My Turquoise Bag

Like many around the world, we’ve made the decision to postpone our wedding celebration to next year.

We began 2020 with excitement, visiting cool venues where we’d envision our intimate wedding while enjoying complimentary champagne and delicious cake samples. In February, we secured a deposit for our venue and photographer, we announced the date to our close family and friends, and I even started casually browsing for a dress with my Mom.

And just when we were about to finalize our Save The Date, the world went on lockdown.

As you can imagine, I had a lot of wedding-related content that I was excited to share on here. 2020 was going to be the year I would blog about my own wedding, share ideas on decor, bridal fashion, themes, and of course, the special moments of our wedding and the moments leading up to it.

And maybe I still can. Even though the big event is pushed back, there is still plenty to celebrate and cherish.

So I thought, why not start by writing about the one item that started all this?

My “something old”. My beautiful, vintage engagement ring that my fiancé picked out on his own.

Although it has become common for couples to shop or custom-design a ring together, I personally preferred that my fiancé led the experience when it came time to it. After all, he’s the one investing in it and he’s the one asking me the question. I’d rather the ring was hand-picked by him, all the while keeping my taste and style in mind.

The conversation of engagement rings came up almost four years ago, after one of his friends got engaged. I commented to him how nicely the ring suited her, and my fiancé not-so-subtly asked me what kind of ring I like.

The question caught me off guard. Not because he asked such a direct question that indicated he’s been thinking about this, but because I actually didn’t know what type of engagement ring I wanted.

I definitely knew what I didn’t want. I didn’t want a big chunky ring, and I didn’t want too much busyness. Most importantly, I didn’t want a mass-produced ring since I tend to lean towards more unique pieces.

So that’s basically what I responded to him with, and then took it upon Pinterest and boutique jewelry stores to come up with a better answer for him, and for myself.

I was considering an emerald or an opal stone, which are some of my favourite gems. Funny enough, when I brought it up, he pointed out that those were soft stones that have a tendency to break easily over time. Clearly, he was already doing his research…

Finally, with time (and many Pinterest boards and solo ring trials later), I knew for sure what I wanted. As much as I love unique gems, I landed on something more timeless and durable.

I wanted a simple, elegant solitaire diamond ring on a gold band. A classic.

Once I knew that for sure, I casually reported that information back to my scientifically-driven fiancé, and I knew I was in good hands. I had all the confidence in the world that he would select a solid quality he was 100% sure of – and I was secretly relieved that responsibility was off my shoulders.

He once mentioned the idea of a lab grown diamond, and I was convinced that’s what he was going to get since it’s one of the most ethical and eco-friendly options, which was important to me.

Well, he certainly kept me in mind when choosing my ring. To my extreme delight, with his knee on the ground, he chose to go vintage.

When he proposed, he pulled out a vintage green box. Elegantly tucked between its velvet interior was a diamond that glistened under the October sun. This ring had my name on it. It was perfect.

The ring he chose for me is an Old European Cut Diamond that was historically cut around the period of the 1890s-1930s. My favourite part about my ring is that it was historically common in the Art Deco era.

He was unable to get the exact details or story behind this ring, but he did get confirmation that this cut of diamond stopped being produced in the 1930s.

The band is 14 karat gold and the diamond is 0.5 carat which is a perfect, proportionate fit to my finger.

The ring is from a reputable antique store in the heart of the city. We’ve walked by that store a million times, and the one time we went inside, I swooned over the endless antique teacup collections, and he enjoyed the vintage whiskey tumblers and barware collections. I never thought that my engagement ring would have been waiting there.

Knowing that he had his heart set on a vintage ring made this entire experience more meaningful. “He really knows you”, is what everybody says as they admire the twinkle on my left hand.

That, he absolutely does. Sometimes, he knows me better than I know myself. And that’s exactly why I’m marrying him.

I often wonder who this ring belonged to. How many generations did it pass. I wonder where this ring was made. Where did it travel. What adventures did it go on, or what hardships it overcame. I wonder what dress was worn to accompany it, and what flowers were held behind it.

But then I think that maybe it’s best not to know. My most favourite part about antique pieces is romanticizing a story, and then tying it to a blank slate by making it our own story.

XO ✨ 🤍