Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Other subjects
Original poster

Engagement, wedding and eternity rings

21 replies

cheeky · 05/06/2003 06:09

I must be going completely mad. My engagement ring has just been adjusted as it no longer fitted me and I have also just received an eternity ring but I can't remember which way you wear them.

Can anyone tell me which ring is first (nearest the hand), which is i the middle and which is nearest the fingernail? Its really bugging me that I can't remember.

OP posts:
EmmaTMG · 05/06/2003 06:24

Well I wear my wedding ring first then engagment ring, my eternity ring goes on my other hand as I've only got little hands and it looks abit odd all on one finger.
From memory of my Mum's rings the eternity ring goes between wedding and engagment rings but she is abit jewellery mad so it could be wrong.
Hope this helps.

eidsvold · 05/06/2003 07:00

i thought it was wedding ring, engagement and then eternity ring... not that I have an eternity ring. I think you can wear it however you like really. at the moment I am wearing my engagement ring then my wedding ring simply because my engagement ring has become too loose and I don't want to lose it.

SoupDragon · 05/06/2003 08:34

Yes, I thought it was wedding ring, engagement then eternity. However, like EmmaTMG, my eternity ring (or Maternity ring as I prefer to call it) is on my other had as it doesn't fit round my engagement ring. I can't remember how my mother wore hers.

Bozza · 05/06/2003 09:14

My Mum wears wedding, engagement then eternity but thats because of the shape of the rings (ie eternity is curved to fit round cluster engagement). I think my Grandma did wedding, eternity, engagement. And I think MIL does that too. I do wedding then engagement because according to DH you have to be married 25 years to get an eternity ring. So only 20 to go then...

breeze · 05/06/2003 09:55

I asked this question a few months ago, if you do a search you should be able to find it, I think it was which way round or something, can't do links

nerdgirl · 05/06/2003 10:10

Bozza, you are being conned mate! You are supposed to get your eternity ring after your first child or after 10 years of marriage. Tell that DH of yours to get his wallet out!

BTW, I know the wedding ring comes before the engagement ring ( because you're not allowed to wear your engagement ring when you get married so the wedding band is closest to your heart ) but I don't know what you're traditionally supposed to do with your eternity ring. I wear mine on the other hand too.

Bozza · 05/06/2003 10:22

Thanks for the confirmation nerdgirl Didn't think all those contributing to this thread could be that old. Unfortunately first child is now 2 so looks like I missed the boat on that one - so only five years to go....

snickers · 05/06/2003 10:26

Yep - first child, or first five years of marriage (according to our jewellers, but I guess they don't want to go out of business before people get around to getting married, let alone waiting for eternity rings!!!). Maybe it was once that long, but you gotta move with the times...!

I posted before that I understood it, you wear the wedding ring first, then place the engagement ring then as and when you get the eternity, it sits between them both (symbolically) but does it really matter? Much more important that you get all three rings and a nice smattering of diamonds (oh so shallow?)

mears · 05/06/2003 18:51

I have never had my wedding ring off my finger since I got married 17 years ago. Anyone else done that ( my mum said it was bad luck for your marriage to take it off ). Still haven't managed to afford an eternity ring

lou33 · 05/06/2003 19:16

Oooh I didn't know there was an order. I have my 2 eternity rings then my wedding ring. I don't have an engagement ring.

Mears I have to take my rings off regularly, especially in the heat because I get contact dermatitis under them, and they itch like mad unless I take them off to calm down. Still married (coming up 8 years in a few days, 15 years together)!

Tissy · 05/06/2003 19:59

Left hand wedding then engagement, right hand eternity.

Got my eternity ring for 40th birthday last week- complete surprise, dh usually crap at presents. As its silver set with a garnet (like my engagement ring)it probably didn't cost too much, but I'm very impressed nonetheless!

Khara · 05/06/2003 21:26

My mum wears her eternity ring between her engagement and wedding rings. She's usually right about these things!

Hmm, we'll have been married 10 years next year, perhaps I should start dropping hints.

wickedstepmother · 05/06/2003 21:43

Have just told DP (who will become DH on 26th July!!) about the ring for first baby thing and he has promised to take me to Birmingham next week to buy one as he is off work (Our DD was born 10 months ago)

Nice one nerdgirl

meanmum · 05/06/2003 21:50

Lou33. I get dermatitis too and I find by washing my rings in the cleaning solution from the jewellers this helps. I also use a moisturiser cream that I can only seem to get in Australia which is extremely cheap but so effective because it is so thick. Therefore, if you know anyone over there get them to send you some. It's called Sorbolene cream and is made by a variety of people but I like Hydraderm best. It's very thick but I find I can generally just use this without special dermatitis cream from the doctors.

Back to the topic of this thread. I did tell dh I wanted diamond earings when ds was born but they haven't materialised yet. Maybe with the next one and I can also ask for an eternity ring.

Congrats Wickedstepmother on the upcoming wedding and also at how easy it was to convince your soon to be dh to agree to an eternity ring.

wickedstepmother · 05/06/2003 21:57

He was reading over my shoulder ! We have just had a significant 'windfall' so, for once, money is not an issue. What a relief

wickedstepmother · 05/06/2003 22:00

Plus we had a row last nigt and I suspect that he is keen to ingratiate himself

lou33 · 05/06/2003 22:02

Thanks meanmum, but I don't know anyone there. I find calendula cream works most of the time, but leaving them off for a few days also works, Will try the jewellers stuff though.

easy · 06/06/2003 14:35

I have never taken off my wedding ring either, even left it on with tape over it for surgery a couple of mths ago. Generally wear my engagement and eternity rings all the time too, altho eternity ring currently being repaired as a diamond dropped out of it when I was in the shower on our trip to barcelona last year.

Poetic really, the etenity ring was my 40th birthday present 2 years ago, and we were in Barcelona as dh's 40th birthday present from me. OOps, just realised I've given away the fact that I married a toy boy.

bunny2 · 06/06/2003 21:09

Whenever I broach the subject of an eternity ring, dh counters it with "Ok, but we will have to forget about a holiday / washing machine / flymo then, but I'll get you one if its what you really want". Takes the edge off everytime and I say "oh, dont worry, a new fridge is much more important". Hmmm, wait till he wants a new laptop. .

Re dermatitis, I always remove my rings to wash my hands / wash up. Otherwise the soapy water brings my eczema out.

Linnet · 08/06/2003 23:33

I wear my engagement ring and then my wedding ring because the engagement ring is slightly to loose and I don't want to lose it. I don't have a an eternity ring but our dd is 5 and we've only been married a year, maybe I should hint for an eternity ring after our second child arrives.

lou33 · 09/06/2003 00:09

Linnet, I had to have 4 before I got mine!

New posts on this thread. Refresh page