Most popular engagement ring style for 2018

The award for the most popular engagement ring style for 2018 goes to….drum roll please…the ART DECO inspired ring!

According to Pinterest (and let’s face it, they’d know) the modern bride-to-be is turning away from the traditional, single stone diamond ring and looking for something a little more unusual.

Pinterest is, of course, the most popular wedding planning search engine. Forget Google, if you want to see what’s new in the world of weddings, or soak up some #weddinginspo for your own, then Pinterest is the place to start.

Searches on Pinterest for art deco engagement rings went up by an enormous 173%, while searches for rings with an oval stone went up by 125%, year on year.

Finally, searches for rings with coloured stones saw an impressive lift too, a trend we have seen ourselves indeed. Coloured gems of course needn’t mean fancy coloured diamonds, something we covered in our post about choosing a non-traditional engagement ring.

Chris is rather a fan of the Art Deco style and has already created many beautiful rings, both engagement rings and cocktail rings, in this style. They work beautifully with coloured gemstones and the emerald cut stones really stand out, making your ring absolutely one on its own.

If you want to know more about Art Deco style engagement rings, coloured gemstones or indeed the whole bespoke engagement ring process, just give us a call – we always love to talk jewellery!

Carnelian – An alternative birthstone for July

July is well served by birthstones. As well as the ruby, the most well-known birthstone for July, there is Carnelian. This is a semi-precious gemstone that comes in an array of dazzling orange reds, sometimes striped with white. Very pretty!

Carnelian is not a stone that can be sharply faceted, like a diamond or a ruby, as its crystalline structure is very fine – it is in fact a micro-crystalline form of quartz, with the white translucent stone given colour by iron impurities within it. This often results in bands of colour across a pale stone, but fully red stones do occur and make fabulous pieces when polished or carved.

Vintage style carnelian

This is a very hard gemstone, meaning that it can be quite finely carved – making it a popular choice for signet rings with crests and similar adornments right back to Roman times. The carved design, if a crest, would often be done as a mirror image, to allow the ring to be used as an impression on a wax seal, on legal documents and letters, to prove the sender’s identity. These were particularly popular in the late 18th and early 19th century, a reflection of the resurgence of the neo-classical design style in architecture, interiors and jewellery; you can find examples of these elegant rings today, at specialist antique jewellers around the world. It was well known and loved in Ancient Egypt too, with its warm red tones often set against blue lapis and black onyx in collars and necklaces for royalty and the aristocracy.

Carnelian “The Singer’s Stone”

In the Middle Ages carnelian was believed to have healing properties and even today it is known as the Singer’s Stone, due to its associations with confidence and the power of true expression, so enhancing creativity and passion. In fact, the multi-award winning singer Adele, who has cited her belief in the power of crystals, wears a rather beautiful carnelian bracelet, made by couture fine jewellers Van Cleef & Arpels.

This warm and pretty stone clearly translates into quite stunning jewellery, carved or polished to a warm glow and sets beautifully into yellow or white gold and silver. Used by fine jewellers and fashion jewellers alike, the only limit is the designer’s imagination, which we know will never be an issue for Christopher Evans – fine, fine jeweller!

To date we have never actually been asked to create something using carnelian, which is a shame, but perhaps by drawing your attention to this pretty, perfectly priced to deliver serious pow for your pound, glowing red gemstone.

Bespoke carnelian jewellery

Just think…drop earrings in amber-orange polished carnelian in a surround of diamonds; delicately striped carnelian set in a rose gold tennis bracelet; a tangerine square of glowing carnelian in a yellow gold brushed over setting, with orange sapphires to each side…oh, you could get quite carried away you lucky, lucky July-born babies!

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Jacinth Zircon | A very unusual engagement ring

Jacinth zircon is a stunning golden orange toned gemstone rarely seen, but with an ancient provenance and makes a fabulous, unique and very unusual engagement ring stone.

Kate turned 50 last October, and her husband Mike wanted to mark the occasion with something rather special, something – if possible – unique. He’d been considering ‘upgrading’ her engagement ring for some while, as he felt that after 20 years she deserved more sparkles, so he came to see us in our Poynton store.

Chatting with Chris and Nicky, he mentioned that Kate admired coloured gemstones and did Chris have any ideas. Well, it just so happened that he did! Genius idea number one…

We’ve said before that Chris is a big fan of unusual and beautiful gemstones and loves to work with these in the creation of wholly unique pieces. He had recently acquired a rather fabulous Zacinth Zircon, which had been mined in the northern jungles of Myanmar.

Mike loved it immediately, but then – oh the dilemma! How should he have it set?

Present the stone alone

Chris suggested that Mike take a different approach – simply present Kate with the gemstone, unset, and let her decide how she wanted it mounted later.

Genius idea number two!

On her birthday, Kate was thrilled to be given this beautiful stone – and, she later said, relieved that she could choose her own, simple setting, designed to showcase the ring, but also in keeping with her own personal style.

Kate visited Chris and Nicky and sat with them to discuss the design options. Her personal preference was to avoid too bold a mount (and Mike had set a budget that ensured she couldn’t get carried away anyway!) Chris’ idea of creating a delicate, looped band set with tiny diamonds met with her own need for simplicity and the stone’s need for a light, bright showcase. The result is flawlessly beautiful.

Zacinth Zircon

Jacinth is an ancient word for orange and tones of orange, which is today rarely used. It’s applied to Zircon gemstones that fall into the orange, red-orange or golden brown range of colours. The earliest reference to a gemstone described as a Jacinth is in the Old Testament, and is part of a text describing the breastplate of Aaron, set with 123 gemstones, each representing one of the tribes of Judea:

“And you shall make a breastpiece of judgment, in skilled work; like the work of the ephod you shall make it; of gold, blue and purple and scarlet stuff, and fine twined linen shall you make it. It shall be square and double, a span its length and a span its breadth. And you shall set in it four rows of stones. A row of sardius, topaz, and carbuncle shall be the first row; and the second row an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond; and the third row a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst; and the fourth row a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper; they shall be set in gold filigree. There shall be twelve stones with their names according to the names of the sons of Israel; they shall be like signets, each engraved with its name, for the twelve tribes.”

(Exodus 28:15-21)

Admittedly, nobody actually knows precisely which orange gemstone is being referred to here, as it could be any of a multitude of options, but Zircon was well known in antiquity, and orange, orange-red and brown-red colours for gems are not massively common in the gemstone world, so it absolutely could be!

Zircon actually is closer to resembling diamond than any other natural gemstone. It comes in ‘colourless’ and in shades of blue too, which are romantically labelled as ‘Starlite’ Zircons by some jewellers. They’re also found in tones of green, pale yellow, pink, purple and grey. The Zircon’s fabulous lustre and sparkle gives it a dazzling fire that is often compared to that of the diamond.

NOTE: You must NEVER confuse Zircon with Cubic Zirconia! Cubic Zirconia is a synthetic, inexpensive diamond simulant, not a naturally occurring gemstone made by the powers of Mother Earth. So there.

bespoke coloured gemstones jacinth zircon

Everything you need to know about black diamonds

Black diamonds have been on quite the journey, from cast aside, unwanted stones to sought-after gems for all kinds of jewellery, including rather fabulous engagement rings – for men and women.

A short history of black diamonds

I say ‘a short history’, because that’s exactly what black diamonds have. Historical records of black diamonds are relatively rare, a combination perhaps of their being seen as a deal less covetable than white or pretty coloured gems and associations with darkness and ‘bad things.’

One such ‘bad things’ stone is the now 67.5carat Black Orloff. Accordingly to Wikipedia (in a tale worthy of Indiana Jones) the diamond – originally 195carats (WOW!) – is said to have been discovered in the early 19th century in India, as one of the eyes in a statue of the Hindu god Brahma. Then known as The Eye of Brahma, it was stolen by a Jesuit monk (clearly a man with his own moral code) which, according to legend, caused the diamond to be cursed. Over 100 years later, in 1932, diamond dealer J. W. Paris is said to have taken the diamond to the United States and soon after committed suicide by jumping from a skyscraper in New York City.

The diamond came into the hands of two Russian princesses, Leonila Galitsine-Bariatinsky and Nadia Vygin-Orlov. Both women allegedly jumped to their deaths in the 1940s. The diamond was later bought by Charles F. Winson and cut into three pieces, one of which became known as The Black Orlov; a somewhat unfortunate choice, seeing what happened to the Princess of that name…?

It wasn’t until very recently, within the last 30 years or so, that black diamonds were recognised as beautiful stones in their own right, which is why you won’t find antique jewellery with black diamonds – Wallace Simpson, despite having some of the most creatively designed jewellery of the 20^th century, may never have even seen one.

At the start of this century, a major event really brought sizeable black diamonds to the attention of the sparkle-loving public. Mr. Big gave on-off love Carrie a 5carat black diamond engagement ring at the end of the movie Sex in the City 2. Because, he said: ‘Because you are not like anyone else.’ I know, right?!

What makes black diamonds black?

Most naturally coloured black diamonds get their colour from large quantities or clouds of minute mineral inclusions such as graphite, pyrite or hematite that run throughout the stone. These diamonds may also have numerous tiny fissures and fractures that are stained black or have become black because of the graphite. As you’d expect, the colour of a natural black diamond can vary, from brownish to almost an olive green, smoky grey to darkest grey.

Today, most of the black diamonds sold for jewellery and engagement rings have been treated to intensify the colour: using high temperature-low pressure treatment, grey or white stones with many, many fractures and inclusions can be turned black, as the treatment ‘graphitises’ the fractures. Make sure you ask your jeweller if the stone you’re looking at is natural or treated.

What about the 4Cs?

Black is, in effect, a non-colour, so a black diamond can’t be given a C – Colour score. Also, because the very thing that makes black diamonds black is the vast number of inclusions, they also can’t be assessed on the C – Clarity scale. They are of course identifiable by their C – Cut and C – Carat weight, as are all precious stones. The description will therefore be based upon these two Cs, plus a record of whether they are natural or treated.

What about the 5^th C – Cost?

Black diamonds are surprisingly more affordable than you’d imagine – in part due to the facility to treat grey diamonds to make them black. Here at Christopher Evans, we are thrilled to carry a collection of rather special ‘rose cut’ black and smoky grey natural coloured diamonds which deliver some serious bang for their buck…because of the cut.

Rose cut gemstones have flat bottoms, so they can be very wide and have high impact in their setting, but their carat weight is reduced because the bottom piece is missing, as it were. Think of a muffin – all golden and risen and cascading over the paper case. If you slice the top off the muffin and discard the base, this leaves you with a ‘rose cut muffin’. Of sorts, anyway! This doesn’t affect the dark sparkle of the stone in any way. As black diamonds are almost wholly opaque, light doesn’t pass through them in the same way, and as the pointy bit is left on fine gemstones to enhance and uplift the sparkle, it’s not really a requirement on a black diamond. It also means that they can be set into far flatter profile rings – men’s engagement rings, for example – adding a contemporary twist to many pieces.

Why not call in and see what we have – you’ll be blown away, I assure you!

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A fine romance: hidden messages of love, passion and naughtiness in Victorian jewellery

It’s fairly well known that our Victorian ancestors lived in a rather repressed society, where even table legs were covered up for fear of causing offence. Men being men (and women being the romantic fools we are) all sorts of marvellous ways developed for the sending of secret messages of love, passion and naughtiness in Victorian jewellery.

Gemstones and jewellery has carried meaning over and above the intrinsic value of the piece or its actual beauty ever since man started wearing shine and sparkle. But the Victorians took it to new heights, it could be argued.

Quite simply, the Victorians loved symbolism, using images, flowers, gems and even their fans to send messages to those who understood how to read them. This wasn’t some kind of elaborate Secret Seven messaging service, the young Victorians needed a symbolic system to communicate thoughts and feelings in a world where the two sexes had almost no opportunity to speak in private, for fear of the girl losing her reputation and never making a marriage. And trust me, in those days, life for a single woman was not a happy one.

With strict rules and constant chaperonage, being unable to talk, never mind touch or kiss, Victorians designed a complex system of symbolic signals to express their emotions and desires.

Here’s a way men (of the wealthy variety) would express their devotion to the girl they wanted and one that I really, really wish we still used to today: the sentiment ring. The gentleman would have a ring made for his lady using gemstones that spelled out a message. To our uneducated eye, they often seem like a random collection of coloured gems in a bizarre order, but to a Victorian maiden…oh my! She would understand that each gemstone stood for a letter: rubies were Rs and amethysts for A, diamond for D, and so on. The sentiment ring was quite the love note!

This ring shown here is a perfect example of this form of communicating a sentiment: Ruby, Emerald, Garnet, Amethyst, Ruby and Diamond: REGARD. Or how about a ring that spells out ADORE, using Amethyst, Diamond, Opal, Ruby and Emerald? Want one? Me too.

You might argue that this isn’t actually symbolism, but rather skilled use of acrostics to send a message – very The Spy Who Loved Me, yes? You’d be right, in fact, but I don’t care, I love the whole idea of it!

If you want true symbolism in Victorian jewellery, how about this? In 1840, when the 20-year-old Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha proposed to Queen Victoria, he gave her an exquisite ring in the form of a snake, set with an emerald. The snake symbolised eternity and wisdom, and the emerald was her birthstone. This romantic statement – and theirs was a true romance – quite caught on, with snake rings and other pieces of jewellery becoming very fashionable.

Another romantic symbol was the swallow; engraved on lockets, fashioned into brooches or rings, the swallow was a powerful symbol, as these were known as the birds that mate for life. The same bird also represented a desire for your loved one to return home safely from distant lands. At a time when the British Empire ran round around the globe, men could leave their wives and family and be away for months and even years, making this message all the more poignant.

We’ve all heard of the lucky horseshoe and this was used a great deal, often with a three leaf clover, which symbolised hearth and home and all the womanly requirements of piety, submissiveness, fertility and virtue. It’s perhaps no surprise we’ve dropped that one. But why was the horseshoe considered a good thing to wear in jewellery form?

It represented a wish that the wearer would have success, harmony and many blessings in their life. The origination of this actually goes right back in time to when people believed in goblins and wicked sprites who would bring misfortune to the door, in oh so many ways – stopping cows from giving milk or hens from laying eggs, causing accidents or sickness or infertility. The ancients believed that the fairies and goblins that brought such bad luck were afraid of the iron weapons used by man, and so would hang an iron horseshoe over the door to ward off the naughty creatures. Over time, it became less a symbol of warding off bad luck as of attracting good luck.

Those romantic Victorians had so many ways of declaring their love for one another. Today, we still show our love and commitment though the buying of jewellery, but the symbolism of the stones we choose or the designs and shapes we opt for has been lost, which is, I think, a little sad.

If you love the idea of a little symbolism in your life, you can of course ask our brilliantly creative and clever goldsmith Christopher to design and make something just for you. Personal, wholly unique and with an eternal message of love…could anything be more perfect?

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Choosing a gemstone

When choosing a gemstone, whether this is for an engagement ring, when you’re designing a special and unique piece, or even to replace a lost stone, it can be a daunting task.

How to buy a gemstone isn’t something you can simply Google and expect to become an instant expert, but there are some things you can be aware of before you make your decision. Of course, the first thing you need to be aware of is how trustworthy your chosen supplier is. You will need to rely on your jeweller to make sure you find the best gemstone for your budget and your desire.

There are several key factors that add together to set the value of every stone you consider.

The most obvious one is size, or weight, which is measured in carats. However, bigger doesn’t necessarily mean better. A stone is also valued by its clarity, colour and cut.

Clarity

In some gemstones clarity is less vital than in others, but unless a stone is totally opaque, such as an opal, how light passes through the stone affects its beauty and therefore its worth.

Within gemstones you will find a quantity of spots or lines, called inclusions. In short, for most gems, the fewer the inclusions, the more valuable the gemstone, as these can interfere with the movement of light through the stone, reducing the sparkle and value of the stone. Clarity is absolutely key with diamond valuation, for example. A two carat diamond with a high inclusion count can be less valuable than a one carat stone with high clarity.

Some gems have naturally very few inclusions to interrupt the light flow, such as Tanzanite, meaning that other factors take precedence when valuing this stone. Others have characteristic inclusions, some emeralds for example have a “jardine” (garden) of inclusions, which makes each gem truly unique.

Colour

When we say ‘colour’ we don’t just mean blue sapphire, red ruby or green emerald, for example. Every gemstone has a range of colours, with some more rare and so more valued than others. You will be aware of canary (yellow) diamonds and pink sapphires, for example. Even so called ‘white’ diamonds vary in how white they actually are and are measured against an internationally recognised scale, from D (colourless) to Z (light coloured). The value is greater the closer to D your stone is.

Coloured gemstones – sapphires, emeralds, citrine, topaz, etc – are also measured on a scale, which is designed around three key points: Hue, the dominant colour; Tone, how light or dark the colour; and Saturation, the intensity of the hue.

This can of course get complicated, so we say buy what you love. Ask to see several examples of the colour of stone you want and don’t restrict yourself to one gemstone type – you can find pink diamonds and sapphires, red rubies or tourmaline, green emerald or peridot, etc, and each will bring different characteristics with it.

Cut

The way a gemstone is cut will enhance its sparkle and shine. The most talented gem cutters get the very best from the gemstones they work on, with a dazzling end result.

Consumers must reconcile their budget with their tastes. A smaller gem of finer quality will cost as much or more than a larger gem of lesser quality. Nature produces far fewer of the top quality gems, so there is good reason for the greater price. The following is a summary of factors for some of the most popular gems in the trade.

Treatment

Coloured gemstones with the type of colour we love the most don’t occur as frequently as you might think. In many, the colour you see has been achieved due to some form of treatment. Many rubies are heat treated for example to achieve the hue we require. Gems may be treated with heat or with safe irradiation to achieve the colour we desire. ‘Natural’ gems – gemstones in which sought-after colour is naturally occurring – are generally more valuable because of their relative rarity.

Durability

Yes, some precious stones are more hard wearing than others, meaning you need to consider how you want to have your stone set and how you will wear it before you make a final decision on which type of stone you want to buy.

Diamonds, sapphire, ruby and garnet are highly durable and so are well-suited to an active daily life and work well in rings, bracelets or cufflinks. Others, such as emeralds, pearls and opals are slightly more fragile and so need mounting and wearing accordingly.

Here at Christopher Evans we’re expert in sourcing and selecting fabulous gemstones of all colours and kinds. In fact, we have a passion for coloured gemstones and can present you with a dazzling array of more unusual and interesting gems, as well as diamonds in all sizes and colours.

Call in or call to make an appointment; your journey to the perfect gemstone for you starts here.

bespoke coloured gemstones

Your bespoke jewellery

Having bespoke jewellery designed and made just for you seems like something only the super-rich can do, yes? Well, you mustn’t think like that, as a wholly unique piece of bespoke jewellery, made just for you to your design is also made just for you to your budget.

Gemstones come in every shape, size and shade and there are many, many fabulous alternatives to the most well-known and highly priced gems everybody is aware of. Want pink? Well, as well as pink diamonds you can choose a sapphire or a tourmaline. The tourmaline is in fact one of the most versatile semi-precious gemstones we work with, as it comes in every shade of the rainbow.

Want red? Rubies, per carat weight, can cost more than similarly sized diamonds – but spinel is a fabulous gemstone that comes in the richest shades of red (as well as green, violet, blue and more…!) How about blue? Sapphire or aquamarine? Lapis lazuli or Tanzanite? Always dreamed of emeralds? Maybe choose a peridot or tsavorite instead.

The fabulous, endless dazzling variety of gemstones to choose from is just one thing that makes us love what we do here at Christopher Evans. There’s always something new to discover, always something we’ve never seen before.

As with diamonds, every gemstone is valued on it’s colour, clarity and carat weight – with each stone having it’s own relative value. This is pretty convenient, as it means you can size up or down, vary the shade or select the cut according to your budget.

And that’s just half the fun – then we get to play with the design! Working with you every step of the way, our designers and goldsmiths take (almost) as much pleasure from creating the perfect bespoke piece for you as you take from receiving it…we never tire of that moment when a customer opens the box and smiles with pure joy.

If you think life’s too short for OTC jewellery – call in and see what fun can be had creating something unique, just for you.

bespoke coloured gemstones gemstone goldsmith

Bespoke, unique Russian Doll pendant

As a celebration of all that family means, this bespoke, unique Russian doll pendant is rather special.

Our client came to us with the idea of having a gold pendant made that contained a representation of each member of her family: herself, her husband and their three precious children.

Making a dream a reality

Our client knew what she wanted in theory, but had no clear concept of how it might work in practice. This is where the skill and creativity of a great goldsmith, like our very own Christopher Evans, comes into its own.

Sketching and creating ideas as they talked, Chris came up with this neat and elegant concept, which was approved with delight by our thrilled client. After pencil drawings are made, the next stage is to take it to CAD design, to create 3D images that allow the client to appreciate just how the finished piece will look.

A happy customer

Once the designs were presented, it was an immediate ‘yes!’ from the customer. She was very happy to proceed straight away and we went on to create her unique pendant, a lasting symbol of the love and happiness her family bring her, in 18 karat yellow gold.

This pendant is worn every single day, with pride and joy…and we’re proud too that we were able to make yet another client’s dream come true.

That’s the whole joy of choosing to go bespoke, right there in a nutshell – or indeed a very tiny gold figurine!

bespoke gold pendant

What is spinel?

When you think of red gemstones the first one to spring to mind is the ruby, naturally. This gemstone is one of the rarest and most valuable, by carat weight, of all precious gems however, which pushes it out of reach of many budgets. You might therefore want to consider spinel as an alternative.

What is spinel? Spinel is a gemstone that comes in a variety of colours, from light pink through deep red to mauve, lilac, lavender, blue, green and yellow. Often mistaken for ruby or sapphire, they are in fact found in the same places, but are of a different crystalline construct.

The most sought after are the deep reds, cobalt blue, bright pink and bright orange stones, with the paler shades less rare and so less valuable.

Spinel has been mined for centuries and one of the most famous spinel gemstones is known as the Black Prince’s Ruby. This jaw-dropping stone weighs in at a magnificent 170 carats and is cabochon rather than cut, meaning smooth rather than faceted. It is the largest uncut spinel in the world and is set into George V’s Imperial State Crown and is held at the Tower of London. Its history stretches back to the Middle Ages, when it appears in the 14th century as belonging to Abū Sa’īd one of the last Princes of Granada, in southern Spain. The spinel was stolen from him by a duplicitous Spanish count, who tricked Abū Sa’īd into meeting with him in Seville, whereupon he was promptly murdered and all his belonging stolen – among them this glorious spinel. The robber Count – also known to history as Don Pedro the Cruel (sounds like a super chap) found himself under threat by his own brother and in 1367 sought help from the the son of Edward III of England, also known as The Black Prince, possibly due to the black armour he wore in battle. Don Pedro’s brother was beaten and the Black Prince demanded the ruby in exchange for services rendered.

The red gemstone isn’t heard of again until 1415, when it appears as one of the gems that encrusted the helmet of Henry V at the Battle of Agincourt. During the battle Henry was struck on the head with a battle axe, nearly losing both head and helmet. Luckily the battle was won by Henry’s forces and the Black Prince’s Ruby was saved. It is believed that Richard III wore the gem in his helmet at the Battle of Bosworth, where it wasn’t so lucky for him and he died, giving control of the country to the Tudors. And we all know where that took us!

The gemstone is recorded as being among Henry VIIIs royal collection and then disappears again when Cromwell threw out the monarchy and auctioned off the crown jewels, but mysteriously reappears with Charles II – we can only imagine a sympathiser bought it and presented it to Charles upon his restoration.

At Christopher Evans we create many stunning bespoke pieces for clients seeking to add a unique piece of jewellery to their own collections. If you want a ruby but the budget won’t stretch, spinel might be a choice you can make that will work within your budget. Why not pop in and ask?

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A New York proposal with a bespoke diamond engagement ring

We love happy endings and hear about more than a few, and here’s one we’d like to share with you.

Customer Matthew Heathcoat wanted to propose to girlfriend Lauren, and wanted to do it in style, with a bespoke diamond engagement ring designed using everything he knew about the likes and dislikes of the woman he loves.

‘I wanted to have a ring made bespoke because it’s really just so much more personal,’ Matt told us. ‘All the time and thought that goes into it makes it really special and unique and I knew that Lauren would appreciate the extra effort that had gone into it.

‘I chose Christopher Evans because having been a customer before, just for small things like watch batteries and straps, I knew their levels of customer service were superb.

‘I work in the design industry myself, in architectural design, so I really enjoyed the opportunity to get involved in this. I was involved in every step, from initial discussions about what I wanted to the first sketches, which are then converted to CAD 3D images, and even to the diamond selection. I learned so much from the designer Nicky, who walked me through every step and really looked after me.

‘I had a budget and was quite prepared to spend more than I would on just choosing a ready-made ring, but actually when you’re going bespoke you can manage your budget as you choose everything from the stones to the setting. You can see how much work goes into it all and you get to keep the sketches and final designs, which is a lovely keepsake.

‘I would recommend it to everyone. You know exactly what you’re getting and develop a relationship with real experts you know you can trust.’

Matt hadn’t just planned to surprise Lauren with a ring made to his own requirements, he planned to take her by surprise with a New York proposal too.

‘Lauren had no idea I was planning to propose,’ he says. ‘We flew to New York right after Christmas and on New Year’s Eve we went for breakfast and then a walk through Central Park. It was a beautiful crisp winter’s morning and we headed for Bow Bridge, a well-known beauty spot in the Park. There is a secluded bench nearby, from where you can see the bridge spanning the lake.’

Matt did the full down on bended knee, 100% romantic, proposal and Lauren said yes. The wedding is planned for next year, but before then they will be calling into Christopher Evans to start the design process on their wedding bands.

‘Lauren loved the ring,’ says Matt. ‘In fact, unbeknown to me, she’d found a picture of a ring she liked about 18 months earlier and had downloaded it to her phone. It’s remarkably similar to the one I designed for her, so I did well!

‘We’re definitely going back to have the wedding bands designed – and together this time!’

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