Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with rings

Proposing without a ring or with a placeholder ring?

yukonho — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 18:01:28 -0800

My girlfriend is interested in designing her own engagement ring, so what do I use when I propose to her? A placeholder ring? Nothing? There was a similar question a few years back, but my situation is a bit simpler, I hope. My girlfriend and I have been together for over six years and have already talked about marriage. (It's more a question of "when" than "if" at this point.) Since we're not really into diamonds and she's an artistic type, she'd like to be involved in designing her engagement ring. I'd like to have something when I pop the question, though! Do I go with a simple white gold band, or just propose and head to the jewelry shop the next day?

Help me find a wooden engagement ring in the UK

Nufkin — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:41:24 -0800

Recommend me a preferably UK-based wooden engagement ring seller. From this question a while back, I have fallen in love with the wooden rings from this seller however, I am worried about ordering them from a seller in another country – different ring size systems – and without knowing anyone who has had any experience of them.

So, firstly I was wondering if anyone knows of anyone UK based that is selling similar work – my Google-fu is only strong enough to bring up very bad sites.

Or, secondly, if someone could recommend someone on personal experience.

Additional information if needed:

I would need two, not necessarily matching, rings for a same-sex (male) engagement. We are both UK size R. The ultimate idea is to have these as engagement rings then ‘upgrade’ to a metal ring for the civil partnership as a metaphor for our relationship becoming stronger.

Two rings become one... or two...

SNWidget — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 09:36:05 -0800

My wife's birthday is at the end of October, and I want to do something with two rings that we used to wear before we got married. Any ideas? My wife's birthday is the last week of October, and I've been trying to think of something personal to give her. We have two rings that we used to wear before we got married - both silver (at least, I know mine is).

What are some good idea to do with these rings? I've thought of things as simple as tying them together in a nice framed box with a picture of our wedding (which was just in May). But that's about the extent of my creativity.

Any other ideas about what to do with the two rings?

How old is this ring?

angry.polymath — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 11:27:04 -0800

Please help me get an idea how old this ring is, and what stone is in it. Among my grandmother's things was an old silver ring with an opaque blue stone in it.

It's clearly hand-made, and has some sort of sizing apparatus on the back. I've never seen anything quite like it.

I know nothing about gemstones or minerals or jewelry, so can anyone give me even a vague idea of when this kind of ring was in fashion, and what "style" it is? And also, what is the blue stone in it?

Pics are here, here, and here.

Thanks!

Lord of the Rings Playing Card Game

spiderskull — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 15:07:19 -0800

We're trying to find the rules for a Lord of the Rings themed playing card game, and we can remember about 90% of the rules. We've searched online to no avail (including Card Games Website). Hopefully someone here knows.

So far, this is what we can remember:

You use a regular deck of playing cards. Ace is high, order of suits is spades, hearts, diamonds, and clubs (highest-to-lowest)

The objective is to collect an ace, a queen, and a king which will allow you to "visit Mordor" and try to destroy the ring. If the suit of the queen matches the suit of a randomly selected, but hidden (to everyone except the person trying to destroy the ring) Mordor card, then you win

There's a small pile in the center, where the players are competing for the top card that's face up, with the basic rules of War. We'll call this the target card.

Every player has a small pile of soldier cards, with the top card face up. This is the player's soldier that competes against other soldiers to win the target card. The player with the highest soldier card at the end of the turn gets to take the target card, unless someone plays one of their character cards (described below).

Everyone initially starts with 5 cards and you put them into a diamond formation (face down), where each of these character cards serves a specific purpose when played:
- An archer, which can shoot an opponent's soldier card if it is a higher number than the soldier
- A hobbit, which can steal the target card if it has a lower number
- A mage, which forces another player to put their current soldier card at the bottom of their pile, and reveal a new soldier, providing that the suit of the mage is different from the soldier it's attacking
- A hero, which we forgot the details of, but we think can take out all face-up cards that it is higher than
Order of play each turn is determined by the order of the soldier cards, from lowest to highest. So, if there's three players, the one with the lowest soldier card goes first

Players can immediately retaliate if their soldier is attacked

The round is over once all of the target cards are claimed, and a new round begins
- To start a new round, all of the players can choose which cards take the roles of archer, hobbit, mage, and hero. The remainder of the cards become the soldier pile (which need to be shuffled).
- At this point, if anyone has the queen-king-ace combo and wants to go to Mordor, they can test their chances
- The new target card pile is taken from a central unused deck, and has N cards, where N is the highest number of soldier cards any player has, plus one.

