Permanent Real Estate

The commitment of wearing a wedding ring is beautiful on many levels, most of all as a reminder of to whom you are betrothed. The ring is a constant reminder of love, commitment, and that person to the point that the jewelry becomes a part of you. You don’t think about it. You don’t take it off, save for maybe gardening or a rigorous gym workout. Like a solid, long term relationship, finger and ring become fused together in a beautiful union. And like an arm or any other extremity, there comes a point where you don’t think about it too much. Sometimes you catch yourself gazing at it, loving your love, admiring its sheer beauty, or wondering when you got so old that now you are married. You know that it is a part of you and that is that. When it’s missing is when you notice and begin to worry as it becomes a security blanket of sorts – absorbing the stress of an important meeting or a bumpy flight, being twisted and touched with nervous energy.

So when you lose the ring permanently, what absorbs that nervous energy? What becomes your security blanket?

For me, it was a September weekend in Chicago visiting the bestie. Finding myself missing something that for so long had been a part of me, I enlisted her help with an alternate of my lacking sentiment. I had shopped online for something demure that I could wear all the time, absorb any anxieties and might make me whole again. Not to mention, this would also be the first nice piece of jewlery I would purchase for myself, so I was taking this expedition very seriously.

The bestie and I started the day all dolled up for brunch at Nomi at the top of the beautiful Park Hyatt hotel on Michigan Avenue. After a lovely meal and three rounds of mimosas, we found ourselves at Cartier. I weighed two options heavily, test driving them both extensively. I had to shuck the idea of buying the Love bracelet for myself, as it was just too depressing. The bracelet is installed on and off the wrist with a tiny screwdriver that your love is supposed to hold on to, instilling, literally, that permanency factor I so desired. However, the bracelet is supposed to be given to you by a loved one and the idea of having my own screw driver was just too depressing.

That’s how I came to be one with my Sweet Trinity bracelet. A delicate double strand of rose gold always gets high marks in my book. I love how the warmth of rose gold so easily becomes one with the skin, so much so, that the bestie has dubbed ‘Rose Gold’ as my stripper name should I ever (and I won’t) need it.

The bracelet has a tiny charm, three rings of gold; pink for love, yellow for fidelity, and white for friendship. A very sweet notion, indeed. However, I was taking the three rings as more of as past, present, and future aspect. (As if you were blissfully unaware that I’m not a full blown romantic sap). I found myself playing with it often when I was nervous and sad in the early days – much less so now. Most of the time I don’t notice or remove it save for scuba diving (it’s a barracuda attraction) and maybe a rigorous round of cleaning. My little bracelet has become such a piece of me, just the way I’d hoped.

While I’m finally feeling back to life after a few years of madness, I’ve considered removing it, but I like the idea of it’s permanent real estate on my wrist. I’ve contemplated something different than this beautiful little piece that I purchased when I was sad and seeking the comfort of my best friend and some hefty retail therapy; however, I realize that I’m really just love shopping for jewelry. That’s why the Sweet Trinity remains, but is happy to test drive new friends – a number of watches, a small rose quartz cuff picked up at The Raleigh on holiday, and perhaps something yet to be seen. Like the heart, the wrist can be a residence for two.

Just as mine, it seems that this permanent jewelry is a trend of late. Harper’s Bazaar shows us eight bracelets meant to stand-by long after the watch is removed. A version of my Cartier love made the list, as did a beautiful Van Cleef & Arpels and a few others. Like the love that inspired it, the idea of permanent jewelry should be uncomplicated, meaningful, and an extension of your best self – and these picks are just that.