I won’t delve into the intricacies of human emotion, I will however, report on something I find fascinating. Hear me out.

Marriage is a hot-button issue these days, “I Do” & “I Can’t” & all that is in a lot people’s minds. Now, in the case of “I don’t think I really want to anymore,” the real question is, who keeps the engagement ring?

Well, in an interview held by JCK‘s own Laura Finkelstein with recent reality TV heartbreaker Jen Schefft we learned that the general consensus is the woman keeps the ring regardless of the reason. A court in Michigan, however found otherwise.

I am, of course, citing Meyer v. Mitnick, 244 Mich.App. 697 (2001 WL 171453, Ct. App., Mich., 2001) which found that: “A determination of who owns the engagement ring following termination of the engagement does not require a determination of which party was at fault. Marriage is an implied condition of the transfer of title to the ring, so the gift does not become absolute until the marriage occurs. The ring must be returned to its donor.”

Joshua Opperman found himself in a similar situation as Barry Meyer, sans lawsuit. He come home one day from work to find his apartment half-empty, yes half-empty, with the engagement ring that he had “depleted [him] of [his] life savings” left behind and quickly learned that he could only recover a third of his former fiancée’s ring’s cost. So what did he do? What any American would do, besides sue; he started his own website!

I Do … Now I Don’t.com acts as an eBay of sorts for jilted/thrifty lovers who wish to find happy/thrifty lovers to buy their engagement rings through online auctions.

In a Bridezillas & My Super Sweet Sixteen world, so what if you get your engagement ring at a discount? It’s the (conditional) thought & carat-count-for-less that counts. Plus, you’ve still got a ceremony, reception & honeymoon to pay for, in hopes of not having a Waiting to Exhale style divorce.

Bacilio’s Buyer Beware: It is free to post a ring on I Do … Now I Don’t, but the site does charge 5% of your final sale for its services. Just so you don’t have delusions of getting off completely scott-free. Also be aware that IDNID has in-house appraisers & IDNID can cancel your sale if it turns out that your ring is not exactly what you claim it to be & suggests that you obtain a diamond grading certificate from GIA, AGS or EGL. (Good for them!)

JCK