Long before I began my mad love affair with bracelets, there were RINGS!! I pretty much started wearing them out of the womb :P
Back in the '60's, when the first wave of 'cocktail rings' were at their most popular (think 'Mad Men'), I used to dig through my mom's costume jewelry and put a ring on each finger. Watching her get ready to go out with my daddy, in a haze of Emeraude perfume, I thought she oozed class from every pore (I still do!), and those rings finished off her look. Yep, when I was very little, bigger rings were better!
In the 70's, turquoise stones set in sterling silver were all the rage. Remember 'Billy Jack?' Again, my mother had beautiful turquoise pieces. As I got a little older, I started preferring smaller rings, so my mom's were safe from my sticky fingers!
When you think of the 80's, you usually think big, door knocker earrings and day-glo everything. Well, yes for the mid to late 80's. However, I graduated from high school in 1982, and we were still in the 'preppy' phase of our lives. Along with the penny loafers and button down dress shirts, we wore small pearl or stud earrings, with similar, small rings. That set the tone for the jewelry I would wear through much of my adult life.
From the age of 18 through my early 40's, i wore delicate earrings and rings, but often stacked them. It wasn't unusual for me to wear 3 rings on one hand, often one on my thumb. When my kids came, I didn't have much time to primp and put together jewelry ensembles, so I wore real gold earrings and rings and wore them ALL THE TIME, hardly ever taking them off. Kinda hard to coordinate when you're chasing a toddler up the china cabinet!
Sometime in my mid 40's, I started liking bigger rings. This was a huge surprise, as I'd always associated big bling with my lovely mama, who wears statement jewelry like nobody's business. Maybe I can blame this on my sweet husband. When he proposed, he surprised me with a 2 carat diamond engagement ring that took my breath away, even though I had stubbornly insisted we have plain gold bands if we married. I have small hands and fingers, but the ring looks just like it belongs, and that got me comtemplating OTHER bigger pieces of jewelry, like........COCKTAIL RINGS!!
'Cause, you know........fashion is just one big circle.
Anyway, today's Rocking Ring is courtesy Plato's Closet in beautiful Uptown Westerville, Ohio. I have sung the praises of this amazing consignment store before in my blog. This perfect gold swirl ring was all of $4. A bit big for a pinky ring, yet far too small for my ring finger, and my daughter sweetly suggested I NOT make it a midi ring (I like cutting edge, but I don't want to be ridiculous!). Trying to figure out what to do, I finally decided to take it to Bargar's Jewelry, a landmark in downtown Delaware. Not only do they have gorgeous jewelry, watches, jewelry boxes, etc., they also provide jewelry repair and sizing. For rings that aren't real gold, but need to be sized and for which I don't want to settle for that blasted plastic monstrosity you can pop on the back, they offer an alternative. The second picture illustrates the gold wrap the jeweler expertly used to size my ring. Now it's perfect on my pinky. I've had Bargar's size several rings for me, and it's only $5 and change :)
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