Do you wear your engagement ring?

Vitani - I would play it safe if I were you and just wear a band. The last thing you want is to have to worry about having your jewelry stolen or lost. You want to enjoy your time.

After living in Asia for 4 years and now having taken 9 trips to Europe there were only two times that I felt that my wedding ring was in jeopardy. Both times, one in Asia and one in Naples, Italy, we were approached by a woman carrying a baby and surrounded by young children. Mom was yapping at my hubby and the children reached for both of my hands as if they wanted to hold hands. I immediately curled my finger to make a fist so that they couldn't pull my rings off. In Naples a store owner came out right away and started hollering at her and they ran off.

If it would make you more comfortable I say leave the rings at home. One less thing to be concerned about. And by the way, you don't even have to buy any kind of replacement. You don't have to wear any kind of ring for the duration of your trip.

Have a great trip!

I'd err on the side of caution. It's not just the risk of losing the rings (which I assume is very slight), but what the large diamond might suggest to potential thieves about the possible contents of your purse and suitcase.

Depends.......
General rule of thumb, leave expensive ring in bank safe deposit box while traveling.

But, that said, depends on to which country you will be traveling, what you will be doing, and if you are with a group (and what type group).

If you will be on a high-end luxury tour or cruise (where you are more insulated with private transfers and the such) to a country like Ireland, Scotland, or Switzerland, maybe. But, if you will be on your own in a large city (or even the countryside) with an extremely diverse population, likely not. For certain continents, absolutely not!

Also absolutely not if you will be doing activities for which you would not wear it if doing the same activities at home (zip lining, rough-terrain hiking, etc.)

Even if on a luxury tour with the "protection" of more controlled situations, it is a good idea to flip the diamond toward the inside of your palm, just like you likely do for certain circumstances when you might be out and about in your local environment. Caution is never a bad thing into day's world.

And, if you are bargaining at a street market, a big display of wealth may not help your bargaining ;o

P.S. I would vote against buying a cheapie fake to wear.....it could cause the same unwanted attention the real one would....no one would be able to tell it is a fake from a few feet away.

I leave my wedding/engagement rings at home and wear a smaller ring on my ring finger when I travel to Europe. I'm sure it's overkill but it's what I always do.

I have noticed in some cities that the local women do not wear expensive jewelry, at least not on public transportation. Leave the rings at home, wear a plain band if you want to.

My hands and fingers tend to swell when I travel and my rings are uncomfortable or don't fit. When that happens I tend to take them off more often which makes it more likely that I will lose or misplace them. For that reason I have started leaving them at home when we travel. My husband is always with me, proof enough that I'm married.

Spouse is more concerned about losing a ring while traveling, than thievery, from taking one on and off in unfamiliar surroundings. Of course, this makes a good excuse to buy a new gold band over there. Or you could get lucky and someone will find one on the street for you (joke).

My wife and I bought cheap ($35) bands at Walmart and leave our wedding rings at home in a safe while traveling, it's just common sense. Also, I wear a $15 Timex watch when in Europe so if it is lost or stolen It doesn't really matter. I look at it as we're in Europe to enjoy the culture and people not to be a example of my networth.

I bought a very inexpensive ring on Amazon that I wear when I travel. Funnily enough, I have gotten more compliments on that ring than I ever got on my real one!

I agree with the previous posters. I have an inexpensive, plain wedding band I wear which is a size larger then my regular band. My fingers also swell during the summer with the heat. I also don't wear any necklaces or bracelets cause in the heat they bother me. I only wear a cheap watch and a pair of plain gold stud earrings. Less items I have to worry about. My husband doesn't wear any jewelry of any kind, not even a watch. He figures I have one and his phone always adjusts to the current time.

I only bring what I wouldn't worry about losing. I have a very thin gold band (cost me less than $20 at a jewelry store) that I wear on vacations and leave my wedding rings in our bank safety deposit box.

I've traveled in 4 different continents and many different islands over the years and have never left my wedding set at home. Frankly didn't even occur to me. Mind you, my engagement ring doesn't have a diamond big enough to choke a horse, either. Nor do I engage in activities where safety is an issue (ie ziplining). On a couple of rare occasions we found ourselves in questionable neighborhoods - I just flipped the rings so the diamonds were towards my palm.

But if you feel safer leaving them at home, do so. I wouldn't bother with a cheap silicone ring, though. What's the point? If you want a ring on your finger, get a cheap plain gold (or gold look) band.

My never takes off her rings. They're fully insured too.

It totally depends on where I am traveling. In any city, on subways, metros, I always turn the stone toward my palm, in USA or another country. Someone above stated my philosophy.. if you can't replace it, don't take it with you.

I don't travel with anything that cannot be replaced or I would be very unhappy having to replace. Worrying about stuff does not contribute to carefree travel.

I agree with many previous posters. When I travel, I do not wear expensive jewelry (including wedding rings, good watch, etc.) as I prefer not to draw unnecessary attention to myself as a target for pick-pockets or scammers in crowded sightseeing places. An inexpensive silver wedding band and a costume watch works for me, and then I don't ever have to concern myself with "what if" I lost my diamond rings. I can enjoy my trips worry-free and not be concerned about the hassle of time consuming police reports or insurance claims. (I was the victim of a rental car break-in in Hawaii many years ago and don't ever want to go through that process again!)