Each player has a separate discard pile. All attacked soldiers, target cards acquired, and character cards go here.

Does this sound familiar to anyone? Are there other card games with this name?

A small warning: we tried playing with these rules, but the game seemed unbalanced, and we were filling in the gaps as went along. Any small rule change to the hero's role seemed to have a drastic impact on gameplay.

What's the best ring setting for a miner's cut diamond?

plinsky — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 18:20:42 -0800

I recently inherited a large diamond in a "miner's cut," which is somewhat square and has an old-fashioned look to it. I want to get it set into a ring, but am not sure what kind of setting would be best for this cut of diamond. Can anyone help?

Can I make my wedding ring from this?

nafrance — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 01:23:21 -0800

So I need to choose a wedding ring, but I'd like to have it made from something unique. I have something unique - but can I make a ring from it? It's time I made a decision on my wedding ring, and I definitely want it making from something unique and 'cool'.

My grandfather was basically a rocket scientist - he worked on the British Skylark sounding rockets. Sadly, he passed away a few years ago but he's to blame for all my love for things technical.
He did leave behind to me a nosecone from the end of one of the rockets that had been launched - a cone of what I think is stainless steel.
It's the very end section of this.

While I don't want to completely destroy it - what is the possibility of drilling out some of the material (up through the base) and re-casting it into my ring?

I've sent an message to a local jeweller acquaintance, but I wanted to see if the Hive had any idea of the general feasibility of it.

Please help me find unconventional wedding rings!

The ____ of Justice — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 14:32:36 -0800

Cool, interesting, unusual wedding ring ideas? Looking for rings that are cool and unusual. Here are the conditions:

- Under $100 each.We don't need diamonds/gold/or any type of -ium rings.
- The rings will not be worn on a day-to-day basis. They do need to serve in the ceremony at city hall.
- Not interested in candy ideas. It would be nice to be able to slip them on 20+ years from now..
- I am looking towards something modern and edgy, like these:
more modern
more traditional, but still modern
- Plastic is an option, but it should still have a unisex or masculine look.

Would appreciate your ideas and leads! Thanks!

How much will it cost to get my rings rhodium dipped?

geeky — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 11:41:54 -0800

How much will it cost to get my rings rhodium dipped? And where should I go? I've had my engagement ring and wedding band (white gold) for a few years now and they're both losing their silver color. I'd like to get them professionally cleaned and re-dipped in rhodium. How much should I expect to pay (ballpark)?

Also, where should I go? Unfortunately both the jeweler we bought the rings from and my favorite local jeweler have moved / gone out of business. Will your average retail jewelry store do this sort of thing, or should I find a local business with a jeweler on site? Do they normally ship rings out for rhodium dipping?

Thanks! :)

Tipping at Sonic

Beaufort — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 12:26:16 -0800

Do you tip your car hop at Sonic Drive-thru? If so how much? Should I tip a different amount when they come all the way out to my car compared to when they just walk to the drive through part?

I hate going there, because I never know if I am tipping the right amount.

Engagement Ethics Optimization: Estate Jewelry / MYOR

lalochezia — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 10:41:11 -0800

Buying an engagement ring. Advice wanted on a) Estate Jewelry: recommendations on how to buy & not get ripped off. b) Make-your-own-ring workshops: how to get a good used diamond. c) recommendations for both of the above in the LA / SoCal area. My sweetie wants a diamond ring for her engagement. I want to give her one. I would like to avoid Tifffany, Big Box stores and even (gasp) Blue Nile. I'd either like to make my own ring or buy her an unusual used one.

I'd like to either

i) Buy her Estate Jewelry: it's more unique, doesn't contribute significantly to the demand for new diamonds, and considering the value of diamonds drops precipitously after being used, should provide a good deal.

How do I get a good deal? How do I avoid being ripped off? Does anyone have any good recommendations from PERSONAL experience in Southern California with used/estate jewelry?

