When those wedding bells ring, it’s easy to imagine a long future with your new spouse. But do you think you’ll continue to adore your wedding band as the years roll by?
Unlike your union, which will grow and evolve over time, the ring you received at your wedding will remain the same. You’ll always love that important symbol of your marriage, but after a while you may wish to upgrade or enhance it.
For example, as your life experiences stack up, so can your rings. By mating new additions with your wedding band, you can accumulate a “wardrobe” of multifaceted adornments.
Chicago interior designer Paula Jerome tied the knot with a plain gold band, but today she pairs it in myriad ways with other rings she has acquired over the years. So do fellow Chicagoans Martha Jannotta, Stacey Olcott and Susan Levinson, an artist, a caterer and a lawyer-cum-jeweler respectively. The stacks these women sport on their fingers are “always evolving,” says Levinson, vice president of Trabert & Hoeffer Jewels.
Jerome’s favorites include a ruby and diamond ring her husband gave her when they moved from Hong Kong to Chicago, an onyx and gold band from her twin sister and an emerald band from her mother.
“All my rings have history,” she says, “and I usually wear things that mean something to me.” Olcott adds that the “process of picking and choosing” from all her options “is never boring.”
The distinctive rings these women wear can be mixed and matched to suit whims or special occasions.
Both Olcott and Jannotta wear their antique rings every day, in a variety of arrangements.These bands mark major events, starting with their engagements and marriages. With the birth of children, each received additional bands to add to the stack.
Jannotta believes rings are the best kind of gift to get, because “while earrings and watches can go out of style, these are eternal and timeless. Depending on how you wear them, you can always make them look up-to-date.”
Levinson agrees, pointing out that “rings worn several at a time are a major trend right now.” She herself has altered her original wedding band three times (“it’s a hazard of being in the business,” she says). And yes, regardless of overhauls, Levinson’s ring has remained a stackable band.
Trabert & Hoeffer represents several jewelry designers who specialize in such pieces, notes Levinson, such as New Yorker Marlene Stowe, known for an entire line of stackable, mix-and-match rings at affordable prices, and Chicagoan Susan Berman, who produces one-of-a-kind custom pieces to wear with narrower bands.
Other trendy jewelers have begun featuring stackable rings, especially since these jewels tend to be “either very big or very small right now,” says Janis Savitt, whose M&J Savitt line, sold at Neiman Marcus and Ultimo in Chicago and Shirise in Glencoe, bears her out. Thick, chunky bands sport large, faceted stones such as rubies, sapphires and diamonds, while her signature strand-like bands in rose, yellow or white gold, meant to be worn several at a time or with the bolder pieces, are set with tiny diamonds.
Savitt started marketing her line of bands in 1982 and “was a pioneer in this style,” says Joan Weinstein, owner of Ultimo. “People have copied her, but Savitt is so clever that there is always something new or original about her designs,” she adds.
At Tiffany & Co., long known for its extensive selection of rings, Michael Christ, vice president and Chicago store director, points out, “We’re seeing new growth in this area (stackable bands), and are developing products to meet this need.” Two of Tiffany’s latest offerings are the Atlas and Etoile collections, which feature band-style rings in varying widths.
The concept of stacking rings is popular right now because it’s a way to blend style with substance, says Christ.
“People are looking for non-traditional wedding bands because they use them to build for the future. These commemorate occasions in their lives,” he says, “so when an anniversary comes up or a new baby is born, they mark the occasion with another band.”
“It’s also a way to update traditional rings,” says Gia Hammond, whose namesake shop in Chicago, Gia, specializes in artist-made bands that mix platinum, gold and a wide spectrum of colored gemstones. “Bands with unusual profiles give them a kick,” says Hammond, whose shop represents designers from across Europe and the United States.
Hammond’s pieces, such as black rubber rings sprinkled with diamonds, or stark bands in precious metals with design devices that range from curves and twists to tension set stones, transform routine wedding or engagement bands into chic, “edgy” ensembles. Whether delicate or bold, these are rings that add contrast to the traditional band.
Despite all these contemporary takes on stacking bands, they’re absolutely not new either in concept or design, says Judy Rosenbloom, a private antiques jewelry dealer who owns The Treasure Chest in Lake Forest.
“Oil portraits show that people have always worn lots of rings on their fingers,” she notes, and these bands have been both simple and ornate, depending on the era.
Naomi Rubin, owner of Originals, an antiques jewelry gallery in Evanston, says the practice of wearing stacked rings specifically to mark marriages may have originated in the 16th Century.
“In Roman days and the Middle Ages, wedding and engagement rings looked pretty much the same, and were rather ornate and often set with stones. But in the 16th Century it became customary to use simple gold wedding bands. That offered the perfect opportunity to stack the different bands,” she says.
Both dealers say antique rings to use as stacking sets are highly sought-after right now, “but it’s not always an easy look to create,” warns Rubin. “It’s hard to achieve balance when you buy these rings one at a time, especially with the more elaborate bands that are thicker or bear more stones. They have to be about the same size at the outside edges, or they won’t lie right on your finger.”
The solution is simple enough. “It’s all trial and error, and you have to play with them,” says Suzanne Sklare-Platt, owner of Perlie in Winnetka, which carries a line of 22-karat gold stacking rings, some with precious gemstones, made by her sister, Stacy Sklare. (Bloomingdale’s and Neiman Marcus carry Sklare’s vermeil and sterling work.)
“It’s an adventure,” says Sklare-Platt, who wears her sister’s designs mixed with her own antique rings. “And it’s not quick,” she cautions. “You have to try these things on together, just like an outfit, to make sure they fit comfortably and look good. Sometimes it takes a while to find just the right rings to wear with each other.”
But when you do, the results can be drop-dead, says Susan Berman. “Most of the rings people tend to stack aren’t actually special in and of themselves, but when you put them together, they take on the personality and style of the wearer.”
RESOURCES
Pg. 23 (top): Shown from top to bottom, 18-karat rose gold and eight-diamond band, $1,400; 18-karat yellow gold open band with two diamonds, $1,100; platinum and 24-karat band with colored diamonds, $3,375; 22-karat gold and diamond twist band, $1,480; platinum and 24-karat gold, seven-diamond band, $1,785, all at Gia.
Middle: The diamond eternity band is an estate piece, $5,000; the sapphire guards, made to match its circumference exactly, $3,000 each. All rings from M.Y. Finkelman.
Bottom: Stacy Sklare’s ring guards, $2,500 each, center band, $1,450, all at Perlie’s in Winnetka.
This page: Bezel-set, emerald-cut diamond set in a thick, 18-karat gold band, by designer Susan Berman, $26,500, paired with an 18-karat yellow gold band with channel-set baguette diamonds, $4,250, and an 18-karat plain gold band, $150. All at Trabert & Hoeffer.
Styling: Ann Moorehouse, Dana Productions. Vintage wedding couple figurines from Uncle Fun.
