Mrs. Gummi Bear, San Francisco
Age and Occupation: 25, Japanese Importer/Illustrator
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 24, Game Developer/Programmer
Engagement Date: April 15, 2006
Wedding Date: October 13, 2007
Blogging Since: June 19, 2007
Venue: Organic farm an hour from San Francisco
About Me: I live for anthropologie, design blogs, sweets, japanese zakka, and vintage goods. We just bought our first home together and live with our two puppies and cat - it's a strange mixture of vintage, high-tech (we have 7 computers and 21 video game systems in all), and a whole lot of fur. Our wedding tries to embody the Japanese idea of "slow life", which is truly taking the time to enjoy food, company, and your environment!
Manly-Man Ring! … with pink accent.
July 12th, 2007 @ 10:30 am by Mrs. Gummi Bear
Yesterday, at 7:30am, I got a phone call from Niwaka. Machiko, the super sweet woman who works there, never did get the hang of calling from NY to CA later than 6-8am PST. She apologized profusely, as she always does in that so sweet way that reminds me of when I lived in Japan, and verified that our order had shipped out the morning before and would be arriving today.
Well, it arrived! And like all things in Japan, it was packaged several times - in one fedex box… within another fedex box.. and then a lot of stuffing and finally this:
top:
angled:
Mr. GB fell in love with this ring, a slight twist on top, but neither the thickness of the band, nor the width change throughout the ring. Niwaka carries a lot of organic looking rings, but this was his favorite. Particularly in the matte/brushed (if you order it, the Japanese call it “hairline”) finish.
Another reason he wanted it was he felt that he should he get a diamond too. -whine whine, pout pout- He certainly didn’t want one on top, some masculine thing about wanting all metal visible. Niwaka offers the option of getting a tiny 0.02 carat diamond in pink, blue, or white set either inside or outside the ring. His secret pink diamond, just for him.
Did I mention they do free engraving?
inside pink diamond + engraving:
Yes, it says BEAN POD. I am the bean. He is the pod. I’m not sure why I’m the bean, but it has been my pet name for a few different boys I dated - and they all came up with it all their own, so I must be very “beany”. Perhaps I’m gassy and they thought referring to me as “bean” rather than “fart-master” was cuter. Anyway, they were so sweet when I asked them to put one word on either side of the stone and it’s perfect.
About Niwaka….
I read a lot of Japanese magazines, so we had discovered Niwaka through 25ans, a bridal one that I regularly buy. They have a location in NY, but I go to Japan 3-4 times a year, so on our latest spring “gotta fit in a visit before wedding planning takes over” trip to Tokyo, we stopped by their showroom in Aoyama. They were so sweet, allowing us to try on a few rings, discuss the proper Japanese word for “matte finish”, and find out the Japanese size of Mr. GB’s finger. By the time we left, I had all the information I needed to make my order. Machiko is the woman who runs the office in NY, and she is wonderful. If you want to order - just call her in NY and she’ll be more than happy to help you. You will probably be prompted to do some of the ordering via phone and some through email because her spoken English is not perfect, but she really is the greatest!
They are currently relocating, so their store is closed. You can still call and order since the rings are handmade in Kyoto, not NY, and then sent from Japan.
Niwaka USA, Inc.
212-941-5410
ps - this is his current engagement ring, he doesn’t know what he’s going to do with it after we’re married.. any ideas?
22 Responses to “Manly-Man Ring! … with pink accent.”
What a nice wedding band.
I think he can use his current engagment ring as necklace charm. Wear it with a nice white gold or silver chain or use a leather cord.
Niwaka . . . *dreamy sigh*
i love his ring! such a great idea..especially with the engravings!
maybe he could use his current engagement ring as a right hand ring….ha!
mr. bop has a 3 pointer diamond in the inside of his w-band, too. great minds think alike!
Haha it’s so weird that different bfs have all called you bean! But now you found the perfect pod 
Aw. That is so cute. Secret pink diamond. Hehehe.
I just wanted to say I absolutely love your posts. My fiance too works in video games (he swooned over your Space Invader envelope inserts when I showed him) and we’re a little bit more funky than traditional, so I feel like the things you write are very relatable.
may I ask the cost of this ring it is a great ring!
My friend’s husband has something familiar to that ring. But, he loves to wear it, he is a little “flashy.” It a titanium wedding band called the DISCO Tungsten band!
wow, what a great ring. i love the secret pink diamond. i think that’s my favorite part of the ring.
Miss GreenBean: I forget the exact cost, but with the diamond set in it was $1340 including shipping. lucky, mr. gummibear had the receipt.. whoops! It’s a few hundred cheaper without the stone, closer to $900 I believe? I’m not exactly sure, but Machiko can help you!!!
That actually is a pretty cool ring. I usually like things simple but it’s unique in a simple way. I likes it! =D
Your FI could probably wear his engagement ring on his other hand (or any other fingers) or if he doesn’t want to wear another ring, I like elise’s idea of wearing it on a necklace.
Do you know when the NY stores is reopening. I really like some of the rings but I want to see how they look in person.
Nice choice of rings, and the hidden diamond is great.
gttoct: not sure, but if you call you might be able to find out or even go look? They usually answer the phone on M, W, F.. so try tomorrow
Oh my goodness…I like the site and the jewelry, but I have to admit that I like the Engrishy ring descriptions best of all.
“Making a pile of snow, making a form.”
“A color of flower colors you.”
Haha. I call my husband Bean, but that has more to do with his ancestry than anything. He’s mexican - so I guess it was originally a racial slur? Not so nice, but I use it in a loving way and it fits.
The e-ring could definitely be a right-hand ring, or just a ring to wear when he wants to look more dressed up or whatnot.
I love the ring!
That is the sweetest, manliest thing I have seen in a long time. Its up there with a man who has a 5 o’clock shadow snuggling a kitten while wearing boxers.
I really like niwaka. I have seen their ads in bridal magazines. I even ordered one of their catalogues. But in the end, they were in the midst of the move in NYC. So there was no where to see the rings. And going to Japan wasn’t an option. But we ended up getting our rings from DeBeers. They have a small diamond in all their rings. So my FI has a little bling too!
my husband switched out my plain wedding band for a diamond pave band during our ceremony. he also used to wear and engagement ring. so now we have two rings that we don’t currently wear. his e-ring is too small to fit on his other hand. we have decided to take the champagne cork from the night we got engaged and the champagne cork from the toast at our wedding and combine them with our rings to make a christmas ornament. we’re not big christmas people, but it seemed like a nice thing to have on our tree. so maybe you could do something crafty with it?
my nickname is bean too!
[…] at least vaguely, we gave up. Instead, we opted to share a matching diamond. Just like Mr. GB’s pink hidden diamond, I also have a small pink diamond among the standard whites. It’s our little secret, just like […]
I love both your rings!
I especially love Mr. GB’s hidden diamond… ’cause I too have heard soo many men wanting just a metal finish.
Nice subtle Bling!
Hi So thank you for the heads up on the niwaka site! My fiance LOVES the Prayer ring and we were thinking about ordering it, but the problem is- we live in Southern CA and probably won’t be able to make it to NYC anytime soon. Would you recommend trying to order online? Do you have any suggestions for us? And if you don’t mind me asking, did it cost extra for the little pink diamond? ANY advice would be greatly appreciated Thanks! Yvi
