I’m sure everyone here wishes the greatest possible joy to tennis star Maria Sharapova and her fiance, basketball player Sasha Vujicic. I know I do. I wish that to all couples in love.

And I certainly hope that she loves the purportedly eight-carat diamond ring she’s been sporting in honor of the engagement.

Now, with that out of the way, I clearly need to send a copy of Miss Manners to writer Chris Chase for penning this ‘whimsical’ piece on how Mr. Vujacic has cheaped out on the ring by not spending Chase’s estimate of Vujacic’s two-month salary. Chase estimates that two months worth of Vujacic’s salary comes out to $912,000.00, making the mere $250,000.00 he’s reported to have spent a pittance.*

Sigh.

We’ve been over and over and over this point here at Manolo for the Brides. Two months’ salary for an engagement ring is not etiquette. It was an advertising slogan for DeBeers. You know, the people who sell diamonds. Etiquette considers it painfully rude to even enquire as to the price of someone’s jewelry, let alone a piece so imbued with symbolism. Etiquette would also be appalled at estimating someone’s salary, even when it’s a matter of public record, for the purpose of shaming them into spending more of it. Seriously, these are things over which etiquette has a painful attack of the vapors.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: when choosing an engagement ring, the gentleman should consider the taste of his lady and the state of his bank account (and credit rating). The lady, given the choice, should be thoughtful of his wallet. Everyone else in the universe should just butt out. Er… with the possible exception of the jeweler who is sort of required if the ring is being bought new or adapted from a not-so-new source.

Besides, if Mr. Twistie had followed the two months salary ‘rule’ I would never have gotten the engagement ring I wanted. It didn’t cost nearly that much.

*(I know the article is meant to be humorous, but it’s still based on a crass assumption that needs to be deflated at every possible opportunity. Way too many people think that ‘rule’ is a real one, so I continue to tilt at this particular windmill.)

In honor of the fact that it’s the first anniversary of my 30th birthday – thank you, Tiffany, for the perspective! – I thought it would be fun to have a little giveaway. The lovely gals at Polli, a super cute all-female Australian company that has been certified Low CO2, have graciously agreed to participate!

Isn’t that adorable? When Polli got in touch, I was just squeeing my head off. Why? More often than not, when I wear my engagement ring, I wear it on a chain around my neck! But I hate the way it sticks out – I look at this pendant and see the perfect, though admittedly cheeky, solution to my problem.

Win it!

Polli is offering Manolo for the Brides readers a chance to win a gorgeous and fun “diamond ring” pendant! To enter, visit Polli and tell me what you’d choose if you could have anything at all from their sweet jewelry, accessories, and housewares. I, for example, would love to get a Fractal Eco Clock for my birthday! So just let me know what Polli product you dig, and you’ll have one entry to your name.

For additional entries, do any of the following (and leave a comment for each additional entry):

1. As always, you can score one additional entry when you add Manolo for the Brides to your blogroll or let us know we’re already on your blogroll so we can link back to you

2. Score two additional entries when you sign up for the Polli newsletter

3. And you can pick up a whopping three additional entries when you tweet this giveaway or post about it on your own blog!

This giveaway will end at 11:59 p.m. EST on Sunday, October 31, and the winner – chosen via your friend and mine, the trusty random number generator – will be announced the next day. Good luck!

Once upon a time, when marriage was more likely to be a financial arrangement than the joining of two hearts desperately in love, rings were pretty much only for the bride. She might or might not get a betrothal ring, and she wore the wedding ring. After all, he was the one with earthly goods to endow people with. Hers were… not hers. They were her father’s and the groom had probably already gotten that milk cow, interest in the family shipping business, or strategically important tract of land.

Of course, times change and symbols with them. Marriage became a more equitable and less businesslike proposition. Around World War Two, wedding rings for men became popular. Since then, the majority of men do wear wedding rings.

In fact, there are some parts of the world where men wear engagement rings, too. For instance, last month singer Michael Buble announced that he was wearing a ‘man-gagement’ ring, as is the custom in his bride-to-be’s native Argentina.

But neither an engagement nor a wedding ring is actually required on anyone. There are some professions where wearing a ring could be dangerous on the job. There are some men – and even some women, but it appears to be more common among men – who just plain don’t wear jewelry of any sort.

For instance, Mr. Twistie doesn’t have a wedding ring. When I asked him if he wanted one, he look about as though I’d just suggested he expose himself to my grandmother. For the record, I never suggested any such thing. Still, one look at that face and I told him not to worry about it. If he didn’t want a ring, that was fine by me. One less thing to buy suited me fine. And considering he doesn’t even wear a watch, it wasn’t a huge surprise to me.

But different people obviously feel differently on the subject. What are your thoughts on rings (engagement and wedding) for guys? Does your man wear a ring? Will he? Voluntarily? Whose choice was it? Does it matter if they match?
via

Aren’t these just too pretty? LaVieja Tun Tun‘s bridal necklaces, hair clips, hair pins, and other bridal accessories are feminine, romantic, and perfect perhaps for the bride who wants a striking piece of jewelry to complement her classic, Hollywood, or vintage wedding day look.

