If you’re like more and more newly engaged couples, you might be shopping at jewelry stores and visiting ring designers to find an engagement after saying “yes” rather than before. If you’re looking for something a bit unusual, here are some of our favorite local jewelry resources:

Boulder jewelry designer, Todd Reed creates these beauties using raw diamonds and other stones right here in Colorado. What more could you want, right?

Boulder’s own Art & Soul offers jewelry from a number of amazing designers, including Anne Sportun and Alex Sepkus.

photos :: Todd Reed, Anne Sportun and Alex Sepkus

These caught my eye the other day while perusing Etsy. Wouldn’t they be the perfect touch to a winter wedding in Colorado?

As an added bonus, they’re made by HeyMiemie who is based in Denver. Like I said, one may just be the perfect piece for your Colorado wedding.

all from HeyMiemie

Our friends over at Walters and Hogsett put together a really fun contest for all those who are newly engaged called Boulder Gets Engaged! Entrants have the chance to win a number of great prizes from retailers in the Boulder wedding community: a spa package from Tapestry Spa; flowers from local Boulder wedding florist, Sturtz & Copeland; a couple shots at some bling from Walters and Hogsett, and a gift certificate from Christina’s.

Check it out!

I’ve shared several times how much I enjoy seeing couples incorporate cultural traditions in their weddings. Doing so, makes things more meaningful and personal.

I also enjoy reading about how weddings have evolved, where some of the traditions we observe today came from and how marriage and weddings differ in other areas around the world. A few traditions and bits of wedding culture from around the world I’ve come across in old issues of Martha Stewart Weddings were shared in this post. 

Today, I wanted to share a few little bits of information I found related to rings.

Wearing the wedding ring on the third finger on the left hand is a metaphor for  togetherness. The third finger cannnot be fully extended alone, it needs an adjacent finger to do so.

A wedding band for the groom first became popular during World War II as a reminder of the soldier’s life back home.

The word gem is derived from the Latin word for “bud.” It was believed that precious stones were believed to grow and ripen like fruit.

At one time, wealthy English brides wore their wedding rings on their thumbs. It may have been that this was because they were too ornate to fit comfortably on the ring finger. 

Just engaged or expecting to say yes soon? I’ve written a number of times about engagement and wedding rings. Visit this post for tips and information on how to ensure your diamond is conflict-free, check out a few pretty and unusual rings here or build your own ring here.

It’s perfectly acceptable to get engaged without a ring. Really, getting married is more important than the size, shape or look of your engagement ring. In the end, you are saying yes to a life with each other not the ring. Still, we all know it’s fun to shop and play.

So, whether you’re engaged and searching for a ring or anticipating a holiday engagement, have fun with this ring builder.

I received an e-mail over the weekend from the amazing jeweler, Sarah Perlis. She’s offering 25% off all orders purchased until December 24th if you use the discount code Joy2009. Visit her site to go shopping and, if you don’t remember my initial confession of love for her work, check it out.

Many couples choose to exchange small gifts on their wedding day. Often personalized jewelry or other small momentos, they’re wonderful pieces to remember the day. But, don’t forget to include a love letter, it will be treasured.

I found these bits from Chris Parry on Etsy and wanted to share.

Silver guitar picks

An inscribed money clip

This ring is part of Chris’ fingerprints collection. It’s your thumbprint on the inside of his ring. Pretty cool idea…

And there are cufflinks too. I know, you may not have ever seen your Colorado guy in cufflinks, but isn’t it a fun thought?!. What a hunk he’d be!

This entry has been, if I’m honest, a Pandora’s Box. I’ve peripherally heard of conflict-free diamonds for a couple years and, like so many, watched Hollywood’s statement on the subject in Blood Diamonds.

Still, with just half an hour or so of research behind me, I’m completely overwhelmed by the human and environmental costs of mass diamond mining. I can’t help but also mention that there are equally as destructive practices surrounding the mining of gold, rubies, and emeralds around the world.

For the purposes of this posting, I’ll stick to diamonds, the details surrounding which are complicated. With a long history of fueling civil wars throughout the continent of Africa, the trade and purchase of diamonds is deep and convoluted. Even more murky are the answers to the questions surrounding which retailers support the “blood diamond” trade and how to find truly conflict-free diamonds.

The Conflict-Free Diamond Council is one resource available to discover more. They list a variety of startling and numbing statistics related to the diamond trade in Africa:

:: The Angola Civil War which torn open the land and its inhabitants with land mines, gave 60% control of the land’s diamonds to the rebel group and lasted from 1961-2002. That’s 41 years of war, more than my lifetime.
:: The war in the Democratic Republic of Congo killed approximately 3.3 million people.
:: The rebel group in Sierra Leone mined up to $125 million of diamonds annually during the 11-year war that tore apart that country. That’s one billion and $375 million dollars worth of diamonds.
:: Approximately 200,000 people died in two civil wars in Liberia.

These statistics are staggering and outline only the known human tolls. Not mentioned is the extensive environmental destruction caused by the actual mining practices and all the families and towns that have been torn apart by both.

One company endorsed by The Conflict-Free Diamond Council is Brillant Earth. Their site offers the chance to read more and “ooo and ahh” at all kinds of beautiful, responsible, pretty pieces.

Clearly, conflict-free diamonds are just as beautiful and equally as versatile. I hope you’ll consider purchasing conflict-free diamonds and do a bit of research into the materials used in the creation of your engagement and/or wedding ring, where they came from and who mined them.

I came across the work of jewelry designer, Sarah Perlis, the other day and was swept up in her unique, beautiful designs set within an eco-friendly frame. A mix of delicate and modern, her necklaces, bracelets and wedding rings are sweet, organic and well, breathtaking.

She incorporates 22k recycled gold and diamonds which are panned instead of mined. Traditional mining methods use cyanide, a highly toxic chemical that harms the environment, nearby towns and mine workers. The diamonds she uses are sourced from a company with a focus on environmental responsibility and providing ethical working conditions.

all from Sarah Perlis Jewelry