With the way social media is today, we often see a celebrities engagement rings as soon as his fiancé does. I get just as excited as you do to see these sparklers as there are many great designers out there and they often create some breathtaking pieces. It's not just the designs that make our jaw drop though, often it's just the shear size of the diamond! So with this in mind I want to share a few secrets with you so you can get the celebrity look for less.
I suppose the most obvious and first place to start would be to find the right supplier for you. There is a common misconception that if you find a jeweller to make you a bespoke piece, then that piece will be more expensive. Well this simply isn't true. The definition of bespoke simply means 'made to order' not 'let me over pay for that item'. So finding a bespoke jeweller such as myself simply means you will get what you want for the budget you decide. Have a look at their previous work and find out a bit about how they operate. See what trade organisations they belong to. You will be parting with a lot of money so do your research.
So onto the ring itself, and I've picked out three examples each of which I've had a look at and given a quote to the press about. Let's start with Phoebe Dahl. She has a fashionable and fun halo set engagement ring. Her centre diamond is around the 1.50 carat size, and with the diamonds surrounding it, it does look much larger. If you look closely at her band, you will see there are three rows of smaller diamonds. I've estimated the value of this ring to be around the £40,000 mark however a bespoke ring like this from as little as £3,000. I would go for a cushion cut over a princess cut as it has a better spread to weight ratio. Meaning as there are no corners on a cushion cut diamond, there is no wasted diamond weight in the corners therefore it will be a larger size. And instead of three rows of diamonds on the shoulders channel set like Phoebe's ring, just have one row of pave diamonds. It will look just as beautiful, if not prettier. See my variations here.
Next up in my selection of rings we have the remarkable diamond engagement ring belonging to X-Factor judge Cheryl Cole. When I was asked to comment on her ring, the one thing that really stood out for me, was the absolute elegance and subtlety which this ring poses. There are a lot of flamboyant, larger than life, in your face celebrity engagement rings around, but this is fantabulous! I think that if she just had her large 5.00 carat diamond on its own, or in a halo setting, then it would have been very over the top. Yet adding two trapezium diamonds on the shoulders, which are faceted the same way as the emerald cut, just adds class to it. So how can we scale this down to make it more affordable? Quite simply actually. If we were to start with a 0.50 carat central emerald cut and have a pair of baguettes on the shoulders weighing a total of 0.20 carats, then I should be able to make the ring from as little as £2,700. Perhaps even rotate the shoulder diamonds ninety degrees so we have a wider spread on the finger, and voila! Have a look at a similar piece in my collection.
My final piece which I have picked out is the ring that belongs to Victoria Beckham. For me personally, this would be the ring I would want to present to my fiancé. MSN UK asked me to give comment on 10 of Victoria's rings, and this is my favourite piece. I'm sure you can see why.
This is the nicest piece I believe Victoria has in her impressive collection. I would estimate the size of this almighty pear-shape diamond to be around the 15-carat mark and the clarity is probably eye perfect. My estimate would be along the lines of at least £1 million for this piece. So I suppose now you're wondering how you can get this look for a fraction of the price. Well the good news is you can. It does very much depend on your budget, but for around the £5,000 mark we can start to look at options. Firstly a pear shape diamond always looks larger than the actual weight of the diamond. As the diamond leads up to the point, it becomes shallower so therefore not as deep and not as heavy, which means a larger surface pro rata for the same as a round for example. With a lovely 0.75 carat plus diamond (colour and clarity dependant) there is no reason why you can't have a scaled down version of Victoria's ring sitting proudly on your finger.
If you would like an appointment, then please do call for a free consultation in our central London Hatton Garden office and we would be glad to try and help you. Our details are on the main page of the Lewis Malka London website.
Lewis Malka is a recognised expert in making diamond rings as well as being a famous jeweller to the stars. All his blogs are his own opinions. He is a member of the London Diamond Bourse (LDB) and is currently the Chairman of the Young Persons Committee within the Diamond Bourse. You can follow him daily on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. If you would like any bespoke jewellery made, then please visit his website.