Alternatively

ii) There are workshops (in SF and NYC) where you can craft your own engagement ring with your own hands: they provide eco-gold and tuition and you provide the stone.
Does anyone know whether there is a similar person/organization who runs a workshop like this in SoCal? (google fails me on this count)? How would I go about buying a used diamond for this process?

I have seen the many questions on AskMe before, but none address the points above. Please: no all diamonds are evil spiels. No non-diamond gems. No new natural diamonds. If anyone can show me white synthetic diamonds that are indistinguishable from the natural stuff, go right ahead. I know her ring size and I know her taste: we've looked at rings together & have pictures of ones she likes.

I've made my peace with buying some compressed carbon. I just want to perform an optimization on the nature of the transaction to maximize my ethics within the framework of buying a Rock.

Does this ring a bell for anyone?

woolylambkin — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 18:37:23 -0800

How can you tell if someone is single or taken just by looking at them? Of course the easy answer would be just to ask them but I was really just thinking of this as a filtering process.

I remember having a discussion about how one of my friends never had guys flirt with her. I told her that it was because she wore a ring on her right ring finger so guys probably figured that she was wearing was a promise ring and was already taken. The ring she was wearing was also a pretty nice heirloom diamond ring she got from her grandmother. Anyways, she didn't believe me even though my roommate at the time confirmed that he thought that most girls that wore rings on their right ring fingers were already committed and not really worth flirting with. I guess I can see if the ring was more casual then they might be single but as far as I'm concerned if that ring has any type of stone in it then they're probably in a relationship. We are all in our early twenties if that matters at all.

Have I been too picky about the girls that I flirt with since I immediately discount any girls that are wearing rings? I want to know if other mefites have that same preconception that people with rings on their right ring fingers are already in a serious relationship. And more generally, are there any signs that you consider tell tales for being in a relationship (besides having your sweetheart on the end of your arm of course).

Help my engagement and wedding rings get along!

otherwordlyglow — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 13:56:06 -0800

Is there a name for the ring you wear between a mis-matched engagement ring and a wedding ring that serves to adapt the round form of one to the flat form of the other? Where do I get one? In San Francisco, preferably. Bonus if the jeweler specializes in vintage pieces. I have a beautiful vintage filigree engagement ring that looks something like this (well, mine is prettier!). My mother has generously offered her mother's wedding band as the complement to it. It looks more like this. So the two pieces won't stack flat against each other because the engagement ring has a bulge in the middle whereas the wedding band is flat. I know I've seen these sort of "adapter" rings before. They are worn between two rings and have one curved side, in the reverse of the curve of your own ring, and one flat side. This middle ring fills in the gaps between the two and makes the two sit together nicely. What is this called and where do I get one? I'm assuming there needs to be some degree of customization but I don't even know what to ask for.

Antique Ring?

david1230 — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 18:06:47 -0800

What kind of ring is this and where can I find one? Can anyone tell me about this ring? Is it an antique? Could I easily find one like it? If I could, how much might it cost? Is that a diamond in the middle or something else? I'm not exactly sure what I like about it; just the general look and I feel I guess.

Need to get wedding rings in New York

cyrusdogstar — Mon, 02 Apr 2007 17:25:04 -0800

Need recommendations for good locations to get wedding rings in New York City. My fiancée and I are getting married in November and are obviously going to need those shiny things you put on your finger at some point. Has anyone had good experiences with specific jewelers in Manhattan or nearby? We're not looking for anything super-expensive.

Ringfilter: How to wear this ring?

hannahq — Sun, 18 Mar 2007 01:23:36 -0800

How does one wear a ring with lettering? We're having a debate here. I'd like to defer to you guys 'cause you're all so smart!

Should the lettering of a ring be facing the wearer (so it reads right side up) or the other way around?

Help me remove a water ring from my parents' antique chinese rosewood table!

PWA_BadBoy — Sun, 25 Feb 2007 03:18:12 -0800

Help me remove a water ring from my parents' antique chinese rosewood table! We had a few guests over and a couple of them put their wet cups/glasses on the table leaving water rings. I checked online and here on MeFi and found some answers but nothing conclusive as what I should definitely do. previously on mefi....

