Shimmering on Deb Marino’s finger are diamonds set in an eye-catching gold ring – and she makes no apology for which finger it adorns. “Of course it’s a middle finger ring, because, why not?” the Florida-based blogger says on her TikTok feed.
Her engagement ring, originally a symbol of a marriage that ended, has been reborn. Deb spent $3,000 (£2,245) having the diamond reset at one end of an open circle, adding a new sapphire to represent her daughter. “I didn’t want it locked away in a box,” she says. “Diamonds are precious.”
“Women are marking splits with defiant divorce rings, repurposing old diamonds into statement pieces.”
She is part of a rising trend promoted by jewellers around the world: women marking a new chapter with a divorce ring. For many, the economics make sense. Ring resale values tend to be only around 30% of the original price, so giving old jewellery a new life feels a better investment than selling.
The trend fits what fashion pages call this year’s “hot divorcee summer” – a celebration of liberated glamour and a “don’t care energy”.
Ceri Evans, 58, from Wales, bought a £3,000 diamond ring after finally splitting from her husband last year. Three large diamonds in an art deco-style platinum ring sit on the fourth finger of her right hand. “I say it’s my USA ring,” she jokes. “My declaration of independence.” She paid for it “out of defiance” with her own money, not her divorce settlement.
Kate Daly, co-founder of Amicable, a UK company offering mediated divorce services, says divorce rings can also mark financial liberation. “Your whole life gets thrown up in the air,” she says. “Your finances are under extreme pressure.” If a woman then decides to buy a new ring, it is a sign she is making her own financial decisions and “not needing to ask permission from anyone”.
“It’s very easy to trivialise,” adds Daly, “but maybe that’s the first big spending decision you’ve made in a very long time, and certainly perhaps the biggest one you’ve made solo for a long time.”
Alex Proie in Pennsylvania picked up her ring, made from the gold and diamonds in her five-year anniversary band, just two weeks ago. The trend shows no sign of fading – each ring a small, glittering act of defiance.