I've done both, traveled with my wedding ring and very good jade ring. But on a tour like our RS tour where we are moving every other day, then I did not take the rings (I must take them off at night). So I missed my rings and hence purchased two inexpensive rings to wear. In Asia I have also moved my diamond to the inside of my hand in markets especially.

I have left my rings home and then have travelled just with my anniversary ring. I generally don't like to travel with jewelry. Too bothersome and don't want to keep up with it. I travel very light..... even no makeup. Been blessed with excellent skin. Just don't like to drag unnecessary stuff around.

No, I don't. My husband bought me a $35 silver band in Dublin (on a trip long, long ago) with a symbol from Newgrange carved into it. That's the ring I always wear when traveling. And a lot of the time when I'm home, too, as it has lots of lovely memories attached to it.

I stuck all the diamonds in the safe deposit box a few years ago and never got them out. The last time I wore the diamond hoop earrings, someone asked me if I had gotten them at Chico's. Really. I should sell the stuff and use the money for travel.

The only way mine are coming off is with bolt cutters! I wear mine all the time - obviously. I have never felt ill at ease about them no matter where we were traveling.

Do what is comfortable for you.

How sad to store fine things and never enjoy having them. Its like saving fine silver & china for special - everyday I am sucking air is special!

I bought a fake set for about $35. They look so real! I actually love wearing them on vacations for a change after 35 years of marriage. The main reason I leave them behind is that I'm afraid I'll leave them somewhere. I have to take all jewelry off at the end of the day, and I just don't want to be worrying about my diamonds...insured or not.

Yes. They are insured and difficult to get off my fingers on the best of days. Even at home I do not remove my rings anywhere public, ever. No worries about leaving them on beside a sink or on a counter or table.
People in Europe wear jewelry, too.

Good that your rings don't come off. Friends who remarried late in life honeymooned on Maui. Husband dove into the water and surfaced without his new gold wedding band. Apparently his finger shrank swimming in cold water. Fortunately their jeweler was able to recreate the wedding band, the second time a little tighter.

I always wear my wedding ring and engagement ring when we travel in the US or abroad. It never occurred to me to do otherwise.

I wear another woman's wedding ring when I travel. My husband was a goldsmith in a past life, and happened to have the perfect band in his scrap stock. It's plain, well worn (not too thick), and never falls off. Doesn't hurt if my hands swell. I don't like to wear jewelry to sleep, so I keep the band in my glasses case at night. I miss my wedding set if I'm gone for a couple weeks, but I appreciate it even more when I return home.

I did not wear my wedding rings to Europe. There were a few times when we were in crowded areas or when men come up to us trying to sell things and I reached to cover my rings up, forgetting I didn't have them on. Although I miss them, I'm glad I didn't wear them.

I got tired of worrying about it so I divorced my husband and gave him the ring back. Best thing I ever did! Now I never have to worry about getting robbed by street children in Rome.

I only wore my simple wedding band, leaving the rocks at home. No extra bracelets. Inexpensive stud earrings. Not trying to impress anyone. One less thing to worry about losing. Good excuse to buy other beautiful things in Ireland as we neared the end of the trip.

Astorienne, I did the same except I kept both rings and sold them to a jeweler. I wish I had waited until the price of gold had gone higher though!

As usual I have a slightly different take on this. I do not wear wedding rings at home because to me it is a sign of ownership, a label for all to see, an archaic symbol. When I travel solo, I do wear said wedding ring when traveling so I can infer my H is waiting for me at X if I get into an uncomfortable situation so I don't appear to be traveling alone, in that case. When I wear a gemstone and I am uncomfortable I just turn the gem into my palm so it can't be seen. That being said, I don't see why, if you wear your rings all the time, you'd leave them at home. Europeans wear jewels and they are not robbed anymore than here at home, I would guess. Most people have no clue when a gemstone is real and when it is a fake...this, unfortunately, often includes the owners.

Years and years ago, I was checking out at a local outlet store in the evening. A man behind me in line (who did not look like a diamond expert) commented to me............"Hmmmmmmm, that's quite a nice ring." Without missing a beat, I smiled big and said (in sort of a loud whisper as I leaned toward him just a bit), "Oh thank you....you think it looks real? Maybe my friends will think so, too. Shhh, our secret."

For some reason that made me feel just a wee bit safer as I carefully went to the parking lot with my (real) diamond. Even though the ring I wore at that time was relatively modest by some standards, it obviously stood out in that store. Since then I have practiced turning it to the palm side when outside the "bubble" of (what is perceived to be, but no guarantees) my typical stomping grounds.

It never occurred to me to leave my rings behind on trips.

I'm not much of a jewelry person otherwise- earrings are typically $15-$30 a pair sorts from the local artists that sell in national park and museum gift shops, and my watch is a cheap Timex. So I suspect I lack the bling to draw a whole lot of the wrong attention.

