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If you got divorced at some point, what did you do with your wedding/engagement rings?

(132 Posts)
MaryTheBookeeper Mon 27-Jul-20 21:48:39

I'm wondering what to do with mine? They have sentimental value but what's the point of them just sitting in the drawer? I don't want my dc to use them, I'd rather they had their own fresh start. Flogging them for scrap feels heartless. What did you do with yours?

123kitty Tue 28-Jul-20 12:05:54

Gold prices are really high at the moment, so sell (make sure you use a reputable dealer) buy yourself something with the cash. It can, but doesn't have to be jewellery, just something fabulous that you really love but couldn't normally afford, luxurious cashmere, a relaxing spa weekend (when they're up and running). Consider your rings as a little nest egg that you're going to cash in. Spoil yourself, guilt free!

timetogo2016 Tue 28-Jul-20 11:59:52

I pawned mine and took the family for a meal at the local Toby.
I didn`t however tell them what paid for the meal.

GreenGran78 Tue 28-Jul-20 11:54:43

Hetty58. Before you get your rings cut off there are various ways that might help to remove them. Just go on YouTube videos and search ‘removing rings’. One might just work.

leeds22 Tue 28-Jul-20 11:44:58

Sold my first wedding ring to a second hand jewellers, who gave me the correct price for the weight of gold. The engagement ring comes out when we go on holiday, we place it on the dressing table as an invitation to burglars to take it and clear off! I also have my mother’s and aunt’s ring but don’t know what to do with them, maybe give to son. I refused an engagement ring second time around as I never wore the first one.

GrannyMosh Tue 28-Jul-20 11:36:19

I divorced my husband over 30 years ago. I gave my wedding, engagement and eternity (haha!) rings to a children's charity. Some years later, I sold other jewellery he had bought me to finance school trips for my son, very expensive new spectacles, and various necessary things I could not have otherwise afforded.

quizqueen Tue 28-Jul-20 11:34:37

I still have my 3 rings somewhere- wedding/engagement/eternity and was going to give one each to my daughters and eldest granddaughter, as a memento -not their style to wear-but it might be interesting to get them valued first.

SparklyGrandma Tue 28-Jul-20 11:32:12

Sold mine for cash. After 9 years though.

Dee1012 Tue 28-Jul-20 11:21:30

I sold mine and gave the money to a charity...I liked the thought of some benefit going to someone / something, I never had any!

I wear my great grandmother's eternity ring and my grandmothers engagment ring. I had my parents wedding rings made into one and I wear that too.

biba70 Tue 28-Jul-20 11:16:08

gold- in the bin? What a pity- it could have been melted and a pendant made, etc.

Grandmabatty Tue 28-Jul-20 11:13:45

My wedding ring had to be cut off as my fingers had swollen. The pieces went in the bin. My engagement ring I still have. It, and the rest of my jewellery, will go to my daughter and she can do as she pleases with it.

Laughterlines Tue 28-Jul-20 10:59:33

Don’t leave jewellery in boxes in dressing table. It’s the first place burglars look and it’s made easy for them to steal valuable items all boxed up and ready to go. Beware.

pamdixon Tue 28-Jul-20 10:57:51

sold wedding ring and engagement ring when I remarried!

gillybob Tue 28-Jul-20 10:52:38

I was divorced from my first husband after only a few months of a marriage that should never had happened .

No engagement ring and the cheapest wedding ring possible that I threw away in the dustbin, where it belonged. I couldn't have wished my unhappiness on anyone else so though best get rid .

Teacheranne Tue 28-Jul-20 10:51:14

We had very little money when I was younger so neither my engagement ring or wedding ring were expensive - not likely to have any value now. So since my divorce they just languish in my underwear drawer! I really must throw them away.

rowyn Tue 28-Jul-20 10:44:34

My engagement ring was stolen whilst we were still married - in a burglary. My wedding ring is in a pouch with a few other bits of gold, like a watch strap, etc waiting for the day when my daughters will have to dispose of my effects!

albertina Tue 28-Jul-20 10:38:40

I married a cheapskate. I bought my own wedding ring as he never had any money and we used my late mother's engagement ring for the same reason.

I paid a good price for the gold wedding band but only got a tiny bit back when I sold it.

Marrying him was a terrible decision.

Purplepixie Tue 28-Jul-20 10:32:43

I sold mine to the pawn brokers and bought myself a bracelet.

Craftycat Tue 28-Jul-20 10:30:59

I like my old engagement ring & sometimes wear it. I think I have my old wedding ring somewhere too but would not wear that now. I like my current ones too. I call them current ones to keep DH no. 2 on his toes!!

janestheone Tue 28-Jul-20 10:29:17

My wedding ring was given to me by my now-late soon-to-be MIL at the time, if that makes sense; she had no daughters. The ring had belonged to her own mother. When her son and I split- my decision, his adultery - I gave him back the ring as it came from his family. We didn’t have children together.

Aepgirl Tue 28-Jul-20 10:29:04

I took my wedding ring, engagement ring and dress ring to a jeweller who buys and sells at auction. I got a decent sum of money for them, and spent it on a lovely weekend away with my daughter and son-in-law. My daughter thought this was a lovely way of letting go, as she never forgave her dad for betraying us all.

Ilovecheese Tue 28-Jul-20 10:28:50

The decision was taken out of my hands, my wedding ring was stolen in a house burglary.

Coco51 Tue 28-Jul-20 10:28:48

Kept the diamond and still wear it (don’t know what ex-dh thinks when he sees!) had the wedding ring melted down and made into a simple band, but wish I hadn’t, a lot of gold got ’lost’ in the remake.

Sassie1961 Tue 28-Jul-20 10:26:21

I accidentally threw both my wedding and engagement ring from my first marriage out with the trash. So now probably buried in landfill somewhere in Oxfordshire. I had thought they were empty jewellery boxes when having a clear out a few years after divorce and didn't check contents. If I had still had them I would have sold them for their scrap value.

Yellowmellow Tue 28-Jul-20 10:23:26

I had my do diamond engagement ring made into a necklace and my wedding ring went into the making of the necklace.

Azalea99 Tue 28-Jul-20 10:18:20

In the maternal side of my family the engagement ring is always passed to the granddaughter, and so mine will pass to my GD. It was given with genuine love and worn the same way for 42 years (until he met some young Thai masseuse). Our GD knows we are friends & that there’s no bitterness now, so I hope she’ll cherish it. Wedding ring had to be cut off after I broke my wrist.