“The ring so worn, as you behold, So thin, so pale, is yet of gold”

I’m sure at some point in our marriage I’ll give McCall a Glock G21 .45 handgun or a pair of 191 Volkl Mantras—and I’ll most likely “borrow” them. That’s just how us doods are I guess. So it’s rare when a dood like me can give a gift of significance.

As soon as McCall and I started talking about marriage I started gathering ideas for a ring. First stop—Tiffany.com. It was there that I found the perfect ring for McCall. I’m sure I skewed Tiffany’s web analytics as I parked on the site for hours looking at that ring.

A few days later McCall pulled out a binder with pictures of wedding stuff that she’s seen in magazines, pictures of gowns she’s made, ideas for her future date and more. Inside was a section of rings that she liked. To my surprise, the same ring I found on Tiffany.com was torn from a Tiffany catalog and circled in the book. I knew.

For the next few weeks we went from shop to shop—looking for the perfect setting and size. Ring size was my only interest—somewhere between a six and six and a quarter. I had already found the one…girl and ring.

Aesthetically it is more pleasing to see things in odd quantities—one, three, five, etc.—so why three? The three diamond ring signifies past, present, future or yesterday, today, forever. It also has a holy meaning of God—being the center stone—and the bride and groom—being the side stones. McCall’s the one on the right hand side.

After seeing the actual Tiffany ring in person, I decided to have one made. As beautiful as the Tiffany ring is, it just wasn’t quite right—the three stones were only .15 carat each. I went to a jeweler in SLC with pictures and renderings in hand. I showed him the ring with three inset diamonds and 40 round cuts. It’s significant to note that all 40 stones are round cuts and not chips because of the way they reflect light. It also had to be platinum. He sent it to New York to have it made then he would set the three stones himself. We looked at several stones and narrowed it down to the 3—all D or E FL.

It took about two and a half weeks to make the ring. Two and a half weeks of waiting for a phone call. Two and a half weeks of planning. Two and a half weeks of skiing with McCall.