Yup, you read it right: my ring has a "body" double. No, my ring isn't planning on starring in any Hollywood movies or Broadway plays anytime soon. But it did go away on a VERY long trip today. That's why the understudy had to step in.
Before I get to that, let me explain what prompted us to "cast" the double.
A couple weeks ago I glanced down at my ring and gasped with shock. One of its micro-pave side stones was missing! I knew this was bound to happen sometime. Both my MOH and FSIL's pave stones have fallen out before and they warned me that it is pretty much inevitable. Thankfully Mr. Lab bought an extra insurance policy with Zales to cover this type of thing. But we nearly made a disatrous mistake regarding the policy that was avoided only by some really good timing.
Zales offers a Lifetime Diamond Commitment where if the diamonds become chipped, broken, or lost from its original setting, they will replac the diamond at no charge. But here's the catch: you HAVE to have your ring inspected twice a year (every 6 months from the date of purchase) to keep the policy in force. Neither Mr. Lab nor I knew we HAD to do this. We both assumed that if something ever happened, we'd walk into the store, tell a representative, then send the ring on its merry way to be made brand new again. WRONG.
Because Mr. Lab bought my ring in December, my 6 month inspection deadline is at the end of June. Had my side diamond decided to fall out in next month, we'd be screwed. Mr. Lab has yet to have my ring insured independently (bad doggie!), so we would have had to pay out of pocket to have the ring repaired. Fortunately, luck was on our side and the diamond fell out within the 6 months of purchase. We were alerted to the details of the policy when we took the ring into the store.
However, we ran into some bad news when we dropped off the ring. The store manager told us that because of the upcoming 4th of July holiday and summer in general, many jewelers in our area are on vacation. This meant my ring has to be shipped all the way to Dallas, TX from Georgia! She told me it could take up to
6 weeks for my ring to return! The longest I've been apart from my ring was when it was being sized and that was only about a week. I've grown so accostomed to my ring that I feel naked without it. My ring finger even has a tan line and indent replacing the spot where my ring used to rest!
Needless to say, the thought of not having my ring for over a month was not easy news to take. That was when Mr. Lab and I started discussing options for a ring "body double". We both thought it would be a good idea to have a backup ring for any future ring repairs or even for times when wearing my "real" ring would put it in danger (i.e., at the gym lifting weights, going to the beach, etc.).
I thought about just wearing my wedding band since my ring came as a set. But I ultimately felt like that would be cheating. I only want to wear it when I have a "Mrs." in front of my name. So while we were at the mall, we decided to check a couple department stores to see if they had any inexpensive replicas of my ring. No luck. So we made quick trips to Kohl's, Wal-Mart, and Target. The only ring we found that came even close was over $300.
That's when I turned to the infallible internet (or interwebs as Mr. Lab and I call it)! I quickly found what I was looking for on Amazon.com. I found a nearly identical ring and band made of cubic zirconia set in sterling silver for only $46 including the gift box! Look how closely it resembles my ring:
But it gets better! The company selling the ring,
Eve's Addiction, was running two promotions: free shipping plus 20% off the purchase price. My total came out to be only $36.80 shipped! The ring should arrive in less than a week and ready to get right to work. Now I can sit back and relax knowing I'll still have my mark of a betrothed woman when my "real" ring is out of commission. And I'm glad my ring finger won't have to go around looking "indecent" anymore with all its public nudity! ;)
