Some want to say that there is a big difference between a berachah on a fruit or mitzvah item and our case of the ring, as by a fruit or mitzvah item we can argue that one should hold the item he is making the berachah on i.e. the apple, shofar, lulav etc. as that is the mitzvah/berachah item, however, by the case of kiddushin the ring is not the mitzvah item, it is simply the item that is being used to help carry out the mitzvah. Strictly speaking one could be mekadesh a woman without a ring, provided he provides her with some sort of benefit, i.e. he dances in front of her (if it is worth a perutah). No one ever said that the ring is a:חפצא של מצוה שצריך להתנהג בה כתשמישי מצוה – a mitzvah item that one needs to treat like an item used for a mitzvah, just like we never find that money given to tzedokah is considered a mitzvah item. If so, there is no reason to require holding the ring whilst reciting the birchas erusin.
