My mother wasn’t the type to wear much jewelry.  We certainly didn’t have enough money for anything extravagant, and she was too practical to wear anything that would get in the way.  On occasion my dad would bring back a necklace from a business trip which she might wear on a special Sunday, but the only piece of jewelry she always wore was her wedding and engagement ring.  My grandfather was a jeweler and fused the two together into one.  Over time the color faded, and some of the engravings wore off, but that ring was still there.  No matter what my mothers rings would always be reminder of her marriage and she would wear it no matter what.