Hand formed soft fabric roses are paired with glass pearls, Czech beads, semi-precious stones, and brass links to make all manner of bridal jewelry (that is also nice for the bridesmaid or even the non-bride). Apparently, LaVieja Tun Tun will happily custom make a necklace or other piece using your wedding colors, but I’m having a hard time confirming that. I’m envisioning the brighter counterparts of the accessories above on brides who want to add a little more color and flair in their bridal ensemble.

What do you think? LaVieja Tun Tun’s designs are quite chunky and can dominate. Too much? Just enough?

Still looking for your “something blue”? Plenty of brides hide something blue under their skirts in the form of a blue bridal garter or blue satin shoes. Then there are brides who add a touch of blue to their wedding gowns with the addition of a sash or even wear an entirely blue wedding dress! Maybe, however, none of these options sounds right to you. May I suggest a bridal necklace that features a big splash of sparkling blue? For just under $50, a frequently closer to $30, a bride can get something blue that is bright, fun, and totally rewearable. Here are four of my faves:

From afar, this blue pendant necklace from An Optimistic Cynic looks rather like blue opal because of the different colors, but come closer and you see that it’s actually painted flowers. Matching beads on a uniquely-shaped chain complete the look. ($25)

(more…)

Much of the bridal jewelry that can be described as affordable is meh. For the most part, you have your faux pearl sets and your glittering rhinestone pieces available in every color under the sun.

I tend to recommend spending a bit more (but not much more) for vintage costume jewelry that will at least be well made or, better yet, scrap the whole notion of buying something new and ask grandma or a great aunt for that special “something borrowed.” Shopping in one’s own closet can yield some surprisingly bridal results, though that depends on whether you have a tendency to amass jewelry.

Then again, it could turn out that no one in your family has good taste or an eye for fanciful things and maybe vintage jewelry just isn’t your bag. What is a girl to do? This is where I suggest taking a cue from Hollywood, spending even more money, and borrowing bridal jewelry usually reserved for those who exist in mountain-high tax brackets. Jewelry rental! Assuming you’re not famous enough to attract designers desperate for you to wear their necklaces, earrings, and bracelets, please read ‘borrow’ as ‘rent.’

That’s right, jewelry rental. The same way that brides can rent wedding dresses (though few actually do), brides can rent bridal jewelry… really nice bridal jewelry. Adorn Brides puts some seriously precious metals and gems into the hands of those who might otherwise be stuck pairing an el cheapo bridal jewelry set with a $1,000 wedding gown. How does jewelry rental work? It works like this:

1. Go shopping and pick out the pieces you love and add them to your “shopping bag.” Check their availability by entering your event date.
2. Check out using a credit card to order the jewelry for your event date.
3. Look amazing wearing the jewelry on your wedding day

• We will call you a few days before your event to confirm shipping information and review the details.
• Your jewelry will arrive 2 business days prior to your event.
• Best of all, the jewelry is insured while in your possession and the insurance is included in the rental price! (If the jewelry is not returned, we will charge a 33% deductible.)
• Please note that an amount equal to approximately 5% of the retail value of the jewelry will be reserved on your credit card while you have the jewelry as a temporary security deposit.

4. Send it back on the first business day after your event using packaging and pre-paid label Adorn provides for you.

• Simply drop it off at the closest UPS store.
• Once we receive the jewelry we will remove the security deposit.

Voila! Jewelry rental! Do note that even though renting a fine piece of jewelry will cost you a lot less than buying a fine piece of jewelry, bridal jewelry rental can still set you back a pretty penny. Think in the order of $1,000 for a complete set, and even then I’m not talking about a pair of huge champagne diamond earrings. In other words, jewelry rental is only a budget option if your wedding budget is fairly well-padded. Bridal jewelry rental is, however, an idea perfect for the diamondless bride dead set on wearing real diamonds on her wedding day.

Sometimes the public relations e-mails I get really raise my hackles, particularly when the companies advertising therein are trying to convince me (and thereby you) that their product or service is necessary to matrimonial or marital happiness. For example, I recently received an e-mail with this subject line: Is the recession costing women carats? Here is the FiLife poll doing the asking, where the actual question is “How many weeks’ salary is appropriate to spend on an engagement ring?”:

The more traditional seven to nine weeks is winning out over three to five weeks, but just barely. Personally, I think the appropriate number of weeks’ salary is however many weeks the giver can afford and is comfortable with. For some, that might be half a weeks’ salary. For others, it might be ninety-nine weeks’ salary. Twistie has her silver frog. I have two engagement rings, both of which sport semi-precious stones and were purchased via eBay. Most of my momfriends have these ginormous diamond engagement rings that kind of make my eyes glaze over. Different strokes for different folks, right?

But I guess not, since us ladies are apparently losing out on precious carats now that there’s a recession on. Poll comments like “I want a real ring to go along with my real marriage…If you are cheap don’t take champange (sic) to the beer store.” appear to confirm it. You know us women, all thinking math is hard and drooling slack-jawed over shiny bits of carbon. Seriously though, diamonds are definitely pretty, but precious carats? Precious carats? Goodness forbid we have to go through life without enough carats in our engagement rings!

My only consolation is that if the recession gets bad enough, we’ll all be too busy worrying about acquiring, ahem, precious carrots to give a thought to precious carats.