It doesn’t really matter to me what would happen to my ring. It’s a nice band, with an interesting design (I worked with a friend on the design, and it’s one-of-a-kind), but we have no children, and I can’t imagine that my nephew, or any of my three nieces, would really want it.
It’s gold and white gold, so it’d probably sell for a bit, so if my widow decides to sell it for the metal, I wouldn’t have any issue with that. Knowing her, she’d probably want to bury me wearing the ring, but I likely would opt for cremation, so that wouldn’t work so well.
I’m unmarried, and ringless. But I will substitute the word ‘ring’ with ‘anything else of financial value’.
While I’m alive, I derive some small comfort from the thought that my spouse will be the financial beneficiary of whatever wealth I have. However, of course, what happens after my death will no longer be of any import to me because I will be dead.
So in that sense, what happens to my belongings after I die has no effect on me. The only thing that has an effect is what I’m led to believe, while I’m still alive.
When my Dad passed, I saw my Mom take his ring. This was fortunate because when she passed my sisters didn’t know she had it. She was cremated and both her and my Dad’s rings went with her. Her other jewelry was split between my sister.
My ring is just a gold band with a faceted design that makes it catch the light. I paid $500 because it was conflict-free metal (and new); no way it’s worth anywhere near that secondhand. My husband can do whatever he wants with it (and the rest of my property) if I predecease him. I have a general desire to do some good in the world with whatever I leave behind, but I’m not hung up on the details. I’m an organ donor and have told everyone who might possibly be in a position to decide what to do with my remains that whatever is left should be either donated to a medical school or body farm/other research project. My husband and I have discussed transferring ownership of our house to someone who can afford to keep it (pay property taxes, do maintenance) but couldn’t afford to buy a house. When we’re both gone, probably all our assets will go to charity, as we’re not having kids. It comforts me to think that my death could greatly improve someone’s life. But again, the particulars like what happens to my ring don’t really concern me.
If there’s one positive thing about dying, it’s not having to worry about stuff like this. Anyone considering my antemortem wishes will pick my carcass free of anything of value.
Quite apart from the desire to be cremated, I’m not convinced some funeral home employee wouldn’t surreptitiously pocket any rings or other jewellery at some point. Better to pass it on.
My ring is a plain gold band that cost just over $100 - it’s actually my 3rd band. The first one was lost when I was pregnant - I couldn’t wear it when my fingers swelled, and then it was gone. The replacement no longer fit over my knuckle, so I ordered the current one on line. No real sentiment - it’s just to keep hoards of men from fawning over me. So after I’m gone, my husband or daughter can do with it as they wish.
My husband is also on his 3rd ring. He lost one on a business trip (bad habit of taking it off to put lotion on his hands and not putting it some place safe.) The second one was damaged by hot slag when he was welding (dumb dumb dumb!!) So now he’s wearing my paternal grandfather’s ring - my mom gave it to him after my dad died. It’s also a plain gold band, tho better quality gold than mine. It’s also inscribed with my grandfather’s name (misspelled) and the wedding date. I’m hoping my daughter will hang on to it and pass it along some day.
My late wife couldn’t wear her ring on her hand due to illness, so she wore it on a gold chain around her neck. When she died, I added my ring to hers, and put it in my sock drawer with other keepsakes.
Mine is just a silver band with a little etching on it. We bought matching bands at Montgomery Ward for under $100 each (1982). So there isn’t going to be any monetary value to it. I want to be cremated so I won’t be buried with it. I think my daughter would want it just for the sentimental value.
He might not have inflated what he paid, jewelry is marked up way above it’s value in materials, and wedding jewelry even more so. My wedding ring cost $300, I thought that was exorbitant but my wife insisted it was the right one for me and was never shy about buying me the best of things with my money. It probably had less than $100 worth of gold at the time, although prices would climb rapidly in the next few years. Now it might be worth as much as $500 because the price of gold is absurdly high. But it took a good size chunk of gold to go around my fat finger. And after all that I don’t wear it because I was scratching it up a lot and I’m sure if I tried to take it off temporarily just to avoid that I would lose it soon. So it won’t get buried with me unless someone puts it back on my lifeless finger, otherwise it will be in my little box of stuff along with a couple of watches, tie tack, cufflinks, and collar studs that I never wear either.
So after I’m gone, my husband or daughter can do with it as they wish.