In retrospect, Eric Smith should have just bought the Halo armor directly:

Her ring wasn’t perfect. After being reshaped, the white gold band was smudged and uneven. The diamond, instead of a traditional, glittering transparent gem, was a canary yellow, her favorite color. She’d spoken at length about her dream engagement ring, how she wanted the diamond to be this specific, light shade of yellow. It looked blemished, yes, but that’s how she wanted it. And that’s how she was, really. Imperfect but still seemingly perfect.

It was the imperfect/perfect wedding ring -- a grand, romantic gesture. So, naturally, she broke up with him. Smith wanted to be rid of the ring, so he sold it on eBay. But the money remained in his PayPal account, a nagging reminder of this agonizing experience. He knew that he needed to get rid of the money in a meaningful way. A Master Chief armor set was, of course, that way:

I’d wanted the suit for so long, and after such epic heartbreak, receiving each piece of armor—arriving in seven shipments, over the course of eight months—became an unintentionally cathartic process. As the shoulders, forearms, chest-piece, and helmet arrived slowly, one section at a time… well, with each part I got a small piece of myself back.

Link -via Geekosystem