My neighbor, Mallory, contacted me about re-imagining her family heirloom. The original settings were ring jackets that her grandmother wore with her engagement ring. When Mallory was married, her grandmother's engagement ring became part of her wedding set. For our bespoke project, she wanted a ring to wear on her right hand with the oval diamonds from her grandmother's jewelry.
With my bespoke projects, there are many conversations with clients. With Mallory as a local client, it was so easy to have in person meetings at my studio. That isn't usually how it works for me, so this was quite a treat.
In our first conversation, she told me the story of her grandmother's ring set. She had the idea for a ring to be worn on her right hand. We discussed how it would pair with her wedding set, so we decided it would be made in white gold. Like Mallory, her new ring would be quietly sophisticated.
As a mother of a rambunctious four year old, Mallory needed her bespoke ring to be very wearable. For her understated style, the sentimental oval diamonds would be set in a low profile. The ring's shape would be slightly tapered to best feature the design elements and also for comfortable wear.
Mallory's yard has lots of sweet flowers blooming and her daughter loves to pick them. Instead of just featuring the diamonds on plain metal, I was thinking about minimal floral wallpaper patterns as an idea for a feminine texture. The subtle, repetitious, floral motif between the diamonds seemed perfect for her new ring.
Bright and abundant Zinnia's in Mallory's yard
Detail of the preferred large to small pattern for the oval diamonds
CAD rendering with all six oval diamonds
Initially, the ring project was going to use all of the oval diamonds from Mallory's grandmother's ring jackets. This is how I orignially designed the ring, but it became clear that it was getting a little crowded. Like mother nature, odd numbers often display beauty the best. Using the rule of three for the floral pattern, the design paired very well with the five oval diamonds in a subtle taper. Less is more.
Modified CAD rendering with five Oval Diamonds for final design
Finished ring before hand delivering to my client
Mallory wearing her ring for the first time
I'm so grateful to have worked with Mallory on her oval diamond flower ring. She was a dream client, patient and trusting with my process. Also, it was just so nice for her to walk over to my studio from down the street. We chatted in each other's yards about the project, while her daughter ran around and chased my dog. I'm thrilled to see Mallory wearing a memento of her grandmother and that I was part of its creation. This was such a fun local bespoke project!
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