What a loaded question.
Re-Gifting an Engagement Ring? Gasp! My first reaction is
Why would you even ask? But the truth is, it happens all the time. Should you give your New Girlfriend (Fiancee) your
Ex-Girlfriend's Engagement Ring? Almost sounds taboo, but let's take a closer look...
I understand why it happens. It happens because Engagement Rings are a lot of money. And if the Guy has a Previous Engagement Ring from a Previous Engagement, then why waste it? Right? You don't need two Rings, and the Guy DID pick it out.... So....
To a Guy, it seems like a no-brainer. Guys don't get emotionally drawn to a Ring like a Woman does. If you have a beautiful Engagement Ring, why not use it? Why go out and buy another one?
But to a Woman, it's a whole different story. That Engagement Ring was NOT meant for her! It's some OTHER Girl's! It carries old memories with it. Someone else's love, pain, tears and joy. Not to mention a lot of bad karma and bad luck. It's not good! No way, no how!
So of course Guys are always thinking "Why tell her?" A lot of Men may decide to keep it a secret. "She'll never find out." What she doesn't know won't hurt her.
But let me tell you, this rarely happens!
If she needs to take her Rings to the Jewelry Store to get it cleaned and inspected, chances are, they'll need to see her paperwork. Especially if the Ring needs work done on it, like Sizing or Tightening the Prongs. She may need the Extended Service Plan on the Ring. (You do have one of those don't you?) She may need to have the Diamond Warranty or Appraisal. You never know. And here's where it gets tricky... She'll see that you bought that Engagement Ring years before you met her! Ouch! Try explaining that!
And it may not even be the paperwork that gets you, it may be the Jewelry Salesperson. They may recognize the Ring. They may question it. It could raise a lot of questions, eyebrows, and maybe even a frying pan.
Plus that Engagement Ring is probably worn down, scratched, and sized already. (And in most cases, there's no box!) Granted you can always take the Ring to the Jeweler and have them polish it up again and resize it to fit your New Girlfriend... But the Prongs and Shank may still show signs of wear and tear. They may not look perfectly new anymore.
And then you also have your Friends and Family to take into consideration. People in your life that know that Engagement Ring was your Ex-Girlfriend's Ring. They'll know you Re-Gifted it! A lot will frown on this, not approve and may even bring it up. It's just not a great situation for anyone to be in. The whole thing is just uncomfortable!
The only good side to all of this is it saves the Guy money. And that's it! Sadly, no matter how much that Ring originally cost, re-gifting it will just make one look cheap and tacky.
If it was up to me, I'd say: Don't give it to her! You don't want to look at that Ring for the rest of your life and be constantly reminded of your Ex! She's an Ex for a reason! Let her go!
And if your new Girlfriend ever finds out somehow, she won't want to wear it. In fact, she may even break off your Engagement! Another one down the drain! It's just not worth the risk. Bad karma has a way of coming back full swing. Learn from your mistakes!
Do this instead: Take the Ring back to the Jeweler you bought it from. Explain to the the situation. See if they'd be interested in doing an even exchange or a mild-upgrade. (Usually full upgrades are double the price!) Hopefully they'll be happy to work with you and find a reasonable solution. Maybe you'll get lucky and get something a little bit nicer, a little bit bigger, and a little bit better?
By doing that, you'll get rid of the Ex for good, start the new Engagement off on the right foot and in the right direction. And I'm sure you could use that! Good luck with BOTH upgrades... Your New Ring and your New Girlfriend.
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