The table looks something like this.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Rings on the candles

JigSawMan — Tue, 20 Feb 2007 05:24:04 -0800

Question about birthday party scene in the movie Guinevere. During the birthday party scene, there was a jazzy rendition of a birthday song during which various party goers were dropping rings from their fingers over the lit candles on the birthday cake. Was there some symbolic reason for this to happen at the main characters twenty first birthday party? I'm thinking it was some coming of age sexual thing...

How to show off my smoker's skill in a bar?

uncballzer — Fri, 15 Dec 2006 21:42:31 -0800

Ok, I'm a cigar smoker (no cigarettes), so I'm at a bar, got a girl in my eye, she's looking toward me--I wanna show off--so how do I shoot off a smoke ring? I've always been curious as my parents both smoke, and since I've started to smoke cigars, I've never figured out how to blow a smoke ring. Anyone out there have a PhD in this? I can't seem to get a smoke ring going. So how do you go about this? Any tips?

Bending Platinum band?

UMDirector — Mon, 29 May 2006 17:32:20 -0800

My fiance has a platinum engagement ring and the bottom seems to be warping due to plat being a soft metal. We are not sure why this is happening. It is possible the ring is slightly too large for her finger but it needs to be larger so she can get it over her knuckle. We had a plastic ring guard thing on the bottom but it kept falling off. We thought about having the little metal balls added to the bottom to keep in from rotating on her finger but that wouldn't solve the bending platinum problem. Soooo any suggestions or resources...my google-fu has failed me (all the sites I find seem to be about MAKING rings not keeping them from being bent).

Black metal suggestions? (for jewelry, not listening)

Gucky — Mon, 10 Apr 2006 15:01:57 -0800

Looking for a black, matte-finish metal for a durable men's ring. Ideas? Things to avoid? Looking for a simple, subtle ring that's not shiny and is true black (but not looking for something goth or ubermasculine).

- Black titanium, although promising, wasn't true "PSP-case" black.
- A simple black rubber band isn't quite durable enough.
- Enameled steel looks tacky as heck and chips off.

I found black zirconium online, but the relative dearth of retailers selling it, blog posts talking about it, anything, sets off my bs meter a little bit.

Any suggestions on other metals that might fit the bill?
Any experience with black zirconium?
Any other wacky material I haven't considered?
Retailers that might be able to point me in the right direction?

Custom jewelry in Boston area?

genefinder — Tue, 21 Mar 2006 07:21:15 -0800

Does anyone have recommendations for custom jewelry in the Boston area? For Mother's Day I would like to get my wife a Mother's Ring with the birthstones of our children. I see many variations online, but the gemstones they use aren't what I want. Specifically, they use Pink Tourmaline for October, and I would like to get the ring with Opal which will look nicer (sorry to any huge Pink Tourmaline fans out there).

Does anyone know of, or better yet had a good experience with, a custom jeweler in the Boston area? I wouldn't worry about price when reccomending, as I can always investigate each suggestion on my own.

Thanks for the help.

handcarved wedding band

cdcello — Mon, 11 Jul 2005 15:54:52 -0800

ok, so I while back you guys advice and buying a wedding ring. So I got this awesome cool handcarved wedding ring from an antique store. It is 18K gold band with a handcarved design of laurel and berries....but I only got one. So how do I go about getting a duplicate made (larger) that would fit me? I have talked to jewelers and the are very vague. I live in SE MI area.

How much should this cost?

Jon-o — Mon, 06 Jun 2005 23:57:41 -0800

How much should I expect to pay for my wedding rings? Just doing some preliminary research in regards to the rings, I've already found a range of prices, both far below and above what I expected to be charged for these. Has anyone had any recent experience with this? What can I expect? Is there a significant price difference between in-store and online ring shopping?

Selling an engagement ring

karen — Sun, 24 Apr 2005 17:11:39 -0800

A friend of mine has a nice and fairly expensive engagement ring that he would like sell. The jeweller from which he bought the ring (Tiffany's) does not buy back rings, and it seems like "used" rings get only pennies on the dollar on eBay. Given that he is intent on selling it, can anyone recommend a method for recouping as much of the original expense as possible?