Thank-you for the thoughts, redrhodie and Flur. This is why I'm not good at owning anything valuable, I get all flustered about how to take proper care of it...
Here are a couple of photos, in case anybody else wants to weigh in. Don't spook, it's just my (normally unhairy) little finger, magnified a few times. That's another reason I'd rather not wear it as a ring, I have big fat fingers and can only fit it onto my pinky.
Winter riding is much less about badassery and much more about bundle-uppery. - malkin
1995 Kona Cinder Cone commuterFrankenbike/Selle Italia SLR Lady Gel Flow
2008 white Nakamura Summit Custom mtb/Terry Falcon X
2000 Schwinn Fastback Comp road bike/Specialized Jett