It was truly a privilege to design this custom engagement ring for a woman who has been an advocate and supporter of mine since the very early days. In fact, she was working at the Grand Bohemian Gallery on that fateful day in 2015 when my first ripple cuff was mistaken for a ring in a photo. The rest, as they say, is history!
Almost a decade later (wow, how time flies) her fiance reached out to me saying that he knew she wanted one of my rings, but that she was very particular. This is no surprise - she has great taste! Together, we came up with a plan for the engagement ring that would be a unique expression of their once-in-a-lifetime love.
An Original Proposal
An original engagement should start with an original proposal and this one was oh-so-sweet. Mr. Fiance-to-Be surprised his love with a spring trip to Savannah. When the couple walked into a local coffee shop, low and behold, there I was! He told her that today she would be designing her own engagement ring! Talk about taking her breath away! (Take notes, fellas…)
After a few happy tears, we sat down and got to work.
The Inspiration
My client had long had her eye on two of my most popular engagement rings, Beneath the Stars and Raindrops on Roses, but we wanted to make a few tweaks as well. She definitely wanted an oval stone, but we opted for an east-west orientation, which is really unique. We also bumped up the size of the six accent stones and the center stone.
Finally, we opted for an Around the Cosmos wedding band, but I would slightly alter it so it would fit nicely and snugly against the engagement ring. With all that, I had my work cut out for me!
The Stone
One thing that my client knew for sure was that she wanted a cornflower blue sapphire for her center stone. Initially, I searched for a lab-grown sapphire, but I soon discovered that was not going to be an option for this color and size. Instead, Mr. Fiancé and I agreed on a natural unheated sapphire. Unheated sapphires are quite unusual, as almost all sapphires undergo some treatment to bring out that deep blue color. Instead, we went with this lovely light blue stone that was over 3 carats and…WOWZA! It is just so beautiful. Truly an incredible gemstone that I was so excited to work with.
Once I had the perfect stone in hand, it was time to get to work building this ring from the ground up!
Creating the Ring
To build this 18K engagement ring, I first started by creating a silver model. I began by rolling out the metal by hand and melting it through my signature process to create that ripple effect. Then, I placed the custom six-prong setting into the band and used my laser welder to zap those bezels in before soldering the whole thing together. I used my flex-shaft wheels and burrs to taper the band and make sure that the wedding band would fit perfectly with the ring.
Once the style of the ring was perfect, I sent that silver model off to casting. When it came back in, it was glorious! After sawing off the sprues (casting jargon) it was time to set the stones! I set the side diamonds first and carefully fit the bezels to each one. Last, but not least, I set that gorgeous sapphire into the prongs. Then, it was time to clean and polish.
Isn’t this stone just a beauty to behold?
A second proposal!
After the ring was delivered to Mr. Fiancé I waited with bated breath to hear from the bride that she had officially received her ring. After he proposed a second time, this time privately in their home, the engagement was official official.
Here's what the beaming bride-to-be had to say about her one of a kind engagement ring:
"Hi, Kirsten! I just wanted to text and say that I love my ring! R proposed and I've been loving wearing it and showing it off 😊 the sapphire is stunning! 💙"
I must say... I agree!
If you're interested in creating bridal jewelry with beautiful, colorful, alternative stones, reach out to me. Let's create something amazing together!
