MY THING FOR RINGS!

6:45 AM pada mama

YES, I love, love, love rings! I do not have the greatest looking hands for rings - but I wear them anyway. Gold, silver, hammerred, gemstone, glass or carved - I have never designed or made them myself so I sure enjoy looking at them. In fact, I have a number of David Yurman rings on my 'wish list'! I am also particularly fond of John Hardy's Bali inspired silver rings that have a slightly more masculine feel to them and have some sort of faceted stone such as Smokey Quartz, Aquamarine, Black Onyx or Amethyst. So let's talk about my favorite ring designers: Judith Ripka, John Hardy, Lori Bonn and David Yurman.

I love Judith Ripka because she has a great story and she is a self-made woman. Here are a few examples of my favorite Judith Ripka rings in gold. Are these stunning or what? I also love the fact that she does 'sample sales' where you can get some really great deals!

http://www.judithripka.com/rings.html?fn=cHJvZHVjdF90eXBl&fv=UmluZw%3D%3D

John Hardy...

appeals to me because first of all he's a fellow Canadian! He left Canada in 1975 and travelled to Bali, Indonesia where much of his design inspiration comes from. I love his earthy, organic style - check out the rings in his Bamboo Collection - very unique. He also gives back a portion of his profits to GREEN causes.

http://us.johnhardy.com/categories.php?category=WOMEN/Ring&topcat2=Ring

Lori Bonn...

has a unique concept with her "stacking rings". I love that you can go on her site and choose little individual gemstone rings for around $25 each and then stack them together. The only problem I find with some of her rings are that the silver is thinner and quite soft and doesn't hold up over time. I purchased a couple of the stacking ring sets on EBay for around $180 each and I noticed how quickly they tarnished and lost their shape. Maybe these were cheaper versions of her designs on EBay - I'm not sure, but they had her tag on them. Bottom line, you get what you pay for. This is why I would rather spend a little more money and get something more substantial. Judith Ripka's rings are obviously more expensive however they are extremely sturdy and the silver does not oxidize. I purchased one of her canary crystal cushion cut cocktail rings from Bluefly.com about 8 mos. ago. I wear it constantly and have not had to clean or polish it at all. It was around $275 - and in my mind that's a GREAT VALUE!

Lori Bonn "Stacking Rings"
http://www.loribonn.com/bytype.php?cat=251&sort=productcode&sort_direction=1&page=2

And, last but not least - David Yurman! He is probably my all-time favorite ring designer. I just love the edginess and sophistication of his rings and I'm quite sure that every woman who has seen his designs wants to own one. David Yurman makes gorgeous, lustful designs for men and women...I am also a fan of his men's black diamond dog tag necklaces. Here are just a few rings to feast your eyes on! His just released "Blue Inspiration" rings are magical!

All available on-line at:

http://www.davidyurman.com/shoponline/subcategory.aspx?folderId=/women/rings&page=1