It would never occur to me to leave mine home either. To all of you who leave yours at home you probably have MUCH nicer rings than I have:)

From my wife's perspective, if we have an itinerary where we are moving around a lot, then she leaves jewelry at home. Same if it is mainly a beach vacation. The concern is just banging rings around and the opportunity to misplace or damage them, not so much security, but she worries less without them. This applies to Europe, Mexico, and the US.

She has worn them if we are just doing a single city or two, the concerns are just fewer.

Jill, my ring is modest by today's standards. But, I keep it at home because of the sentimental reasons; it's a combination of my original diamond (worn 39 years now) and my mother's wedding ring. When I'm on vacation, I don't want to think about gold jewelry, etc. so I bring some simple costume jewelry earrings, necklaces or scarves.

I was once on a safari tour in Africa and every wife wore her ring sets. Of course, we were travelling in a bit of a bubble. However, I travel by the concept "don't travel with anything you can't afford to lose' (and to me that includes financial and sentimental), and also, I try to avoid drawing attention to myself, so I dress low budget including my jewelry, so no thief would find me worth the effort.
Consider that all of Europe is wearing wedding and engagement rings and decide what you are comfortable with.

I wear mine, but both my wedding and engagement rings are flat bands with inset stones, not very expensive, nor very flashy.

Bets, that's crazy that someone asked you about Chico's!!!!!

My wife never wears her engagement nor wedding rings when we travel. she says she doesn't want to lose them but I think she just does it to make me buy local rings when we're overseas.

We'll Kim, I'm not much of a jewelry person beyond diamond studs but happen to own a lot. We were at a formal dance with lovely people who don't wear a lot of jewels. So the comment reflections my personal style and environment as well as her ability to distinguish true from fake in dimmed light, but yes, she should have begun with the other assumption.

OTOH when my mother was told by someone that her watch was 18k, she had me take it for assessment where I learned it was plated. To my surprise she was so glad it wasn't 18k because she loved the watch and didn't want to have to worry about it. Go figure.

I vote with the group that say to leave your ring behind. I bought a simple gold band at Costco a few years back and it is my travel ring.

I have a diamond engagement ring (not super huge but high quality sparkly solitaire, fairly noticeable), and a wedding band with inset sapphires that is not too noticeable on its own. I tend to wear both to Europe, and I don't take them off. I don't think it's too flashy for most of Western Europe, though I'd be careful with it in places notorious for pickpockets and maybe turn it around. In other parts of the world, I consider whether the diamond will help attract touts who will assume I'm rich (as a tourist that's a losing battle anyway in some places) and usually leave it at home.

I keep the wedding band wherever I go since it's not flashy, and because my husband's very attached the notion of us both wearing the original rings as much as possible (in five years, he's only ever had his off for surgery, and once when it slipped off.)

99% of the rest of my jewelry is costume jewelry, or nice pieces that don't have gems or cost much more than $100. I leave anything I have a sentimental attachment to at home usually, since I'm clumsy. My current "watch" is a Fitbit Alta with an iridescent metal replacement band, not exactly a Rolex!

I too have a ring that is noticeable. I always wear it when we go to my husband's home in Ireland and I wore it in Italy. I did notice a few people looking at my hand in Italy so I did not wear on our trips to Spain and Greece. It is insured but I don't want to be a "target". I can also say I was much more relaxed in Spain & Greece about my jewelry. We are leaving for Ireland soon and I may leave it for this trip as well. Two stories bothered me when we were over there the last time. Both involved homes that were being cased and the robbers were looking for quick items, cash in one instance, jewelry in another. They beat the people badly, which concerns me more than losing jewelry. I don't want to see myself, my husband or his family hurt. Both also involved Dublin gangs coming down to the country, rob and go back again.

The stories may have made paranoid but one afternoon, my husband & I were getting in the car in front of his brother's home. A gentleman was hitchhiking but staring at us and studying the home. I said hello, thinking it was someone I didn't know but knew the family. I took a picture of him to show the locals and no one knew him.

I wear one of two claddagh rings, one white gold, one gold. Still valuable and sentimental, but I don't think anyone will be beating us over it.

Oh my, the burden of owning expensive jewellery! Too tiresome.

l think the lesson here is that if you don't want to risk losing something, don't take it with you.

One of the more popular wristwatches for men is the Rolex Submariner. I purchased mine many years ago and it is like a part of my body. I generally don't wear any other jewelry but my Rolex is always on my wrist. Unless I am traveling. Then, I wear a Seiko strap watch that looks manly and rugged, but it can be replaced for less than $150 if it is pulled off my wrist.

Wedding rings out of plain gold are worth less than the trouble of trying to tug them off. Large and beautiful engagement sets are targets of opportunity for pickpockets or street thieves. In my opinion, they cry out "look what I've got!" and would be a magnet for many would be thieves.

I don't know if it was mentioned, but it is remarkably easy to brush against a stone wall or a wire fence with your hand and knock a diamond from a Tiffany setting on an engagement ring. Leave things at home.

Well, my engagement ring was all of $7 USD and I haven't taken it off in like 15 years. It goes where I go. My wedding ring is this ring with two small white gold bands around it, cost all of $70. Means there's $ for more vacations! :)