jewelry around horses... what holds up best?

[pinkhorse]

My engagement ring is an (almost) antique (1908) platinum with lots of filigree and lots (like 30 or so) of small diamonds made by my husband’s grandfather for his wife as a “dinner ring”. The whole thing is pretty flat - nothing sticks up - and, I’ll never admit it if you told Mr. Pinkhorse, but my second or third thought after I first saw it was, “the perfect riding ring!!”. It fits nicely in a glove. One jeweler absolutely frieked when a diamond fell out of it and he replaced it when I told him that I wore it every day. “It’s your ENGAGEMENT RING??? … It’s like driving an antique car across the country - you just wouldn’t do it!” I say, forget it! It was $50 to replace the diamond. I love this ring and only take it off for Tae Kwon Do. (It may be flat but it’s certainly not something you’ld want to punch someone with!) Besides, taking rings off is way too risky for me (I’d be afraid I’d lose it and that would be a BAD THING).

Anyway, it’s in perfect shape (after replacing the one stone) - as in it doesn’t bend. On my other ring finger I wear a white gold old ring ('20’s) - same deal as in filigree and flat - but it’s bent out of shape some. Neither are scratched. My wedding band (also platinum) is also pretty pristene. I get them cleaned up every so often - maybe twice a year. (I’ve had them almost 7.)

Neither are scratched.

There are 2 women at my barn who have had their stick-up-y diamonds reset so that they’re flatter.

Re: losing stuff - someone’s mother lost her huge diamond somewhere in the indoor arena at Stoneleigh Burnham a few years ago. I must admit to catty thoughts about rich people with their big diamonds hanging around barns… I imagine someone who made a purchase from Stewarts Nursery (who used to pick up the manure from the barn) getting a nice surprize with their pretty new dogwood tree…

Also, I lost a bracelet when seeding the pasture that I’d been coveting for years and my sister bought me for x-mas last year. About 2 weeks later I was setting up a dressage arena in the indoor when I looked down and saw this thing that looked like a worm. But, no! It was my bracelet - come home to me! I immediately took it to get a new kind of clasp.

[1-800-Dial-A-Distanc]

Okay, I only have experience with my high school ring which is silver with an onyx stone, but it has held up unbelievably well. I was just thinking about that today…
1-800

“The tongue weighs less than an ounce but few have the strength to hold it.”

“Fool me once, shame, shame on you, fool me twi, you, you can’t fool me again.”
~ Sad day for us Republicans

[poltroon]

Mr. Poltroon bought me a horse instead of a ring.

[baileygreyhorse]

Nope, you’re not the only woman not wearing her wedding band to the barn. Mine became too small when I lost some weight last year and I can’t stand the feeling of it dangling on my finger. And on the subject of engagement rings… Mine always goes to the barn. It’s my 2500 Dodge Ram truck. Yep, instead of getting a diamond, I got a truck for my engagement. Sounds kind of redneck, but it’s a really nice truck

[commodore]

I have a platinum solitaire, 3 karats, that is set really, really high–when I first saw it, all I could think about was what to do about riding gloves! However, that has proven not to be much of a problem. Also, I thought I would catch it on everything (it is set WAY high) but for some reason it just really is not an issue (although I did catch it in a tangly mane once over a jump). One caveat: I must say that I find that my platinum ring is quite scratched up and I have only had it for a little over a year. It just looks nice and worn-in, though, not dingy or anything.

[SaddleFitterVA]

<BLOCKQUOTE class=“ip-ubbcode-quote”><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by murdoch:
OK getting really off topic here…
But does anyone not wear their wedding ring - I mean I hardly ever wear it - it’s always in my purse. This started when I started riding more than one horse… I found that I couldn’t ride in it (gave me nasty caluses on my finger) and since I tend to go to work straight from the barn (or vise versa) I would always forget to put it back on… Now it’s a habit.
To tell the truth I’ve never really liked the feel of anything on my hands or wrists - I hardly ever wear a watch and avoid gloves unless it’s really cold.
My engagement ring hasn’t seen the light of day in years and my wedding ring surfaces occasionally for family events - my mother is horrified

So am I the only married woman in the country that doesn’t wear a wedding ring? Anyone have any barn friendly marriage symbol ideas - it’s not like I have any regrets being married or anything - my SO is a wonderful husband!

