Beyond the Blue Box

We are pretty sure that every girl would be happy to receive Tiffany’s famous Blue Box. But there might be something even more precious than that. Imagine your boyfriend /fiancee/husband sneaking around, working hard to figure out exactly what type of gemstone or design you would want. Or knowing that he himself feels the need to express his love in just the right way. After all, he wants to impress, so why should the proposal ring (or gift) be any different? Custom making jewellery is a delicate process where every aspect of the design can be planned and adjusted according the the customers’ requests. This is how a custom made journey might start… He sends us his idea and we work from there. 

Although Tiffany& Co is a lovely choice, he will definitely have to put more time and effort into the process if custom making a piece of jewellery. We are not saying that Tiffany’s rings are not pretty, and we do know that the Blue Box is very well received. But nothing says I Love You like a personally designed,  handcrafted piece.

Two very different custom designed engagement rings – ready to impress!

Examples of custom made Proposal Rings:
Quack! Quack! Quack! 
Will You Goldilocks Me? 
Think Outside the Jewellery Box 

More Inspiration:
Choosing the Right Engagement Ring 
What Shape are You? 
He Said, She Said: Shan Wee and Artika Sulaiman 

Case Study: Eliminating the gap

This customer’s Engagement Ring had a slim band and the 4 claws set in a way that can make the gap even larger if you want to wear it together with a wedding band. In order to make a wedding ring that would look good worn together with the engagement ring, we had to come up with a creative solution. This couple had an idea of making a wedding ring that ‘embraced’ the engagement ring, so that is how we started. Front and side view of the engagement ring and wedding ring worn together

We were inspired by the shape of a flower – a tulip opening up, if you will.

Trying the size and checking that the rings look the way they were intended. This wedding ring enhances the engagement ring and makes both rings look better worn together than they do separately.

Following the lady’s ring, we made a Men’s ring with the same overall shape, but with straight lines and matte finish for a rougher look. The lady’s wedding ring is set in Rose Gold for a nice 2-tone effect worn together with the White Gold engagement ring. In order to match the colour, we made the Men’s ring in White Gold original colour, for a less shiny look.

For more wedding ring inspiration, see Matching Rather than Identical and Where is the Diamond? 

Drakenberg Sjölin in Singapore

Remember last year when we visited Stockholm for jewellery inspiration and discovered DRAKENBERG SJÖLIN?

This Swedish jewellery label designs shimmering petals of silver inspired by nature throughout the Nordic seasons. It’s popularity lies in the understated, yet elegant designs, which make them easy to mix and match, for office or cocktail.

Available only at More Than Diamonds Showroom, this unique collection is ‘cutting edge’ on a different level – it’s a modern take on classic, simple without looking plain. But most importantly, its very wearable. And with prices starting from $188 – What are you waiting for? We sure didn’t!

More than Diamonds
131 Tanglin Road
#02-16 Tudor Court
Singapore 247924
Tel: +65 6235 8873

From Napkin to Masterpiece

Sometimes our customers are so talented, that our job is made easy.
With this couple, the idea was sketched out on a Starbucks napkin. They needed a design that could fit nicely with the engagement ring, and in the problem solving process they came up with this beautiful and clever design that makes use of their wedding date translated to roman numerals.

Based on the first sketch, we then refined the design; we measured, sketched and planned how to get the rings to look their best, in terms of proportion, polish and design.Checking that the wedding ring sits nicely together with the engagement ring, before polishing and setting of Diamonds. 

Because of the engagement ring, the lady’s ring was the one that took the lead, and when that was done, we could create a matching one for the gentleman. The Men’s ring also has roman numerals, but was made chunkier and solid, to fit his style better.

• Read more about Matching, Rather than Identical wedding rings

Jewellery Doctors – To the Rescue!

What do you do if you loose one side of you earrings? Make something else out of it! Part of our restorations and redesign includes problem solving. When customers bring their items to us, they might be broken, old-fashioned, mis-matched etc. Our job is to figure out the best solution in each individual case.

This was an earring that was missing it’s partner. So rather than dismantling and making something else with the stones, we figured we could save the setting by keeping the original shape and transform it into a Sapphire Pendant.

This Pendant can be worn in two different ways, depending on how adventurous you are feeling. It is a simple design with a contemporary feel.

Are you feeling Horizontal or Vertical today? 

More examples of our restorations and redesigned jewellery: Resetting and Redesign: An Introduction | Resetting and Redesign: The Highlights

Quack! Quack! Quack!

We recently received an email from a guy who wanted to custom make an engagement ring. The theme: A Duck. Yes, that’s right. His girlfriend loves ducks, and our task was now to design a ring that had an element of duck, without being a duck’s head in Cartier animal-style. A selection of the ideas we presented to our customer.

The customer’s girlfriend is not a fan of Diamonds (lucky guy!). She also is very fond of Silver jewellery, so we made the ring in solid Sterling Silver.  During the crafting process, we check that the design looks the way we want it to.

This was a fun project, as it was a challenge to use elements of ‘duck’ without making it look cheesy or childish. The result? A playful, yet stylish ring that is designed with the receiver’s interests in mind.

Think Outside the Jewellery Box

Sometimes our customers are out of the ordinary, and that means the jewellery designs can be pretty outstanding as well. Here is Jaqcues’ story: ”Being a designer myself meant selecting an engagement ring was never going to follow any standard path. My work has informed a great deal of what I do and influenced greatly the directions I’ve taken. It has brought me to Singapore and Thailand where I was fortunate enough to have met my fiance Fern. Fern and I have been together for close to four years now and getting engaged has been a natural progression for us. We’re a pretty free-spirited couple who enjoy the sensorial experiences that travel and culture have allowed.”

What type of designer are you and what is your preferred style? I’ve always been a designer who has focused on attention to detail with a leaning to the reductive nature of simple yet emboldened design. I’ve always admired the way the natural beauty, colour and texture of raw finishes can be accentuated when they are aligned or interfaced with other materials.

What made you choose a chunky minimal design? For me it was always about achieving a perfectly balanced and proportioned ring for Fern. I always felt that if the right process was followed, we would end up with a beautiful and elegant design. Working with More Than Diamonds was a key part in achieving this – their insight and expertise, along with their willingness to work outside standard parameters were fundamental in achieving the final design.

As a starting point, we were fortunate that Fern had quite long, elegant fingers. This allowed us to consider a larger proportioned ring. With the type of look I was wanting to achieve it was important that the diamond was worked seamlessly into the band and did not appear constrained. By finishing the white gold face in a matt finish we were able to create a muted backdrop that would in turn accent the natural brilliance of the diamond. The reasoning behind the polished edges was to provide a further layer of detail that would ensure the ring wouldn’t appear too raw.

What was your fiancees reaction when she first saw the ring? To be honest, I think she was initially more taken with what the ring represented rather than the ring itself. While not unexpected, Fern’s preferred engagement ring would probably have started and stopped with a typical solitaire style ring – and this was anything but that. While of course there is an element of risk with a surprise engagement ring there is always the comfort that a lot of thought has gone into creating something that is unique and representative of the both of us.

Do you think she knew that you would choose a design that is different? I’m not sure she knew what to expect. Designers can be difficult to second guess.

How did you propose? Romance didn’t play a major role here – the first opportunity I had after we arrived at our hotel in Australia became our moment! It was just nice to be able to break the news to family and friends back home.

Resetting and Redesign: The Highlights

We have been doing quite a few restoration and redesigning jobs recently, and would like to share some of the designs. It is always so uplifting to see how something that is broken, out of fashion, or simply not worn, can transform into a new shiny piece to be loved for another lifetime! Here are our hot picks:Remainder Diamonds from the customer’s previous resetting job, were used in these gorgeously simple 2-tone Earrings. 

Last week we posted a sketch of a redesign job. Below are the results; An Eternity Ring and a Pendant using Diamonds of various sizes from a bangle, a ring and 2 Pendants. 

Although many customers bring in several pieces to use stones for resetting, there are plenty of options even if you have a single piece of jewellery that you want to refresh or upgrade.

A piece of Jade from grandmother holds sentimental value. Here we have turned a traditional piece of Jade into a modern statement piece with polished White Gold on one side. The dawn of Scandinavian Jade jewellery? This is ‘East meets West’ in a stunning combination, if we may say so ourselves.

Do you have any jewellery that could be transformed into something new, stunning and wearable? 

Resetting and Redesign: An Introduction

You might already be aware of our restoration and redesign services. The jobs we do range from designing a new ring setting for an existing Diamond, to customers bringing in whole collections of jewellery they don’t wear anymore and want to create a new set of jewellery that they can wear with pride.

A whole collection of inherited jewellery, here transformed to several new pieces to be worn and loved. 

A Diamond Necklace transformed! Diamonds from the old necklace were reset into a younger, more wearable design. 

Some people want to keep the elements of the existing piece, as a reminder of their history, while others simply take advantage of already owning precious stones that can be made into something unique and wearable. Jewellery is not as trend-sensitive as clothes, and many designs have stayed the same for the last century. However, taste does evolve, and many people feel the need to ‘refresh’ items that have been passed down from in-laws or grandparents, so they can add their own personal touch to the pieces.

The customer wanted to keep the Diamonds of this twin-design together, but we designed it into a modern statement piece that is a far cry from the usual twirly or yin/yang designs often found when using 2 Diamonds in one ring.

Redesigning is also an excellent way to ‘upgrade’ if you bought smaller items at a young age, and now have worked your way up, in career and in age, to want to wear jewellery as more of a statement.

Check in next week to see the result of this sketch – An Eternity Ring using Diamonds from multiple rings and pendants….

Read Resetting and Redesign: The Highlights

Where is the Diamond?

Sometimes the unexpected can have a wonderfully surprising effect. Here are a few designs that through unusual placement of the Diamond make a simple design stand out.

A plain band if you look at it from one side – and with 9 little Diamonds when you turn it around!

One single Princess Cut Diamond on each side of the lady’s band. Both look the same on the finger, but when you look a bit closer you find this precious detail.

Add a modern edge to a plain band – Princess Cut Diamond placed off-centre.

All these rings are also good examples of wedding ring designs that are similar, yet with their own individual touches to represent the bride and groom. More designs can be found in a previous post - Matching rather than Identical.