Your Real Life Imperfect Engagement Ring
Your Real Life Imperfect Engagement Ring – When you think of an engagement ring, what do you picture? Maybe a sparkling solitaire stone, or a circle of smaller gemstones surrounding a central gem.
Regardless of the style, you probably envision white diamonds, which have been a symbol of marital commitment for more than a century. But in the last decade, the engagement ring tradition has loosened up as colored gemstones and unique designs have become prevalent on social media and on the fingers of celebrities.
Your Real Life Imperfect Engagement Ring
Today, many jewelry designers offer engagement rings in sapphires, rubies, and pearls—as well as “imperfect” diamonds, which can be raw, mottled with shades of gray or colored in hues such as brown or pink—for couples looking for style. unique or unique. more affordable rings
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New York-based jeweler Catbird offers black diamonds, emeralds, pink and blue sapphires and pearls among its engagement rings. Credit: Courtesy of Catbird
“I think there’s been a bigger shift in attitudes about engagement rings,” said Leigh Batnick Plessner, chief creative officer of Catbird New York, in a telephone interview. “It has to be something that makes you happy, and it doesn’t have to follow rules or tradition.”
But diamonds still dominate, according to a recent survey by wedding publisher The Knot, with 86% of 5,000 respondents in the US preferring it as their engagement ring gemstone, and doppelganger moissanite diamonds the next most popular choice.
Diamonds have long represented “strength and unity” as they are considered the hardest stones in the world, says Marion Fasel, a jewelery editor and writer. They first came into vogue among the nobility, popularized in 18th-century England by George III’s wife, Queen Charlotte, explained Fasel.
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But diamonds only started to become culturally synonymous with marriage after Tiffany & Co. introduced the modern engagement ring, with its now-iconic six-prong solitaire setting, in 1886. Then, amidst the post-World War II wedding boom, Philadelphia copywriter Frances Gerety appeared with a “slog of the century” ad for mining giant De Beers: “A Diamond is Forever.”
Salt-and-pepper diamonds defy 4C and embrace inconsistency with spots and shades of gray. Credits: Devin Stein / Courtesy Point No Point Studio
Since the 1940s, diamond value has been measured by the “4Cs”: cut, color, clarity, and carat weight, standardized by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) and vigorously promoted by De Beers.
“If it’s not white, it’s considered an imperfection,” jewelry designer Julie Stark said by phone. Her studio, Point No Point, based outside of Seattle, specializes in black and “salt-and-pepper,” or gray-speckled diamond rings. “(Even) Champagne diamonds are not considered very valuable because they have color,” he said, using the name often given to the light brown-yellow stone.
Rectangular Gray Rose Cut Diamond Ring With Accent Diamonds In Rose Go
There have been some high-profile engagement rings with colored gemstones in the past — Princess Diana wore a 12-carat blue sapphire halo set with diamonds, and Jennifer Lopez got a 6.1-carat pink diamond from Ben Affleck in 2002. But meanwhile celebrity engagement rings swell in size and price, most remain traditional in color.
This has changed in recent years, with Emma Stone and Ariana Grande wearing rings that included pearls, Elizabeth Olsen in emeralds, Princess Eugenie of England wearing a 20-carat orange-pink sapphire, and Katy Perry revealing a ruby design.
Brown diamonds have also had a moment in the past two years, from a Kate Hudson rose-chocolate gem set in rose gold to a Scarlett Johansson 11-carat egg-shaped gem on a ceramic band that Taffin is believed to have designed.
“The (chocolate) stone would never have been seen for an engagement ring like it was 10 years ago,” said Fasel, who considers celebrity choices shifting to the consumer market. “When people make unique choices at a high profile level it gives women the courage to do something a little different from traditional designs.”
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Around 2008, before Catbird started focusing on fine jewelry, chief creative officer Batnick Plessner and founder Rony Vardi noticed that one of their rings, a small white sapphire with a band in the shape of a willow branch, was becoming an increasingly popular choice for engagement. Although priced at just over $100, it became the starting point for the store to shift its focus, including building a 63-person jewelery studio. Catbird now sells engagement rings from several other jewelry designers, as well as its own, for up to $15,000 — and many of them are not traditional.
In addition to the unconventional stones, Batnick Plessner’s customers are also expressing increased interest in alternative arrangements that aren’t “just a traditional solitaire,” he said, adding that the brand’s selection was not “too flashy” wedding shades.
