Double Indemnity

A few years ago in Vietnam I bought a black onyx ring. It was minimal, elegant, and cut from a single, smooth piece of stone. I adored it.

Not long after I returned home, while removing my jewellery in the bathroom before bed, I dropped the ring to the ceramic tiles underfoot. The result was devastating: my ring broke into two pieces! Although I tried to glue it back together, it (unsurprisingly) fell apart as soon as I slipped it on. Mournfully I placed the pieces in my jewellery box, unable to throw them away entirely.

Years later, I found another ring in Barcelona, and although it was not as fat and sleek as the first, I promptly purchased it. Guess what happened soon after I returned from my travels? Curses! You’d think I would have learned to be more cautious.

This time – in order to expunge my abysmal carelessness from my memory – I determined to find a replacement immediately. After a little wailing and beating of my breast, I turned to eBay. I located a seller in China who had more than ten onyx rings available. There was only one hitch: I wasn’t sure of my size.

A handy reference: ring conversion chart from World Ring MarketAustralian ring sizes are lettered. I couldn’t remember which finger was which size: N, O, P? The seller had US-sized 7s and 8s in stock. I found a ring conversion chart online that also indicated the diameter of the respective sizes, and measured the shattered remains of the old rings. Erring on the side of caution, I decided on the 8. If it was too big for my ring finger, I would wear it on the middle.

And since they were only $3 each, this time, to cover myself, I bought two!

They duly arrived in the post, and I was pleased to see that although they weren’t as wide as the original ring from Vietnam, neither were they as slender as their Spanish counterpart. Needless to say, I am treating these rings with more reverence.