This ring came a long way from its original starting point. The gentleman wanted the ring to represent the Cambridge or Pembroke College shield, as this was where the couple met. After much brainstorming, we decided on a beautiful pear-shaped diamond with a shape similar to a shield.

The diamond had an excellent cut that accentuated the different colours from its refracted light. To show off its beauty to maximum effect we hit on this light design with pink sapphires growing ever more intense to reach hot pink (the lady's favourite colour) on the bottom of the ring. The wedding ring has been designed to fit through the middle of the ring.

The gentleman wanted to involve his girlfriend in the design from the beginning. There was a slight communication challenge: she was living across the Atlantic! We started by sharing a Pinterest board of ideas that she could comment on until we had a good idea of her style preferences. She was looking for something different, but not too flashy.

We first settled on the centre stone. Rather than a typical brilliant cut diamond, we found a stunning rose cut so clear and well-proportioned that, when set upside down, it almost looked like a brilliant cut (as shown here). This, combined with the use of yellow rather than white gold, gives the ring a slightly softer, more classic and rustic feel.

I call this one the architectural challenge. The lady was an architect and her boyfriend was looking for something that would reflect her architectural style. In reality the biggest challenge was finding the centre stone.

Working off photographs of the lady and specific colour suggestions from the gentleman, we agreed on either a turquoise or an auburn colour stone. Neither of these colours are frequently seen in gemstones hard enough to suit an engagement ring, but with luck we found this gorgeous auburn sapphire. In the process we sourced several options and created painted paper cut outs of each gemstone to try in the design, before choosing our favourites to view.