Thursday 7 June 2012

Inherited vintage rings

When Joe's gran came up from Florida for our wedding, she brought with her some of her rings that Joe's late granddad had given her over the years. She so kindly passed them onto me as part of welcoming me into the family. Since she gave me then they've been kept in my drawers and its only now that I've got them out and worn me. I'm not a huge ring wearer, I don't even wear my engagement ring everyday and I still find it odd showering with my wedding ring on. Now I'm opting to wear my rings a little more. All the rings I own have been passed down to me, the only new one being my engagement ring. They were passed to me to keep them going, so that's what I'm hoping to do and I thought I'd share them with you. I've posted about my engagement and wedding rings before so I'll focus on the new additions. 

Ring 1 - Joe's gran's wedding ring
Ring 2 - Flower ring formally my grans
Ring 3 - Platiumn ring - a gift from Joe's grandad to his gran, now my wedding ring
Ring 4 - My engagment ring
Ring 5 - Pearl set ring another gift from Joe's grandad to his gran

If you remember my wedding ring is actually one of the ring's Joe's late grandfather brought for his gran. It's a gorgeous, yet simple platinum ring. Rather then being flat it rises up with the middle being a good 4-5mm in height if that makes any sense. Its simplicity is what I love about it, it sits so nicely against my engagement ring that although they aren't the same metal or shape and that they were brought decades between each other. From the moment I tried one the ring it fitted perfectly [seriously my fingers small that rings often have to be resized] I knew this was meant to be my wedding ring.

But there's also a second wedding ring to my collection - a 14k gold ring that was Joe's gran's when she married his grandfather. It's just a little too tiny to wear everyday and I've always been a white metal girl hence why I'm not using it as my own but I'm on a mission to wear it more. Its a lovely ring in great condition, even the etching around the edges is still clear.

The pearl ring and the gold wedding ring.

There was also the mother of pearl ring which sits upon a silver metal [metal I'm really not sure which type]. The pearl is a little loose and this ring is the smallest of them all so I can only wear it on my little finger so sadly this is one, unless I get it altered won't see the light of day too much.


Lastly there is my gran's ring of which I truly love the shape. From a thin base the band curves up and thickness into a width wide enough to be the bed for this gem stoned flower. We were going to get it priced [if that is the right wording for it] to see just what those stones may be and to see if they knew of a possible age but I never got around to it before leaving the UK. Again it was one of those rings that just fitted and along with the Singer Sewing Machine and the vintage compacts it was one of the few things my mum passed to me that was my gran's so it has a very special meaning to me. Maybe all these including my wedding and engagement rings will get passed down to our grand children.

Have you inherited any rings? What do you want to pass down to your children and their children?

35 comments:

  1. I LOVE rings but sometimes have to remind myself to wear the ones I have! Genuine vintage inherited rings? SO COOL! Great post. :)

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    1. I have to make sure to remind myself to wear some of these more. They deserve to be shown and worn as much as they deserve to be looked after.

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  2. I love the wee pearl ring! It is so precious! I adore all of my jewellery passed down to me, so sweet! :) x

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    1. The pearl is so pretty isn't it, I'll have to get it fixed and re-sized one day to get more wear out of it!

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  3. Oh I love rings that have been passed on to family, the circle of life in heirlooms that are precious!!!!
    The flower ring with the amethyst stones is just beautiful. I love pearl rings and have a few, I love how each pearl is so unique.
    I am blessed to have a beautiful ring from my grandma, given to me on my 30th birthday.
    Love v

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    1. What a wonderful gift for your birthday! I was never really a pearl wearer until being gifted this year - while I do have a few imitation mother of pearl slabs on some of my powder compacts. I love all the tones and the reflections that radiate from the pearl!

