What Are Divorce Rings?
Or, as I like to call them; Rebirth Rings!
As we all know, on 19th March 2024 Emily Ratajkowski posted on her socials about her divorce rings (cue press hysteria) lots of love and lots controversy.
Comments ranged from - “Divorce is not an accomplishment, it’s a personal failure” “Why are we glorifying divorce?” to “Can we normalise this? Because at the end of the day we still love ourselves.”
Well, I hate to break it to you all, but divorce rings have been a thing long before Emily got a hold of them.
Now, to be clear, I am totally on board with this idea - I mean, I’ve been rocking this trend since I started my business back in 2017. For many years, I’ve had clients bring an array of jewellery from past marriages, wondering whether they should sell or up-cycle it.
I believe that all jewellery should be circular AND provide value, so if it’s not giving you what you need right now, then YES - let’s revamp it and make it more about you!
Let’s ask questions like; does it even need to be a ring?? Just because this new trend insinuates it’s a ‘ring replacement’ doesn’t mean that will be the best fit for you, are you more likely to wear a necklace or bracelet?
As a bespoke designer, one of my main goals when designing a VIP (very important piece), is ensuring that your purchase is the right one. For that reason, the design is never rushed, this is especially important when selling or dismantling memory pieces to create new ones.
I think the most important question to ask yourself when deciding to follow this new trend is…Do YOU want to wear it, or would this be better repurposed into a gift for your child/children? AND, If the diamonds, gemstones, gold etc give you too many toxic memories, maybe it’s best we sell up and use that money to invest in something that’s more you now!
One of the main reasons I wanted to write this blog (the first ever personally written by me), when Emily popped up on my feed, was because I was angered, not for the fact she has up-cycled her rings (that’s great!), I am just frustrated by the terminology now being used to frame such pieces.
To me, it’s not a ‘divorce ring’, describing it in such a way is reductive. Divorce can be seen as failure, but it can also be seen as personal growth within us, as individuals.
As humans we don’t always grow together, sometimes relationships are just downright toxic and sometimes we can simply just grow apart. In these situations, the best thing to do is set yourself free!
So, for me AND my clients, these pieces are Rebirth Rings – by using existing materials, we recognise what’s happened, but the new design celebrates YOU: your new life; your new goals; and your aspirations.
So let’s keep the sentiment but rework the name, in fact, I think they should be called metamorphosis jewellery.