Possessions as Social Capital

[Gregg]

I had an engagement ring made for DW. It contained a few small diamonds from a ring of her mother's and a little larger one from a ring of my mom's. She lost it 2 or 3 times, but it always found its way home. Then it was stolen by a family member who was battling addiction and that was that. She never said a word about trying to replace it with anything and that's ok with me. I still have my $28 / 10 ct. gold wedding band from Service Merchandise on my hand. Haven't removed it since she slipped it on my finger 3 kids and a couple decades ago. Probably a miracle my finger hasn't turned green...

[rodeosweetheart]

Ah Gregg, that is a really sweet story.
My husband has lost three wedding rings, from working on house to working on Alfa Romeo, etc.
Maybe he is trying to tell me something. . .

[dmc]

I don't wear jewelry myself, not even a watch. My wedding ring is in a box somewhere. But my wife likes to wear jewelry and diamonds and gold still have value. I have a friend who is a jeweler and I have bought a few diamonds from him from time to time when someone wants to sell to him. I pay at wholesale or less, so I either have the money sitting in the bank or have it made into something.

I have never sold any, but we have given some to our sons for their wifes wedding rings. We do carry extra insurance for it, but its not that expensive.

I guess I missed the part were jewelry is bad to have. Isn't it just another form of art? Its been around for a while now.

[catherine]

I guess I missed the part were jewelry is bad to have. Isn't it just another form of art? Its been around for a while now.

No, I don't think jewelry is bad to have at all. Many people love it. In India, women get lots of gold from their families for personal security of sorts--at least that's what I hear. It is beautiful, like art, as you said, and a really fun way of self-expression.

My own personal thing against it is that it has no intrinsic value. I know you can sell it for money, as long as other people value it, but in terms of its large "investment", you can't eat it, it doesn't keep you warm, and it's really just a pretty rock. Also, I have a very bad track record with expensive jewelry in terms of losing it. It's just not for me. Diamonds are NOT my best friend. Plus, their value is very artificially inflated.

For the record, I do LOVE cheap jewelry made by good artists.

And I responded to IL's post because I really don't understand how wrapped up some women get with their engagement ring expectations. In her story, all that ado from the woman's family just seems like a waste of time and stress. But to each his own.