The Real Story

- Winner is announced at the end of this post. -

By now you know the secret about my ring.  If you do not, pause and go read the introduction to my new book HERE and then come back. Look what Stephanie wrote in her comment yesterday:

“A few years ago, while attending She Speaks, I heard you, talked to you afterward and was struck by the beauty of your ring! I can still remember it.”

But I haven’t always has this ring. Let me explain.

I have a real diamond, given to me when my sweet husband proposed. It’s a lovely pear-shaped-stone set in yellow gold, and I happily wore it for ten years. Then I met a woman who is a professional image consultant  who told me with my coloring I really should be wearing silver-toned jewelry. She wasn’t the first to tell me this, but I ignored everyone else.

Shari Braendel, however, is hard to ignore. She once walked up behind me while I stood with a group of my friends in a store and grabbed both my bra straps through my shirt. She hiked them up an inch or so and said, “This is where they are suppose to be. You’re wearing the wrong size bra – do you want me to make you an appointment with my professional bra fitter?”

I told you she was hard to ignore.

So my fashion sense gravitated toward silver-toned jewelry and my gold wedding set didn’t quite “go.” I daydreamed of having something really big and really sparkly, set in silver, for my left hand.

You won’t hate me for craving a big diamond when there are starving children in the world, will you?

I come by my desire for big diamonds honestly. I’m certain it runs in my genes. My grandmother wore a two-carat (real) diamond that always caught my fancy. Also, about a decade or so into their marriage, my dad upgraded my mother’s engagement ring to a gorgeous two-carat (real) diamond. So you see, the women in my family have a thing for show-stopping bling, and I figure there’s no point in fighting genetics.

The problem is my husband and I don’t make the kind of coin my parents and grandparents made. They were both entrepreneurs. We are teachers. Big salary difference. Another problem is my conscience. I don’t think it would let me drop $10K+ on a ring, even if I had the thousands to drop. Turns out, I do care about starving children. (I support them through Compassion International.)

Plus, I learned some diamonds in jewelry stores are mined by oppressed workers in African countries and sold to finance military uprisings and wars. They’re called “conflict diamonds” or “blood diamonds.” Gulp.

I didn’t want to go into debt. I didn’t want kids to starve, and I certainly didn’t want anyone dying in a war financed by my thing for bling. I just wanted something silver on my finger that made me smile when the light caught it just right. You understand, don’t you? So what’s a sister to do?

Enter God into my little dilemma over my desire for a not-so-little diamond. Some fifty thousand years ago, a meteorite crashed into the Arizona desert. Fragments were scattered across the landscape. Hidden inside a secret awaited discovery.

In 1893, Nobel-prize winning scientist Henri Moissan discovered a shimmering new mineral in the meteor fragments. After a century of study, the mineral was isolated and recreated in a lab. When cut like a gemstone, it produces the same or better color, clarity and brilliance as a diamond – at a significantly lower price.

I know what you’re thinking: Sounds like the plot of a bad science-fiction film. Do aliens come to earth to steal the space-mineral because without it their species will die-out on planet Nepton?  I promise I’m not making this up!

By 1998, the gorgeous gems hit the marketplace as “moissanite.” Five years later, Rick bought me a 1.5-carat moissanite solitaire set in white gold for our 10th wedding anniversary. Actually, it was my wedding anniversary, Mother’s Day, and birthday present all rolled into one. I didn’t care I only got one present that year because each time the light caught my ring just right, I’d smile. I’m still smiling!

And now Jenifer Metzger is  going to be smiling too. Because after much computation, since something like 58 of you earned extra entries for spreading the word, she is the winner of the charming giveaway as commenter number46. She’ll get a signed copy of my new book It’s No Secret and a bit of Lisa Leonard-style bling.

To the rest of you that did not win, I commiserate with you today. (And I whisper that more giveaways are on the horizon so subscribe to my blog, follow me on Twitter, or friend me on Facebook so you don’t miss it!) Here are your random numbers: 46 Timestamp: 2010-09-09 13:17:34 UTC