... the Story of the Rock

So many of you were eager to see pictures of "the rock", but the thing is...

Jeff and I both felt very strongly against purchasing a diamond, or other conflict gem, as a symbol of our lifelong commitment to one another. What I'm referring to is the way that diamonds are mined, bought, and sold in many countries. While not all countries have horror stories linked to their diamonds, the way the industry is set up makes it impossible to determine the actual country of origin... thus, no way of telling if a diamond is a true conflict-free diamond.

For the record, there is one company in Canada that has chosen to remain separate from the rest of the industry and sell their diamonds directly to the public. These gems alone are the only guaranteed true conflict-fee diamonds.

So why not buy a Canadian diamond? Well, we thought about it, but we couldn't bring ourselves to spend the money on a stone so common it frequently washes up on beaches. True fact- diamonds are not rare. They are only considered so because the main diamond mining company (De Beers) holds the majority of the gems in vaults to create a false demand.

De Beers also created the 'Diamond is Forever' add in an attempt to squelch sales of pre-owned diamonds, hoping to give a tainted feel to buying or receiving a one.

In addition, they marketed the idea of even using a diamond in engagement rings by working with Hollywood in the early 1900's -- inserting the rings into movies when people got engaged. Prior to this, diamonds were not commonly used in engagement/wedding rings.

And you know how the benchmark for the price of an engagement ring is 2 months salary (or is it 3?!)... any guesses on where that came from? Yep. De Beers.

While I was impressed with their marketing genius when I studied them in college, I just didn't want to partake in the industry as a whole, which left Jeff and I starting from scratch.

So start from scratch we did... we researched and designed our own ring.

The stone I really wanted, and finally found, is called a Star Sapphire. It's a polished stone that in non-direct light looks cornflower blue. When it hits direct light, however, a white 6-pointed star appears and moves within the stone depending on where the light source is hitting.

I love it.

What to see it? OK, I'll take pictures... check back in a few days. :)