My mom has always handed down jewelry to me. When I was 7, she had a tiny opal ring she had worn as a girl that she gifted me, and eventually took back when I outgrew it so I could give it to my child one day. She would let me dress myself up in her pearls, pull my hair back into sweeping updos held with gemstone-studded barrettes, and lovingly rearrange her jewelry box with my favorite pieces in the most noticeable, prominent positions. At the time, I felt like a princess; I didn’t realize that much of her jewelry was inexpensive, found at thrift shops or flea markets. Take these rings for example.

My mom gave me this set of rings when I was about 15 years old. They’re clearly a pair as the diamonds are the same size, set in silver, diamond shaped spaces with two raindrop-shaped details on each side. On the ring which I take to be the wedding band, there are three small diamonds; on the engagement band, there are two small diamonds on either side of a diamond in a larger, circular setting. When you look at the engagement ring from the side, there are spaces between the band itself and the settings in which the stones are placed. Both rings are a size six, made out of 14k gold, with either white gold or sterling silver inlays around the diamonds. On the inside of the wedding band are the numbers 65967 and some markings that may have been letters but are illegible now. On the inside of the engagement band are the numbers 65901 and the name D. Murphy.

My mom bought these rings in a thrift shop in Canada when she was in her 20’s, so I have no idea who D. Murphy is. I’ve looked for a ring company, but couldn’t find one, so I suppose the next logical conclusion is that D. Murphy was the owner of these rings. While I wear them because they remind me of my mom, the rings have a rich history, especially as they were wedding rings.

Wedding rings were first used in ancient Egyptian society. Unlike the fancy, expensive, jewel-encrusted rings we wear now, the Egyptians wove their rings out of reeds that grew along the Nile. The circle was the symbol of eternity; the space within it, the passageway to the new and unknown. As many, many years went by, people started to make wedding rings out of more durable substances, like ivory, leather, and eventually metal. As wedding rings became more valuable, giving them to another person showed trust and they served as a binding contract between a man and his betrothed. The rings were always worn on the third finger of the hand, or ring finger, because it was believed at the time that there was a vein connecting that finger directly to the heart. This website, http://www.weddingzone.net/px-pl078.htm, can give a more detailed insight into this practice.

I like to imagine that D. Murphy had a loving marriage and these rings only wound up in a thrift shop after she died of old age. Maybe she wore them during the Great Depression and they were her most prized possession; maybe her husband proposed to her with this engagement ring on a winter’s night, surrounded by candles and jazz music; or maybe she tragically lost her husband too young, and had to give away her rings because looking at them was too much to bear. I suppose I’ll never know. Whatever her story was, wearing them reminds me that true love does exist and hopefully, one day, these rings will be replaced with rings of my own. Who knows, maybe my little girl will dress up and place them in the most prominent place in my jewelry box.