This weekend, the Little Woman and I did something we’ve only talked about. We went to the jewelers and ordered replacement wedding rings. This has been in the works for at least three years. I say “in the works” because that’s about how long I remember someone saying things like “we should go to the jewelry store and get new rings…”. Then I’d say something like “OK”. We’re a team that way.
Well, finally we got around to actually doing something about it. We up and went to the jewelers. After we dropped the boys off at Mom’s of course. And it’s a nice jewelers too. It’s been “family owned” for four generations. And they’ve been in the same place since it was swank. A real, live traditional jewelers. With real live artisans and craftspeople right on the premises. And my mom goes there, so you really can’t get a higher recommendation that that.
We strolled in and… waited a while. They only have so many relatives to wait on people and there were already two little old ladies getting helped. So we waited our turn and browsed a little. Very little. The showroom is the size of a largish living room. Since it is a largish living room since the jewelers is in a house. It’s kind of an old house, so it was probably really a “parlor”. And then it was our turn.
It was the actual owner’s actual wife who helped us out. First, and most importantly, the Little Woman got squared away. That took a while. There wasn’t all that many rings in the little ring boxes to gaze upon, but a good variety so we knew what was what. But the catalogs! There must have been a bizzilion of them (roughly). But after much browsing she found something she liked. Only it didn’t have a place to put the sparkly stone. Not to worry! We’re in a jewelers, not a dinky jewelry store. It’s not like we have a choice of this ring and… this other ring. No, no, no! We had the choice of any ring they can get their hands on, plus any mounting we could possibly want, plus plus any stone that fits in the mounting we were to possibly pick.
You might have already known that’s the way they do things in a grown-up type jewelers, but me? I still smell of the turnips that were being carried on the truck I just fell off of. Not really big on the jewelry sophistication, me. But I am now, bub. Let me tell you!
The Little Woman picked out a nice ring. It has stuff carved into the gold. Actually it was cast into the gold. (I knew this going in, rings are “cast”. That was the extent of my jewelry knowledge.) Then she picked out a nice little gold cup that will eventually hold the stone she picked out. That’s called a “bezel”, the little gold cup thing. Did you know about these? Not me, man. I knew they had rings with prongs to hold the stone, but the cups (bezels)? That was a new one on me. I said as much around the toothpick I had clamped in my teeth. They also have fancy prongs to hold the stone that criss-cross each other on the way up from the ring. This is called the “trellis” prong ring stone holder. It’s pretty. But it’s not the way we went. Remember? Bezel? Only it wasn’t a bezel. It was a bezel with pieces missing so more light can get at the stone and make it sparkle more. A half-bezel.
Now it’s time for the fun part. Finding a diamond to finish the whole thing off! So the jewelry lady brings out this box of diamonds. Just “Tra-la-la! Here’s a box of diamonds!” like they bring you out shoes at the shoe store. I told the Little Woman she should get a really yellow diamond to remind her of the corn she grew up surrounded by when she was growing up in Indiana. She told me something too. Then she started looking at the white ones. Jewelry Lady said something about letters and something else about numbers and she clamped the diamond in a tweezers and gave me a loupe (I knew what one of those was already too) so I could look at the diamond real close. And then we had all the parts for the ring ready to go. (Two parts are on order, but the diamond is right there ready to go.) The diamond is roughly the same size as her “old” one which we got when we didn’t have any money (but now we’re just rolling in the dough) so it’s not all that extravagant.
Then it was my turn to look for a ring. The Little Woman looked through all those catalogs and then the diamonds and it took roughly three days. Me, I peruse the rings in the case and point at the one that’s roughly like the one I have right now. Only it’s a little bigger. And a little thicker. And much better quality. (My current ring I got from Target when my original ring got all smashed up and oval. We were really talking about getting All New Rings then so I didn’t want to drop a bunch of cash into this one and then just replace it. That was a year and some change ago.) But I didn’t want it to be all shiny. I know I don’t take really good care of my hand-jewelry so I didn’t want it all shiny to show the inevitable dings. But Jewelry Lady knew her stuff. There were a bunch of different “finishes” I could get that would hide scratches and stuff. She said the “Florentine” would hide the most scratches, so I went with that. Elapsed time: seven minutes.
So we’re getting new wedding rings. They’ll be ready in two weeks. In plenty of time for our 15th anniversary on New Year’s Eve Eve.
-Rue.
“Well, I’ve been riding my bike to work. It’s a 9 mile round trip, and I manage to do it 3 times a week or more. That will end soon because it will be too dark this fall, and I’ll probably start swimming again.”
Mr. Anachi took the afternoon off to finish sawin’ up the leftovers from Charley in the backyard an then he got the pineapple fountain back in place and up and running. Looks all nice and cozy out there now…just in time for Francis to loom on the horizon. :rolleyes: