Quinn and I spoke about that which matters to us when searching for rings and determined that niether of us wants a terribly expensive piece of jewelry on our finger. I am not a ''diamonds are a girls best friend'' type of woman - nor do I want a ring that costs 3 months salary. We have no ties to the "traditional" american wedding ring philosophy. These are things which matter to us -
- recycled or ecofriendly materials
- symbolism/meaning
- prefer silver color to yellowish gold
- durability
- comfort
- unique design
Here is some information that the UN has released about conflict diamonds.
Learn more about the diamond industry. DiamondFacts.org
Learn more about the diamond industry. DiamondFacts.org
The mining of gold, silver and other metals is also very toxic and harmful to the environment.
There are negative effects on land and water, such as deforestation, loss of biodiversity, pollution, spread of disease.... just to name a few. Here is a great article on the harmful effects of mining on the environment.
I just love etsy and enjoy the idea of supporting an artist who works to make ethical and ecofriendly jewelry. I did some searching on the website and came across these great rings!
'Great Eco-engagement and Wedding Rings' by GreenNotion
A collection of wedding and engagement rings that are eco friendly and gorgeous!
 Pine Branch Ring - Diam... $880.00 |
 Doubled Pine Branch Rin... $140.00 |
 CLOSEOUT - Oregon Sunst... $299.00 |
 White Sapphire .... Ste... $275.00 |
 SAMPLE SALE - Moissanit... $ |
 Hammered Lotus Seed Rin... $225.00 |
 Rough Diamond Set in 14... $275.00 |
 LIFETIME Wedding Set of... $ |
 Natural Rose Cut Diamon... $850.00 |
 Asi Moran - ecofriendly... $98.00 |
 In The Pines, In The Pi... $ |
 In My Secret Garden Rec... $175.00 |
 Forest of Trees Ring (s... $315.00 |
 Rough Diamond Ring Trio... $275.00 |
 Ecogagement One $300.00 |
 Chiseled Rainbow Moonst... $175.00 |
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We decided upon these beautiful rings made of wood that we will wear during our engagement period from MnMWoodworks
MnM Woodworks makes custom wooden rings and wedding bands. They have some amazing creations in their shop. Absolutely gorgeous! MnM (Matt and Molli) Woodworks is run by a young couple from Tennessee. Matt's grandfather got him interested in woodworking when he was just nine years old. Now he has been creating things from wood for over 14 years! Molli has done very little woodworking. However, she helps with the designing of some items.
The rings we chose are handcrafted by MnM Woodworks out of ancient Kauri (middle) and Blue Mahoe woods.
The Kauri they used has been buried in a bog in New Zealand for thousands of years. Ancient Kauri is the oldest workable timber on Earth. Every tree grew for at least 1,200 years and was preserved underground for 50,000 years or more! The process that is used to extract the Kauri is eco-friendly because the excavated land is returned to its natural state and no living trees are harvested.
We love our rings. They are beautiful! Pure artistry and craftsmanship. We decided that we would wear them for this year of engagement because we want to preserve them in a special shadowbox. We are both fairly 'rough' on our hands and have discovered that we will probably wind up destroying our rings after a few years. We will exchange another set of rings at our ceremony and have these beautiful wooden rings set in a shadowbox so that we might display them in our home for all of time.
The rings which we found for our wedding rings were also an etsy discovery! We found them in a lovely shop called Sudlow Jewelry.
Rachael is a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design in Photography and Jewelry making - and she has a lovely etsy shop. You can sign up for Rachael's newsletter where she offers special sales and deals here. Be sure to check out the rest of her site for some really beautiful jewelry. She is quite talented! Rachael was a pleasure to work with and gave me lots of personal attention and she even sent me several pictures as my ring was being developed. Check out this pic of the ring before it was set with a stone..
The oak and the acorn have become a very prevalent symbol in our relationship. They are symbolic of family, loyalty and longevity. From the tiny acorn the mighty oak grows and is rooted in earth but reaches for the sky. It was the perfect choice for our wedding bands. Here is a slideshow of our rings.....
(please feel free to click on over to my flickr page)
Some information about peridots:
Peridot is associated with Venus and is known as a stone of my sun sign Virgo. Peridot is said to clear the heart chakra, strengthen breath of life, prosperity, growth and openness. It has been used to treat emotional states such as anger, jealousy and irritation. It's color as well as the stone, inspires healing, renewal, purification, rebirth and growth. Peridot is said to have the ability to bring healing and vitality to the whole body, and to increase patience, confidence and assertiveness.
The joyful and friendly energy of this stone helps make and seal friendships. It clears the heart, releases the ego, which in turn cleanses jealousy and anger, hence bringing about a sense of peace and quiet amusement. A visionary stone, peridot helps connect us to our destinies and to an understanding of the purpose of existence
Green is one of my favorite colors. My Grandma Lee gave me a ring when I was younger with a beautiful peridot set within it and I cherished it. Alas, I lost the ring long ago... this stone reminds me of many pleasant things. I just adore it
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