Dreaming in Blue and Green

Since venting about how little time I have left with my jeweler, I realized how much we need to know what we want by the time we go see him.  Thus I reignited my ring search with an old friend:  opals.  I have been in love with opals since before I knew they were called opals.  They have such rich yet bright colors, and they remind me of the sea which as you may have figured out by now, I deeply love.  Plus, they're my birthstone, so that's always nice.  I don't know why I didn't think of opals in my original ring search.  Probably because I'm completely hung up on my parents' wedding rings which feature two dolphins entwined.  I guess I was thinking about design more than substance.  But now, I have a lovely collection of opal ring pictures to admire, and there are several I think we might actually use.

First, simplicity.  I would be perfectly fine with a simple opal band like this:

source

I'd want a different color, but the basic design with opal holds a lot more interest for me than any other simple band I've seen.

Of course, we could make things a little more interesting with one of these:

source

source

(imagine it with opal instead of turquoise)

source

The last two are ones we're really considering.  The latter is FOR SURE my favorite of these, but as a member of the male species, Daniel doesn't want diamonds in his ring.  Thus, we would either both wear a design more like the middle option, or just he would do that while I wore something more like the last option.  Either way, I would want silver or white gold to better compliment my engagement ring (which I will someday get around to posting pictures of).

However, I think we would be most likely to actually purchase one of these options:

source

We both really like this design but do not care for these stones.  If we were to do something like this, we would probably use three shades of opal or maybe opal for the (currently) purple parts and use stones of complimentary colors for the swirly bits.  We have a few ideas, but the important thing is we both love the design.

source

Nonetheless, this is the design we both like best at the moment.  Imagine the waves inlaid with opal.  I love this design because it could satisfy my desire for opals and for an ocean-lover's ring at the same time.  Plus, the design was my idea to a large extent, and that makes me feel good too.

The more I think about it, the more I think I love the Etsy ring (the one with slanted diamond-inlaid lines separating the opal pieces) because of the color instead of the design.  That's pretty much the opal color I'm looking for, and with that kind of stone inlaid in the waves of the above ring, I think our rings would be perfect!  And what really surprised me is that's Daniel's favorite idea too.  I sense a decision coming on... :).

Which ring do you like best?  Of course, if you have any pictures or ideas similar to these or just that you think I might like, I would love to become acquainted with them.

Also, stay tuned for rings I love that Daniel wouldn't be caught dead wearing ;).  Hint:  there will be Mickey Mouse heads.