There are treasured items in almost every family and they are things that we gladly pass down from generation to generation. In addition, we might have things that we treasure on a personal level and they will be ours until the day we die.

Then again, there are times when those two may cross paths, but not always. That was what makes the following story so interesting.

It seems as if a young man and his girlfriend approached his mother to ask for her engagement ring. The mother was a bit shocked at their reaction when she told them that it wasn’t a family heirloom but rather, was a treasured item on a personal level.

Things didn’t go well so she decided to post it on Reddit. You can read the entire story here:

My son, Sam, (26) and his longtime girlfriend, now fiancee, Emily, (26) finally decided to get married. They had announced their engagement privately to my husband and me, and after the initial excitement, they said they had something important to talk to me about.

Sam wanted my engagement ring to give to Emily. Sam said this would be a great way to keep him from starting his marriage in debt from having to buy a new expensive diamond ring. Emily also added that she has liked the look of my ring a lot and would love for me to pass it down to her.

I love my engagement ring. I have worn it every day since my husband proposed to me with it and to be honest, I still have plenty of years to live that I want to keep wearing it until I am old and grey. Also, my ring is not a family heirloom. My husband chose and bought this ring for me many years ago. So, I told them that I appreciated them wanting my ring, but no, I wanted to keep it. I listed out the reasons above and how I don’t want to part with my ring yet for the rest of my still-long life. However, when I am old, I would be more than happy to give it to their future children.

Well, Sam and Emily weren’t happy with my answer and Sam actually called me selfish and materialistic. He said that diamonds are a scam and asked how I could let him go into debt to buy a new ring. Emily was disappointed and said that she had hoped that my ring could become a family heirloom and it would be a token of accepting her into our family (I have always liked Emily and we got along great). They also said that I could keep my wedding band so it wasn’t like they were leaving me without any rings to wear.

AITA?

Edit: Thanks to everyone who commented. I liked reading about your own engagement rings and diamond alternatives. My husband did defend me and had told our son to leave and walk it off when he started arguing with me. He said he is on my side and would have respected my decision with the ring, but he admitted that he was happy that I still love my ring so much after all these years!