about you, but it is spring where I live, so I am in serious “spring cleaning” mode. So far I have completed an arduous clean-out of old boxes in the garage (which I transferred to weather-proof plastic bins), I’ve gone through my winter clothing and repaired, stored, or donated the items that were looking a little dated or ragged, AND I’ve completely cleaned my house (like, even the closets, floorboards, and bookshelves).
Next stop: cleaning my jewelry!
I actually don’t own much jewelry a huge amount of jewerly, but what I do have is high-quality, so I try to be very careful when cleaning the pieces. For example, I have a diamond Concord watch that is not water proof (and I doubt it’s even water resistant, honestly), so I can’t submerge it in any jewelry cleaner or put it in an ultrasonic cleaner.
To clean the outside of this watch, I use a solution I got from my jeweler but that you can certainly make at home by using one part ammonia (Mr. Clean) and four parts filtered water. I will then take a small toothbrush that I have just for this purpose and use it to gently clean the watch, which I then dry off right away with a clean cloth.
For ring cleaning, I will either soak my rings in the same solution (mentioned above), then scrub them with the small toothbrush, then rinse with water, or I put them into an ultrasonic cleaner (I have this one, in case you’re curious) with some Dawn dishwashing liquid soap, then I let them air dry.
Some bling cleaning tips: some people like to soak their rings for long periods of time in the “jar” type cleaner you get from the jeweler. I don’t do this, and I have had several jewelers tell me that cleaner was never intended for use in an extended (or even “overnight soak) kind of way, and that they regularly hear horror stories from people who do this. I actually read an interview with Jessica Simpson while she was still married to Nick Lachey where she confessed to leaving her massive ring “in the ring soaker stuff” overnight, and I had images of her ring becoming damaged.
Three huge pear shaped diamonds (and wraparound diamond wedding band) soaking overnight in an ammonia-based solution on your bathroom sink? Say it ain’t so!
Interestingly, this photo displays the very problem we are solving with BlingWraps (large ring spinning/ falling to the side). Check it out here.
The bottom line: whatever the carat of your bling, be sure to proceed with care when cleaning. That jewelry will be with you for life, so proper care and maintenance is essential!