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  4. this is the nicest thing! lovely rings xx

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  5. I love them all, especially the flower one and looking at those purple stones I'd say that was amethyst, which I do love. I'm ver much a jewellery girl, I love rings and where white metal on one hand and gold on the other. I dislike new jewellery because old gold gets a patina that makes it that bit darker than new, even before I liked vintage fashion I liked vintage jewellery. Be careful with the pearl, no vinegar while you're wearing it. Xx

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    1. Ah that's handy to know about the gems - been wondering what they were ever since I got it. A lot of newer jewellery makes my fingers really itchy and often they tarnish just so easily. Luckily I'm not a vinegar fan so my fingers should be fine!

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  6. ohh these rings are so pretty! love the thin bands right now :D

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    1. Thanks! I have tiny fingers so the thicker bands just never look right!

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  7. The are all beautiful and I think its so nice to be given such an important item :].

    Funnily enough my grandma now wears one of my rings...I'll explain. When she had a stroke she had to have her rings cut off because her fingers swelled up. When she was better she intended to get another ring to replace it but couldn't find one she liked as much then she spied one in my jewellery box (it's just a sterling silver one I'd bought from accesorize!) so now she wears it as her replacement wedding ring. :]
    xx

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    1. What a sweet story! I love that the inheriting has gone the other way!

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    1. Thank you - has to be one of my favourites because of it's colours!

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  9. I have some of my late gran's rings, in fact one very similar to your flower ring - no2. Mine is dark red garnets, yours could be garnets too as they come in lots of colours, or of course it might be amethysts. It's a really pretty collection.

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    1. Yeah I've seen a number similar to no.2 in different colours - they must have been rather popular in their time.

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  10. Those rings are all so lovely, you're lucky! I especially love the one that was your grans, so pretty

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    1. Thank you - a lot of her jewellery vanished to the other side of the family so I'm glad I managed to hold on to the ring!

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  11. These are all so lovely, I'd love to inherit something from my family. I really love when people pass rings through their families - it just means so much more than buying an expensive new one. :)

    I have one ring that I wear at all times, except when I'm cleaning it - a little sterling silver Claddagh I bought myself. It's cheap (I got it for £15 from a local jeweller) and by no means great quality, but I'd love it to last so I can pass it on, just for all the memories it holds and the places it's been. I've always loved the symbolism behind the design and how it's worn.

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    1. Exactly! I never really spend that much on jewellery even on my engagement ring we never really shelled out in comparison to what people say you should. But it was everything I wanted in a ring and I try to take good care of it so it will last.

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  12. All your vintage rings are beautiful. I love that it has been passed on you as a way of welcoming you into the family, which is very sweet and meaningful.

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  13. your rings are so pretty and sweet :) and I love how they all have special meanings.

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  14. Oh wow! Ring #2, your gran's ring is GORGEOUS! Wow! What a neat thing to inherit! I've never inherited any rings but I love the idea behind passing them on for generations!

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    1. Its weird because rings seem to be what people pass to me yet I before I never went out of my way to buy any!

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  15. Great Collection!! Would love to have one of these.
    Black Diamond Beads

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  16. Rings defines true attachment and it's a good way to express feelings toward our loved ones.

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  17. So many gorgeous rings here, I love admiring pieces like this. You are so lucky to have such a beautiful and unique collection. I would love a wedding ring that has a little bit of meaning behind it, my engagement ring is by far my most tresured piece of jewellery xxx

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  18. WOW! You've got quite the collection. I really love that pearl ring-- you don't see a lot of those anymore! and that GORGEOUS flower one! I don't have any inherited jewelry. My grandmothers weren't the type to wear any :(

    ♥ laura
    the blog of worldly delights
    the shop of worldly delights

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  19. Those are amazing - such an elegance to them...

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  20. I think it’s sweet that, even though you don’t really wear rings, when you do wear them, they are the ones that have been passed on to you. It’s a mark of just how much your family and your husband’s family means to you. That purple ring is very beautiful; I can see why you’d love it so much. It definitely looks very valuable, but I think the true value of it is in how much it meant to Joe’s family. The fact that you now have it and wear it is sort of symbolic of how you are now part of that family as well.

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  21. We all know I am a huge fan of vintage rings (and am never without one) and these rings are absolutely stunning

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