On the happy occasions of engagement and marriage, the bride-to-be traditionally receives not one but two rings: a diamond engagement ring and a plain-banded wedding ring which are worn on her left-hand ring finger during the marriage ceremony. But what happens to the rings on the unhappy occasion of a marriage’s demise? Do you decide to keep wearing the rings? Do you hide them away (out of sight out of mind…)? Or do you sell the rings that serve as such painful reminders of a failed marriage?

An increasing amount of women opt for the latter. They sell their engagement rings/wedding bands, usually to a local pawn shop or broker. However, there are a few that find the idea of a suddenly bare and exposed finger, unappealing. Many of these women feel that a naked finger represents an erasure or deletion, which they feel is not really an adequate representation of their divorce. They don't feel empty, and they don't want their bare hand to convince them they should. These women would prefer to remember their marriage and divorce as an experience that helped them grow and change; something that can never be erased, and that will always be a part of them. 

Thus, the concept of divorce rings was born. For these women, a divorce ring symbolizes past experience, lessons learnt, emotional maturity and growth. The divorce ring is another way of saying: I’m starting over, but I’m not starting over from scratch.

Divorce rings come in a variety of styles. Some designs are meant to indicate a recent divorce or break-up (designs such as rings which appear to be cut in half). Precious metals and precious gemstones used in these rings also tend to vary, from silver to yellow-gold, white-gold, platinum etc. Some individuals prefer to have their former rings melted down and cast into new bands, some save the diamonds and gemstones from their old rings and have them re-set into their new divorce ring.

There are no specific rules as to how a divorce ring should look, what metals should be used and if the rings should be set with diamonds. The decision to wear a divorce ring on your ring-finger and the ring’s appearance is entirely up to you.