Wedding rings don't really come much more custom than these…

Fabuluster makes custom wedding bands from your own fingerprints! I love the ones pictured above with the print inside of the ring, it's like keeping one of the things that makes your partner totally unique close to you at all times. Plus it makes a super cool pattern!

The best part is that Fabuluster actually makes it affordable to have a unique wedding ring. They start at $125 for a narrow custom sterling silver wedding band and go up from there. And if diamonds are your thing, they've got you covered as well.

So if you've been searching for totally unique wedding bands, end your search now by heading on over to their Etsy store and take your pick from their amazing selection of designs.

If you're magnetically drawn to the bling, but repulsed and nauseated by the horror of the diamond trade, then you should check out the conflict free diamonds from Brilliant Earth.

In a sea of sketchy mall stores, these guys stand out as a socially responsible jeweler with their conflict-free Canadian diamonds, ethically sourced sapphires, and recycled gold and platinum.

And if that weren't enough? They donate 5% of their profits back to communities in Africa harmed by the jewelry trade. If you've heard of conflict free diamonds but are a little rusty on the specifics, Brilliant Earth has some great resources, including questions to ask any jeweler who you might be working with … and a blog that will continue the education.

They have tons of wedding ring designs — and of course they wouldn't be an offbeat vendor unless they had completely custom wedding rings, too!

I know I crammed a ton of links into this post — but Brilliant Earth's website is so crammed full of both beautiful wedding rings AND well-written information about the jewelry trade that I couldn't help myself. Spend some time and go look around!

This isn't about weddings, but it totally relates — you'll see. And then you will laugh and laugh.

My fiancé gave me an engagement ring that I absolutely love. It is a unique eco-friendly band accompanied by a nice rock which is really just icing on the cake and just that. What I really value is the artistic design of the band itself as no two designs are alike.

When I shared my new engagement ring excitement with a girlfriend, I explained to her the artistic design/eco materials' significance of the ring. She interrupted and asked what size my rock was. Upon learning that I have a 1carat diamond, she then complained to her man for not getting her a diamond of such size. She appeared to have no interest in my story of the ring design itself and was only concerned with rock sizes. How do I politely school/check other people who are obviously unappreciative of art, eco-friendly design and are more concerned with what is on top? —Rebecca

First, a slight caution: you're walking a delicate line when call attention to something (in this case a ring) and then get frustrated when people don't admire it in the ways you want. You add an extra layer of complexity when you discuss the size of the diamond you supposedly don't care about.

Continue reading "Diamond as dick size" →