Wedding Bands

We ordered our wedding bands at the end of January from Lime Blue (the same store where BMM bought me the engagement ring). Both of us wish to have matching bands and we came up with a design that would be suitable for both genders.

BMM insisted the wedding bands to be made of platinum for its long lasting and durable characteristics. I wanted a small square diamond on each band to give them a little more pizazz. We chose a double band design for extra definition, with a matte finish on the inner band. This means a thinner matte finish band is placed on top of a thicker band. Our wedding bands were hand made; BMM's band is 6mm wide and mine is 4mm wide.

My band was taken back to Lime Blue three times due to unsatisfactory workmanship. I know I'm picky and overly attentive to detail but I thought I have every right to be fastidious on this most important piece of jewelry in my life. The problem was the edge of the matte inner band was rough, especially in the front close to the square diamond. When I ran my thumb over the surface of the band, there was a slight cutting sensation. The worse part was I could clearly identify the uneven finish just by looking at it.

As I was told by Lime Blue that the female band was quite thin, so it was hard to make the edge completely smooth. After two attempts to repair it I saw no improvement and pretty much had lost my patience at that point, so I told the store manager I would only give them one last chance. The store manager said since the previous repairs at the workshop didn't work she would send the band to the company's personal jeweler for the last attempt. She would offer us a refund if this final repair effort fails. Fortunately by the end of April, the band came back with a nice, smooth edge…so glad it was finally over.

Engagement Rings

Most rings are generally made of platinum, white gold or gold.

Platinum is a rare metal which does not oxidize over time. It requires only basic maintenance to upkeep its silvery white appearance. Platinum is malleable this allows more diversity in design from other conventional counterparts such as gold. Its hypoallergenic so it will not cause any irritation on skin.

White Gold is an alloy of gold, mixed with some other white metals like silver and palladium. Rhodium, a bright white metal in the platinum group, is then used as coating around the ring to make it look more white. The downside of rhodium is it will wear out and requires re-plating.

Gold is a traditional metal for engagement rings; however its popularity has been overtaken by the white metals. The main consideration in gold is the carat mark, usually 22k, 18k, 14k or 10k, depending on the percentage of copper or other base metals in the alloy. Gold is not chemically inert, so it can still oxidize over time.

Diamonds

When it comes to diamonds, the most important criteria consist of cut, clarity, color and carat weight (commonly known as the 4C's).

Cut refers to the symmetry and proportion of a diamond. The precision of the cut determines a diamond brilliance.

Clarity refers to the inclusions and blemishes of a diamond, basically the flaws. (e.g. IF=internally flawless, VVS1/VVS2=very very slightly included, VS1/VS2=very slightly included, SI1/SI2=slightly included etc).

Color is an evaluation of quality, transparency of the diamond. The higher the letter, the more colorless the diamond is (e.g. D/E/F is considered colorless, G/H/I is near colorless, J/K/L/M is faint yellow etc).

A carat is measured exactly 200mg at present. Carat weight alone does not determine the price of a diamond. The overall quality of a diamond sets its price, so do not assume bigger equals better.

Shapes	Settings
Round Princess Emerald Oval Pear Marquise Heart Cushion	Solitaire Three Stone Pavé Diamond Band Side Stone Gemstone

Our Engagement

On December 10, 2009, BMM proposed to LMM on Rose Street in Edinburgh. That evening was the first night of Hanukkah, as BMM was presenting the first gift to LMM...he popped the question with a little speech.

This photo is taken the day of at home after the proposal.

My engagement ring is a solitaire round diamond on a platinum band. BMM purchased the ring from Lime Blue, located on 107 George Street, Edinburgh. The staff here are very friendly and helpful. This jewelery store carries a wider range of rings with higher quality compare to most other Edinburgh jewelers located in the city center. You can get a 10% off on your wedding bands if you purchase an engagement ring from Lime Blue.