What Is a Romantic Engagement Ring?

When I design an engagement ring, I want to understand the person who will wear it and the relationship it will represent. That is what I mean by a romantic engagement ring. Its details have reasons grounded in the couple's life together.

The starting point is paying attention. A place, a private joke, a promise or an ordinary memory can become a useful starting point for a design.

The aim is a ring whose shape, setting and small details feel right for the person receiving it.

Sentimental jewellery has a long history. In nineteenth-century jewellery, floral motifs and coloured gemstones could carry messages of love and friendship.

A ready-made ring can be meaningful. Custom design gives us another opportunity: to build that meaning into the form itself.

Old symbolism, contemporary tools

By the late nineteenth century, factory-made jewellery existed alongside individual handcraft. The point of our work is to give the design personal purpose.

Sketches, CAD, 3D printing and casting help us develop that design, while natural and lab-grown diamonds offer different choices for the centre stone.

The tools help us test proportion and work through details before the ring is made.

Give the details a purpose

• A reminder: An engraving, shape or hidden detail can recall something the couple wants to keep close. The reason for the detail matters as much as its appearance.

• A sense of the person: Their tastes, habits and way of wearing jewellery should guide the design.

• Something to pass on: With appropriate construction and care, the ring may stay with the family for generations. Keeping the story with it helps the next owner understand why those details were chosen.

Begin with a conversation

We begin by talking about the people behind the ring, before deciding on the stone and metal. Shared experiences, private jokes, favourite places and hopes for the future give us something worth designing around.

For the fuller idea behind this approach, read What Makes an Engagement Ring Romantic?. If it sounds like the kind of ring you want to make, explore the engagement ring experience.