Maybe I should just get my finger tattooed (ouch )<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Murdoch,

No, no…I haven’t seen my wedding ring in a few years…I know it is in a box somewhere , but I’m not sure where.

It bothered me when I rode, I am not really into jewelry. Then the diamond (a mere 1/4 carat) became loose in the tiffany setting, and I put that away…in a braces rubber band bag…with the rubber bands still there . After leaving my wedding ring on the kitchen counter for weeks and weeks at a time, my husband started to put it on a breadbag as a “tie”…I took the hint and put it away.

Mel

[Starmite]

Kinda OT, but my gold bracelet that I’ve had since I was 8 years old got lost at the barn yesterday! I’m sooooo sad.
~MP

Founding member of the ‘Starmite Rocks My World’ CLICK

[murdoch]

OK getting really off topic here…
But does anyone not wear their wedding ring - I mean I hardly ever wear it - it’s always in my purse. This started when I started riding more than one horse… I found that I couldn’t ride in it (gave me nasty caluses on my finger) and since I tend to go to work straight from the barn (or vise versa) I would always forget to put it back on… Now it’s a habit.
To tell the truth I’ve never really liked the feel of anything on my hands or wrists - I hardly ever wear a watch and avoid gloves unless it’s really cold.
My engagement ring hasn’t seen the light of day in years and my wedding ring surfaces occasionally for family events - my mother is horrified

So am I the only married woman in the country that doesn’t wear a wedding ring? Anyone have any barn friendly marriage symbol ideas - it’s not like I have any regrets being married or anything - my SO is a wonderful husband!

Maybe I should just get my finger tattooed (ouch )

[Fred]

MY husband is the pawnshop king! He has a GPD on his dashboard set for pawnshops. We even got our wedding rings in a pawnshop. Mine is 18k, very old, rounded, like a curtain ring - and I never take it off, except the time I broke my fingers and the MD in the ER threatened to cut if off (actually - he said “your choice, take the ring off, or we’ll have to cut your finger off when it becomes gangrenous”. Now, I’m stubborn, but not crazy!. My anniversary ring - trinity setting, 2 diamonds, centre sapphire, never goes to the barn.
I always wear plain gold hoops or diamond studs and a gold Cartier ( 3 intertwined bands of gold) bracelet on my right wrist…
and ridiculous accidents DO happen. I have worn that bracelet for about 15 or so years.
Last year, coming back from a show, I ran my hand down one of Fred’s back legs to wrap him. He picked his leg up quickly, thinking that is what I wanted, and SOMEHOW my bracelet got hooked on his stud. He put his leg down, (until that moment I didn’t realize what had happened) - and of course when he put his foot down, my shoulder yanked down with it, with my hand bent in a horrible position under his foot. Thank God it was this horse!! He picked his foot up the second he felt my hand under it and held it suspended until I could get the band out from the crevice between the stud and the shoe. It really hurt! The bracelet is horribly bent out of shape - but did I learn from this and stop wearing it? Noooo. I just try to remember to shove it up my arm when I am working around the horses.

[Kestrel]

Therese, there is a little trick you can do if you still want that colored diamond. You can tint your stone a light shade of pink, blue, lavendar or whatever. Take a WASHABLE ink pen and color the girdle (the skinny edge of the stone between the top and the bottom halves). If the girdle is wide enough to take enough ink, it will lightly tint the entire stone when you look at it from above. It will wash off when you wash your hands and isn’t practical for long term color. You can also use ball point pen ink which will wear off after awhile.

Sister, if your white gold ring is causing skin problems, the alloy probably contains nickel which causes rashes for many people. Rhodium plating will take care of the problem. For a quick fix you can paint clear nail polish inside the ring. It won’t last a long time but it will help until you get the plating done.

