My mom has upgraded her e-ring and the reason is very simple: between the day she got engaged (at 20) to 30 years later (at 50) her body and therefore her hands have changed, so the extra dainty ring she loved when she was 20, felt so tiny after having children that she stopped wearing it. For their anniversary my dad surprised her with a new ring and she loves it!
Updating engagement/wedding rings - why?
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Such an interesting question, I too have wondered about it. I did ask my husband if I could upgrade from a 2.5 to a 5 carat stone for our 5th wedding anniversary and he said yes, we shall see. Who knows, I may not want the change then...nice to know I can change it out if I want.
Why not? It's the marriage/relationship that's the most important thing... so if someone wants to upgrade, reset, downgrade, swap rings, keep the original, have multiples, etc. for whatever reason and I can think of many reasons (some are listed in this thread) - why not do it as long as they are happy?
TBH I am not so worried if people upgrade or not. Why does it matter what everyone else does? Why cant we do what is best for ourselves and be happy when someone else is happy for their own decisions/achievements/celebratory occasions? Culture does play a part in the general consensus of whether it is the "right" or "desirable" thing to do (in reference to the OP on people from the USA generally upgrading). As long as no one is being physically hurt or forced to do something they aren't comfortable with, it doesn't bother me.
If it feels right and you want it - do it! If it doesn't feel right or you don't want to - then don't do it. Does it matter if someone else made a different choice?
I never personally considered upgrading my e-ring until recently. Its not because someone told me to, or suggested it, its because I finished a lot of my personal goals (paid off our dwelling, finished a double masters degree, moved to Italy for a year and came back, have a milestone birthday soon, and a milestone wedding anniversary soon). My hubby doesn't seem to mind as long as I wear a ring (wedding or e-ring) as he never takes his off (he says "I'm proud to be married to you" when I ask him why he likes wearing it so much). We've even looked at new wedding rings for him because his original one is so worn and dinged up, but he is only half hearted so I don't press it. If he wants a new one I can go get him one.
If any of my friends wanted to upgrade - I'd be all for it if it made them happy and they had no doubts. I'd even be happy to go with them to the shops and have fun trying on big golf ball sized rings, or wedding bands with no stones.
Downgrade, upgrade, regrade or retrograde - either way no judgement from me. Just my humble opinion, no offence intended.
If it feels right and you want it - do it! If it doesn't feel right or you don't want to - then don't do it. Does it matter if someone else made a different choice?
I never personally considered upgrading my e-ring until recently. Its not because someone told me to, or suggested it, its because I finished a lot of my personal goals (paid off our dwelling, finished a double masters degree, moved to Italy for a year and came back, have a milestone birthday soon, and a milestone wedding anniversary soon). My hubby doesn't seem to mind as long as I wear a ring (wedding or e-ring) as he never takes his off (he says "I'm proud to be married to you" when I ask him why he likes wearing it so much). We've even looked at new wedding rings for him because his original one is so worn and dinged up, but he is only half hearted so I don't press it. If he wants a new one I can go get him one.
If any of my friends wanted to upgrade - I'd be all for it if it made them happy and they had no doubts. I'd even be happy to go with them to the shops and have fun trying on big golf ball sized rings, or wedding bands with no stones.
Downgrade, upgrade, regrade or retrograde - either way no judgement from me. Just my humble opinion, no offence intended.
I'm on my second e-ring.
First one hubs picked everything out himself, but the stone had an inclusion I was able to see and it drove me nuts.
A few years later, I got a new ring. I wouldn't call it an upgrade- I didn't trade my old ring in for a new one, but rather, we just purchased a nicer one.
At this point though, the only thing I can imagine doing is downgrading in size from my G, VS2 to an E, VVS. I have no problem going from a 2.52 ct to a 2ct for a higher color and clarity combo. But I've been thinking about it for years and still haven't done it. I guess at the end of the day, I don't care enough. Nor do I care what anyone else does.
First one hubs picked everything out himself, but the stone had an inclusion I was able to see and it drove me nuts.
A few years later, I got a new ring. I wouldn't call it an upgrade- I didn't trade my old ring in for a new one, but rather, we just purchased a nicer one.
At this point though, the only thing I can imagine doing is downgrading in size from my G, VS2 to an E, VVS. I have no problem going from a 2.52 ct to a 2ct for a higher color and clarity combo. But I've been thinking about it for years and still haven't done it. I guess at the end of the day, I don't care enough. Nor do I care what anyone else does.
I would love to upgrade my ring. I have a 1.02 Tiffany Classic Ring and would want a 1.75-2 carat one day. When we bought my ring our budget was limited, so I got an F color and SI1 clarity ( yes Tiffany does sell a very limited number of SI1). It was a great experience and I would never want to give up the stone. What I would do is hopefully one day buy another ring from Tiffany and have the store reset my original stone into a DBTY or give it to my son whenever he is ready to get married.
