“Marriage is like a golden ring in a chain, whose beginning is a glance and whose ending is eternity.” – Kahlil Gibran

My engagement ring and wedding rings are made from my Nana’s engagement ring. I am named for her. I am her only grand daughter. Our bond was special. I know she would have loved Greg. Greg and I decided to take Nana’s engagement ring, which was given to me by my parents after she passed away, to a jeweler and have it redesigned to become my engagement ring using her gems and metal.

The jeweler we chose was an artist who had lived and breathed gems and stories for many years. He listened intently as we told him our story. After seeing my tears flow, a salesperson brought a box of tissue and reassured me that I was not the only person to have ever cried in the store. I knew Nana was right there with us blessing the entire process. I felt her there more than I can explain. He walked us through the language of engagement rings. He took out his jeweler’s tools and examined and measured. He explained the sizes and cuts of the diamonds from Nana’s ring and showed us examples of how similar stones are arranged in other rings.

As I tried on rings, he started to sketch his thoughts in pencil on a sheet of paper, adding details as I would remark about the rings I was trying on. The sketch developed slowly like a conversation between artist and subject. He heard our hopes and aspirations and drew something that would become our very own. Once the simple sketch had been created, he began to draw a more precise rendering that detailed the arrangement of the stones. He took our vision and made it real. Line by line. I never understood the mathematics that are involved in designing jewelry. The final rendering, which he would use to create a color, computer-generated drawing of the ring for our final approval, looked part map, part molecule, part flower, part space ship. He would use Nana’s gems in the engagement ring and the gold as my wedding ring. The process felt completely right and perfect.

We picked up the rings about 2 months after our first visit. We walked through the doors and the jeweler remembered us. He went to the back room and found the our rings. He walked to where we were standing at the counter during our first visit and handed me a small jewelry box. I took a deep breath, strangely composed after the mess I had been when we were designing the rings, and opened the box. I stood there staring. I could not immediately put the ring on. My breath was taken away. I was mesmerized. I needed Greg’s help.  A gentle love surrounded that moment. My heart knew Nana blessed our love and would be with us at the wedding and beyond.