It's taken me awhile to write this post, perhaps because I've spent the past few months staring at the ring finger on my left hand. A new piece of jewellery is always distracting but this particular piece has made me miss tube stops (it looks fabulous resting on the red handrails of the Central Line) and lose whole chunks of the day. Yes, I'm talking about my engagement ring!Whilst traveling in Malaysia and Japan last autumn He popped the question AND surprised me with an antique sapphire and diamond sparkler. I was in shock for two reasons, the question and the fact he'd actually bought me a ring. You see we'd talked about this before, I had been left my great grandmother's ruby and diamond engagement ring and had always assumed this would be the ring I'd be slipping on my finger. In the end He decided to surprise me with a little something He'd picked out himself. As soon as I opened that box on the sand in Penang I fell in love all over again. It was perfect and this is no mean feat. I'm notoriously difficult to buy jewellery for. Many have tried and failed, I can count on one hand the number of times I've unwrapped a gift and experienced actual delight instead of a feigned enthusiasm.
But this, the most important piece of jewellery I'll ever wear was where it all went right. Gold (check) sapphire (check) flanked by two diamonds (check). No white gold Ernest Jones solitaire diamond here. It's exactly what I would've picked, no actually it's what I wouldn't have been brave enough to choose. I would have spent days agonising over the merits of sapphires vs emeralds, princess cut vs brilliant cut, too frightened to commit. Instead He's given me exactly what I've always wanted, what a brave man.
