A round stone vintage engagement ring seems like the perfect choice for HBO’s True Blood on and off-screen romance between Sookie Stackhouse (Anna Paquin), a telepathic waitress and magnet for life threatening situations and Bill Compton (Stephen Moyer), a vampire made in the 1800s with a soft spot for humans.
Although the series, which is based off Sookie Stackhouse Novels by Charlaine Harris, begins in a small southern town, the couple’s love scenes and intimate conversations often occur in the 200-year-old Compton family house. In addition to the high ceiling and hardwood floored two- story house, Bill Compton is also known for his antique taste, which he often expresses to Sookie throughout the series.
Even the proposal site was inspired by classic-felt character Bill Compton. According to People.com, Moyer, 39, said that the lyrics to a song played during a scene where Bill is driving in a car inspired him to slide the vintage ensemble onto Paquin’s, 27, ring finger on a vacation to a white sandy beach sometime in August 2009.
Was the ring on Paquin’s finger once worn by a queen, or was it passed down from a spirited grandmother, who was accidentally murdered by a vampire hunter? Perhaps, it is a new ring, customized in vintage, to symbolize the beginning of their story with hopes to be passed on to someone else.
Traditionally, the term vintage is loosely used to describe a ring that was once worn by someone else. These rings often come with a story, and if they don’t, one has every right to create a narrative of their own. One ring may hold a tradition passed along through generations, and another may have been worn upon the finger of a highly regarded individual in society.
Vintage rings were made in times with little technology, which means they were created by the hands of local jewelers and customized to the individual needs of the customer during certain historical time periods. Because of this, it is rare to find two antique rings that are exactly the same. Whatever the story may hold and time period the ring represents, the character of a true antique ring will provide a unique charm impossible to find in a new ring.
The most popular vintage rings are dated back to the late 1800s to mid 1900s. These rings are easily recognized by their ornament design with small circular stones—often diamonds, rubies, emeralds and sapphires—in a gold setting. The filigree ring is often delicate in design.
It is important to realize that vintage rings most likely have flaws because of their age. An older ring will have scratches and chips, which will need to be repaired. Accumulation of dirt and oil will also need to be removed in order to see the classic beauty of these rarities. Repair and cleaning costs should be accounted for when a buyer is considering a vintage ring.
Depending on the age and wear of vintage rings, the repair and maintenance of such rings might be impractical. It is often recommended to have a jeweler custom make a ring that is similar in style to correct this issue. Customized rings still hold the tradition of the original ring, yet they are durable to sustain the story for years to come.
The story that accompanies the vintage style ring hanging from Paquin’s finger has been kept quiet for some time. The couple’s off-screen relationship was revealed during an awkward love scene between Bill and another cast mate according to People.com, but the wedding details are still hush-hush. With all things considered, an early 1900s charm and velvet ambiance is much anticipated in this red carpet wedding.

Yet it is not only religion which is a driving factor of this trend. There are many little known wedding ceremonial practices from Spain which have carried through to the Americas. One such practice is the gifting of 13 Golden coins to the bride by her groom on their wedding day. This comes from the more ancient tradition of gifting a dowry to a bride and her family. In an effort to carry this tradition through to the modern era, many Hispanic couples are searching for wedding rings which combine the practice of ring exchanging with the more ceremonial tradition. As such, custom jewelers have been getting ever-increasing orders for wedding rings, which somehow incorporate the 13 Golden rings into their design. For example, there have been some wedding rings which been manufactured to resemble 13 coins adjacent to each other at their edges and formed into a ring. Other gold wedding rings have had 13 coins inscribed or engraved upon the exterior or interior of the wedding ring’s band. These pieces not only put a unique twist on the common wedding ring, but are actually quite lovely to behold as well! Men’s wedding rings have also picked up on this trend regarding coins. There are many men’s wedding rings which feature as a centerpiece stamped impressions of old Spanish doubloons, if not the actual coins themselves!
When it comes to wedding rings and wedding bands, for many couples the standard fare just isn’t enough.