{"id":10175,"date":"2011-03-16T01:48:22","date_gmt":"2011-03-16T05:48:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wendybrandes.com\/blog\/?p=10175"},"modified":"2011-03-16T01:48:22","modified_gmt":"2011-03-16T05:48:22","slug":"mariels-engagement-ring-reminds-me-of-abba","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/2011\/03\/mariels-engagement-ring-reminds-me-of-abba\/","title":{"rendered":"Mariel’s Engagement Ring Reminds Me of ABBA"},"content":{"rendered":"

When gorgeous blogger Mariel of Preppy With a Twist<\/a> asked me to create her engagement ring, I immediately got ABBA’s “Waterloo” stuck in my head. It took me a while to recall that the song was featured in a key scene of the 1994 movie Muriel’s Wedding<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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In the movie, Toni Collette is shy Muriel of Porpoise Spit, Australia, who dreams of a glamorous wedding. After escaping her hometown, she changes her name to … Mariel. Ha! Free association that makes sense. I love it.<\/p>\n

I also love doing engagement rings, so I was thrilled that real-life Mariel gave me the chance to do hers. You can read all about her experience as a customer here<\/a>. (And Mariel, the emails were perfectly fine!) I’ll explain the experience from my end.<\/p>\n

Mariel and her fiance Matt wanted to use a diamond that belonged to his great-great aunt. It was set in a necklace.<\/p>\n

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Photo from Mariel. Click for her post.<\/p><\/div>\n

First, I took the diamond out of the necklace and took a look at it. Diamonds are the hardest naturally occurring substance. That doesn’t mean they can’t break! If they couldn’t, we wouldn’t be able to cut them into pleasing shapes. So, with an old stone, I make sure there are no chips or breaks that would make the diamond unusable. This one looked good, so I took it to the Gemological Institute of America<\/a> to have it officially graded. With an old, previously ungraded stone, it’s good to have this information for insurance purposes. Also, despite the emotional factor, some people decide to go for a stone of a different quality based on the report. Others decide to recut their stone to improve color or clarity. I recently recut my own sapphire. It was originally set in a ring that my parents gave me for my 16th birthday. It was very dark, almost black. The recutting made it look more blue and sapphire-like. Whenever you recut a stone, you lose some weight. A 95-point stone (there are 100 points in a carat) might be reduced to 85 points, yet gain in quality.<\/p>\n

Mariel and Matt were satisfied with their GIA report, so Mariel and I discussed what she wanted. She was very specific: a platinum ring with a thin bezel<\/a> setting, and a 2.5 millimeter band that was rounded on the outside and flat on the inside. Here’s what I made for her.<\/p>\n

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Mariel's ring.<\/p><\/div>\n

I would say her style is “classic,” but not “traditional.” Here it is on her finger.<\/p>\n

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Photo from Mariel. Click for her post.<\/p><\/div>\n

I am happy to do any style engagement ring, whether you want a diamond in a traditional four-prong setting<\/a> or a white sapphire in an insect-themed<\/a> band. Basically, if you can describe it and pay for it, I’ll do it. Holla at me at wbjewelry at hotmail dot com if you want to talk to me about engagement rings and\/or wedding bands.<\/p>\n

***
\nHelp survivors of the Japanese earthquake\/tsunami by sending emergency supplies via ShelterBox<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

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When gorgeous blogger Mariel of Preppy With a Twist asked me to create her engagement ring, I immediately got ABBA’s “Waterloo” stuck in my head. It took me a while to recall that the song was featured in a key scene of the 1994 movie Muriel’s Wedding. In the movie, Toni Collette is shy Muriel…<\/p>\n

Read More »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":10178,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[12,341,523,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10175","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-blogs-and-bloggers","category-custom-work","category-engagement-rings","category-gorgeous-clients","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t