If you found out that your partner recycled the engagement ring they gave to their ex and regifted it to you, would you feel insulted?
Several years ago, this man spent $20,000 on an engagement ring for the woman he had been with for five years. Well, he did actually propose to her with that ring, but their engagement came to an end.
She then gave the ring back to him, and he has not talked to this woman since. He does happen to have a couple of other pieces of jewelry he bought for his ex-fiancée, which she returned to him.
“Now I’m in a new relationship, and I genuinely believe she is the person I’m meant to spend my life with. She’s pregnant with our child, and I want to propose before the baby comes,” he explained.
“The issue is that, financially, I cannot afford to buy another ring anywhere close to what I bought before. I spoke to my jeweler, and they said they could completely redesign the old ring into something entirely different using the existing stones.”
“My child’s mother-to-be already knows about the ring and has told me she would love anything I gave her, which honestly means a lot to me. But I still can’t shake the feeling that maybe reusing the stones could cause resentment later on, even if she says she’s okay with it now.”
He thinks it’s pragmatic for him to regift the ring, since the bond he had with the woman he gave it to is over and done with, and the stones are just that. Stones.
But he does worry that maybe it’s wrong to use the same stones since it did have significance for his ex-fiancée.
He’s left wondering if he should use the old stones and make a new ring for his girlfriend, or if he should try to sell or exchange them for something completely new, which would mean he would have to buy her a way smaller ring.
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He’s quite in love with his girlfriend, and he would hate for his proposal or consequent marriage to be tied to his old baggage.
Ok, so I think if he lets his new girl wear his ex’s ring, that’s too tacky, but since he wants to entirely redesign a ring with the old stones, I don’t have a problem with it.
There are so many gorgeous settings he could come up with for the stones to turn it into something new and special. Reselling jewelry is never a great plan, since he’s right about getting far less for that ring than what he paid for it.
A redesign is the perfect resolution!
What do you think he should do?
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By Bre Avery Zacharski
Hi, I'm Bre, Chip Chick's CEO! I have a degree in Textile/Surface Design from The Fashion Institute of Technology, and... More about Bre Avery Zacharski