Well, I think sometimes if people marry young they might sometimes settle for a ring that they aren't truly ecstatic about inside--whether they wanted a bigger stone in their hearts, or they weren't actually able to get their "dream ring"......in a lot of cases, they weren't able to financially afford the ring that they truly wanted. Then later on in life, years down the road when careers have changed, maybe they decide they want to upgrade their ring---I think that's the case for a lot of ordinary people not on TPF. I know my mother and father married as teenagers when they were still technically in highschool (no college education) so no huge money was being made there. My father got my mother a pretty, very tiny diamond engagement ring that only costed 100 dollars, because that was all they could afford. Fast forward to a few years ago, she upgraded to a more modern ring with a slightly larger stone.
I know the price of a lot of gorgeous engagement rings shown on here (15k, 25k) are wonderful, but not realistic for my financial goals in everyday life.
It's all in opinion. For me, personally, if I want a larger stone after that day comes then I would upgrade to that. If I'm fine with my ring, then I would just keep it. I think I would only change the center stone though as if I just changed the whole ring it would feel kind of weird, to me.
I know the price of a lot of gorgeous engagement rings shown on here (15k, 25k) are wonderful, but not realistic for my financial goals in everyday life.
It's all in opinion. For me, personally, if I want a larger stone after that day comes then I would upgrade to that. If I'm fine with my ring, then I would just keep it. I think I would only change the center stone though as if I just changed the whole ring it would feel kind of weird, to me.
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I personally can't imagine upgrading my engagement ring. Although it's not even 1 carat and we can afford a larger stone, I truly love what it represents to me.
I know it was brought up about cars, homes, purses, etc. For some people, those types of items may not hold the same type of sentimental value a wedding ring does. Nor should it, in most cases. A car will break in 20 years, a home will wear down, a purse will also wear out after daily use. Especially for a car, it would force someone to have to get a new vehicle after 20 years. I can't ever see any of my gold pieces of jewelry breaking down like a car would in 20 years.
Jewelry is almost always going to be seen as one of the most sentimental items that would be given from one person to another, and I can't ever imagine "upgrading" a necklace my mother bought me (although it is tiny, it holds a ton of sentimental value), or "upgrading" a ring that is given to me by my lover and my husband. It just doesn't cross my mind at all.
I know it was brought up about cars, homes, purses, etc. For some people, those types of items may not hold the same type of sentimental value a wedding ring does. Nor should it, in most cases. A car will break in 20 years, a home will wear down, a purse will also wear out after daily use. Especially for a car, it would force someone to have to get a new vehicle after 20 years. I can't ever see any of my gold pieces of jewelry breaking down like a car would in 20 years.
Jewelry is almost always going to be seen as one of the most sentimental items that would be given from one person to another, and I can't ever imagine "upgrading" a necklace my mother bought me (although it is tiny, it holds a ton of sentimental value), or "upgrading" a ring that is given to me by my lover and my husband. It just doesn't cross my mind at all.
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Sometimes it's actually the husband who wants to upgrade their wife's ring after success in career and marriage.
Some men actually purchase what they can afford knowing they will change it later & wanting to...
Some keep the original for sentimental reasons & wear both...
Sometimes the original setting is compromised...
Sometimes peoples fingers change size and things like eternity bands can not be sized...
Sometimes a setting is so impractical for the persons everyday life it interferes/is not worn instead of being enjoyed so they change it to something they can wear...
Everyone is different and has traveled different paths. Regardless of what I would do (I do attach sentiment to certain jewelry pieces), I don't see anything wrong with it if it makes them happy! To each their own
I can see there are big differences on how people see this topic. Seems to have alot to do with where people live as well. I hold sentimental value to my jewelry and "real value" (as in, money wise) is not something I bother my head with. If I ever get to marry my love, I want a round profile titanium ring and no rock on it. Less interesting for thieves, more durability and worry free times for me.
To each their own - but please do share your own story!
To each their own - but please do share your own story!
For me, I would not upgrade my ring, my problem is my ring will not fit anymore. After having 2 kids, I gained some weight and haven't been able to wear it for many years. I have thought about buying a new setting and transferring the diamond over but I love my original one. I have been told that I can resize it, anyone have experience with resizing a platinum ring? Thank you for your time.
I've resized a couple of platinum rings. Both sized down and I couldn't even see where they did it. If you go to a good jeweler they should be able to size your ring up for a fee as long as it isn't jumping too many sizes & it's not eternity style.
I don't know if I would ever "upgrade" my engagement ring. I am ridiculously sentimental about jewelry and well, everything. Lol. Even if I got a new ring to represent a new time in our married life, I would definitely keep the original. I have many friends who have upgraded and I love that it makes them happy. And of course their new rings are TDF! But I have trouble parting with anything that has any memories associated with it. (Case in point, I have two large trunks full of baby clothes, books, and school work, etc. from my three kids. It's insane!)
When my fiancé and I got engaged at 19 we could only afford a ring from Overstock that was $250. I "upgraded" because the diamonds fell out of my overstock ring and my grandmother gave me her grandmother's ring. Not exactly the more money get a new ring kind of update but this has just as much sentimental value which makes me happy.
That's really lovely that your grandmother gave you your great-great grandmother's ring! You should have the prongs checked by a reputable jeweler to make sure that the stone(s) do not fall out. Prongs often get worn away by years of wear--and it doesn't take that many years either, maybe 20. Antique rings can be quite fragile in that regard. May you enjoy many happy years of wearing the ring!