The Journey of an Emerald

Jun 16

Written By sayFINN

“Sometimes we bring the past into the present with us.”

-Claudia Ender

A few years ago I met a lovely woman at an intention-setting ritual that I was facilitating for her friend. Tamara knew she wanted to work with me to create something special. Finally the day came when the inspiration was made clear to her.

Knowing how I work, Tamara brought in a ring with a heartfelt story. She told me how she had received it from her cousin who had recently passed away from cancer. As she told me about her cousin, and the precious final days they spent together before her death, I could feel the very close bond that they shared. As she was now preparing to marry her fiance, she realized she wanted to explore using her cousin’s gift to design her wedding ring.

The original ring was very well made with a high quality oval emerald embellished with diamonds around the wide halo and shank, set in 18k white gold. Though an heirloom, it was not a style that resonated with my client. And because her cousin had given her the gift with the freedom to “do whatever you want with this ring,” she felt inspired to draw from their memories together and create something new that she would wear daily.

Tamara knew she wanted a bold sculptural look with the emerald as the heart of the design. We explored a few different iterations, landing eventually on a new setting that makes the stone pop, using some of the diamonds to pave the shank of the band and down its side.

Once it was finished we marveled together as the light traveled over the ring making the emerald glow. As my client put it on for the first time, she could feel her cousin’s approval and love. And now we’re designing the wedding bands to match for Tamara and her fiancé.