[hitchinmygetalong]

If you wear gloves, and you smash the ring and the stone comes out of its setting, it is STILL IN THE GLOVE. Plus, have you ever caught a ring on something? Think of all the horrible “somethings” that are in a barn…

If the stone is big, try turning the ring so the stone is on the palm side of your hand.

Personally, I have NEVER had to worry about my diamond being “too big.” At just over one-third of a carat, I guess some would consider it more of a friendship ring. But since I married my bestest friend ever, guess it’s appropriate!

Besides, it has the highest grade color you can find in a diamond, and I could blind you with it! (and it is “almost” flawless - like my marriage! )

“I am not afraid of storms, for I am learning to sail my ship.”
-Louisa May Alcott

[Kestrel]

In that instance I think the trainer would have suffered an ear trimming even if she didn’t have an earring on. Usually a stud earring will pull out, leaving a slit from the hole to the edge of the ear.

[JB]

My engagement ring is yellow gold with a platinum setting, and I had them make the setting low so that it doesn’t stick up as high as “normal”. My wedding band was custom made in a similar fashion, so it too has a yellow gold band with a platinum setting. Both diamonds are princess cut, so you’d think the corners would catch on things all the time, but honestly I have more problems tucking in a shirt than riding. Because the setting is low, most gloves don’t squish the ring (or get a hole poked through them). If you read one of the latest Horse Journals where they talk about different gloves, there’s actually a new kind ('course I don’t remember what that is) that has a “ring pocket” - a slightly enlarged ring finger part of the glove - bout time! But that said, I just leave my rings at home on the weekends- why bother. But during the week, since I head to the barns after work, I keep them on so as not to risk losing them. The worst part is them getting dirty, but I clean them once or twice a month. And a couple of times a year I get them buffed back to shiny new at the jewelers which is when I also have them check the settings.

[peepie]

How do you keep it from bugging you in gloves? I’m interested…I’ve even thought I’d cut a hole for the stone in the gloves, but then decided not to.

My horse bucked off your honor student!

[Kirsten]

Congratulations, LuckyMe!
That’s wonderful news.

[commodore]

Oh, please. Life is short. It is not worth it to me to take off my beautiful and meaningful engagement ring (that I could possibly misplace) every time I get on a horse. Plus, I don’t do strenuous barn work or longe young horses or anything, so I really would rather take the tiny, tiny chance (of what? I am not quite sure what can happen when you are merely jumping a 3’6" course) of something happening. I bet y’all are the ones who wear those protective vests, too . . .

[dogchushu]

If you haven’t read Merry’s piece in Horse Illustrated on engagement rings, and Thanksgiving, and barn work, you should check it out. It’s side splitting funny!

As an aside, I get stuck with everyone’s engagement rings as they go in to ride at shows. One of these days, I’m going to walk off with one of those large rocks!

For me, I avoid wearing jewelry to the barn or to ride. I don’t mind ruining all my clothes at the barn. But the few nice jewelry pieces I have are not going to get bent, broken, twisted, or scratched. I usually take off jewelry and put it in the toll change pocket in my car.

[LuckyMe]

Great thread… especially since my boyfriend proposed last night, and I now have a sparkly new ring on my finger!!!

It is a gorgeous 3/4 carat princess cut solitaire set in white gold. Of course my first thought was “how is this gonna hold up around the horses??” and I’ve decided that I just can’t risk losing or damaging it-- it’ll stay at home when I go to the barn.

I do lead a very active lifestyle tho… luckily the boyfriend (now husband to be!) let the jeweler know and while it’s not necessarily a cathedral setting, it looks a whole lot sturdier than a lot of solitaire settings I’ve seen.

[peepie]

Insurance is not very expensive…you can get a rider on your homeowner’s or renter’s insurance…it won’t replace the sentimentality, but it will replace it monetarily so you can replace it if lost or trashed.
I agree about earrings! Necklaces, too. However, my ring is the ONLY jewelry I wear to barn…and by the way, people with big stones are not immune from cleaning stalls, etc…hey - the SO bought the ring, NOT ME$$$!!! And he’s no longer the SO, but I still have the ring - on right hand, of course! Hate to waste a good stone!

My horse bucked off your honor student!

[TrakHack]