Every time I am asked to create an engagement ring, I feel an incredible flood of excitement. It is an honor and privilege to be asked to be involved in the moment two people commit to each other. As a single New York female, I am always amazed and in awe when I see two people come to a point where they want to declare their relationship to the world. With every couple, it moves me in ways that are hard to express, but no ring creation hit me quite as hard as the ring that was just presented (and accepted!!) by my dear friend, Devon.
Devon was the first friend I made as an adult. I met her when I was 18, working at Kingsley Pines summer camp less than a week after graduating from high school. She was my co-counselor and we formed a dysfunctional, beautiful family with a rowdy group of 12 year-old-girls who fed off of her contagious joy, playful nature, and our indescribable desire to work on days off to be around them and each other. We would wake them up in the middle of the night to discuss the dreams we were interrupting, broke into the kitchen together for late night snacks, created games out of scraps of imagination, tested the malleability of our faces, and curled up together in one of our extra-long twin-sized beds to hash out our truths. Devon has a quick wit, quicker laugh, and genuine warmth that everyone wants to hold.
The story of how our friendship was formed might not seem very adult-like (and trust me, it was hard to find a picture of us without costumes or without cake smeared on our faces), but Devon was the first person I encountered who I chose to have in my life. She is one of the few people I have ever met who I can clearly identify as being someone who changed me permanently. I am so lucky to have had the chance to choose her as a friend and I am still so humbled by the fact that her fiancé asked me to create a ring that symbolizes the incredible woman she has become, the beautiful and kind man she has welcomed into her heart, and their commitment to each other.
Even though Devon knew that I would be involved in some capacity due to my role as a gemologist and designer, I live in New York, she lives in San Francisco and she didn’t exactly know how or any of the details. Over the past few months, I have been working via email with her now fiancé, Israel.
Israel is a dream client. After an initial email titled, “So… About my dear love, Devon….”, he won me over with his obvious understanding of her personality and voice. He gave me a country-sized birth to create something meaningful for their relationship, trusting me to guide him while sharing his fears, excitement, and love freely.
Devon is unlike any person I have ever met and therefore the ring that symbolizes her love for this incredible guy needed to be unique to her and unique in and of itself. I fell in love with the stone for her ring immediately. Despite the fact that I have handled thousands of diamonds, I have never seen anything like the diamond used as the center stone in this ring… Probably because there are only a handful of them that have ever been cut like this in the world!
This diamond is a certified post-consumer recycled Old European Diamond with a pavilion that has been recently modified into a perfectly round Rose Cut. Reasons why this is awesome:
Old European Diamonds are the precursor to the modern round brilliant cut diamond. Whereas a modern round brilliant cut diamond is cut to maximize the white light return to the eye (aka: the brilliance of the diamond), the Old European has a steeper crown and more narrow table, which causes the light to bounce around inside the diamond, maximizing dispersion (the light breaking into its spectral hues) over brilliance. When you look into an Old Euro, you see fire--all of the colors of the rainbow live inside these stones.
Rose Cut diamonds are incredibly romantic. Originally cut during the Victorian era to be worn in candlelight, Rose Cuts reflect light in a soft, watery way. Rose Cuts tend to have a flat base, but in this stone, the Old Euro base gives this rose a mesmerizing pattern and unusual display of fire. Whereas Rose Cuts tend to be off-round to accommodate the triangle facets that make up their dome, this rose cut has a perfectly round outline due to its Old Euro base, giving it a perfectly symmetrical star pattern when viewed from the top.
This diamond has life and soul. It is old and new. It is soft and it is fiery. It is what Devon would be if she were a rock.
Flanked by two Gray Galaxy diamonds cut into triangular rose cuts, I crafted a ring in 18k yellow gold that would display this breathtaking diamond to its greatest potential—The double bezel design allows the center diamond to flip in its mount, giving Devon the ability to reveal its beauty and secrets. It is the ultimate party trick that only pales when compared to some of the actual party tricks Devon has taught me over the years…
About a month ago, Devon texted me feeling excited and anxious about her impending mysterious engagement. As a secret-making jewelry designer, I had to tell her I had no idea what she was excited about. And then I told her she was delusional and crazy. You know... the nice things only a friend can say to you...
Last week, I sent the ring across the country and was misty-eyed for days. On Friday while hiking, Israel asked Devon to marry him. She said yes.
Devon and Israel: Thank you for including me in this incredible moment. I am so beyond honored. I wish you so much love and years upon years of late-night extra-long twin bed convos and kitchen raids together. Maybe spring for a bigger bed though…
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