Jennie Kwon’s subtle, romantic and colorful style with green sapphires, blue sapphires and rubies. Credits: Courtesy of Jennie Kwon
Today, Catbird’s offerings include a romantic trio of pink-cut pale pink sapphires (as well as a blue-toned version) by designer Jennie Kwon, a regal group of six salt and pepper diamonds by Digby & Iona and a minimal black solitaire diamond of her own line.
Pear Diamond Ring
Similarly, Point No Point offers distinctive rings, opting for intricate, antique-inspired designs that feature diamond-dotted patterns of salt and pepper or ice-white opalities. “Just like fingerprints or snowflakes, they all have their own markings and transparency,” explains Stark. “We can appreciate the beauty of something that is not perfect.”
“Nature can create something so perfect,” designer Ruth Tomlinson says of raw diamonds, Credit: Courtesy Ruth Tomlinson
London jewelery designer Ruth Tomlinson is also influenced by nature’s organic forms, producing pieces that echo the delicate geometry of coral or bursting geodes. She often works with pastel, pink or green sapphires, as she prefers the gemstone’s durability. But her first line of fine jewelery highlights the rough and natural texture of raw diamonds, which she says offers a distinct aesthetic that emphasizes the gem’s inherent beauty.
“Nature can create something so perfect,” Tomlinson said in a video call. “I created spans that looked like metal that seemed to be growing around the rock – as if everything could be dug together.”
Herkimer Diamond Engagement Ring
As tastes for gemstones have broadened, jewelers and consumers have also become more concerned about the environmental and social impact of their engagement rings. The advent of synthetic, conflict-free, lab-made diamonds has transformed the industry, and many jewelers—including all those interviewed here—emphasize sustainability, especially working with recycled gold.
“It is a priority for our customers to know the origin of the materials we work with,” says Batnick Plessner.
Couples are also armed with more options than ever before, and can easily source for independent designers anywhere in the world via social media and e-commerce sites. By the same token, independent studios have more avenues to reach a wider customer base. Actor Zoë Kravitz, for example, found her vintage engagement ring via Instagram several years ago, says Fasel.
“(The impact of social media) is huge because people can see the rings up close,” he said. “They can look for rings in different ways.”
Unique Engagement Rings
Even though non-traditional rings have hit the market, it’s unlikely diamonds will be phased out any time soon. They remain inextricably linked with love, and Bain’s latest annual diamond industry report found that 60% to 70% of researchers in the US, China, and India believe diamonds are “an essential part of the marriage engagement.”
Moonstone ring by Jennie Kwon, offered by Catbird. Leigh Batnick Plessner of Catbird says engagement rings don’t “need to follow rules or tradition”. Credits: Courtesy of Jennie Kwon
But Fasel notes that gems went into and out of fashion according to their availability, with the discovery of diamond mines in Brazil and South Africa in the early 18th and late 19th centuries respectively, shaping our choice of rings today.
In the mid-2000s, the diamond industry started warning that the world was running out of diamonds, according to Bloomberg. And while this hasn’t happened yet, global supply peaked at 176 million carats in 2006, according to data compiled for the Kimberley Process, a certification scheme set up to stop the trade in conflict diamonds. Last year, amid the pandemic, global supply dropped to 108-carat mine.
Classic Gold Hammered Wedding Ring Set Matt
The advent of lab-grown diamonds further complicated the market, offering more affordable prices for chemically identical gems. The Knot reports that by 2021, nearly one in four couples in its survey had chosen a man-made center stone, up 11% over the two years. Megan Thorne’s Evergreen Three Stone engagement ring is flanked by two white rose diamonds. The salt and pepper diamond at the center weighs 2.02 carats.
Megan Thorne loves working with yellow gold. This is her Evergreen Five Stone setting with a rose-cut 1.49-carat gray hexagon center stone.
Fashion/Shopping Salt and pepper, dishwasher water and other imperfect natural diamonds are suddenly hot – How Fort Worth jeweler is embracing trends Megan Thorne loves seeing different definitions of beauty celebrated BY Courtney Dabney // 01.11.22
Almost everyone knows all about the four C’s of diamond. These gemstones are graded and graded based on their cut, clarity, color and carat weight. The clearer, brighter and whiter, the more valuable and valuable a diamond is
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