Heaven and Earth Wedding Ring

August 2016
18 karat palladium white gold, diamond, moissanite

Two friends of mine were getting married, and asked me to make the bride's ring. They both have Chinese heritage and wanted to incorporate a traditional romantic Chinese saying into the design to encapsulate their relationship. After much deliberation, we settled on 天長地久 (tiān cháng dì jiù), or "steadfast and everlasting" (literally, "the heavens are vast and the earth is eternal"), which we used to create the undergallery for the side stones (read right-to-left) while leaving the center diamond completely open from the side.

The 天長 or vast heavens are where all light originates (whether scientifically or biblically), and the stones on this ring are arranged to reflect and refract so much light that it's almost as if the heavens are shining up from it. The diamond was hewn from the 地久, the ancient earth, where it waited billions of years to be uncovered. The stone is as old as the earth and reflects the vastness of the heavens.

Yet the phrase applies more so to the couple than the ring. Vast as the heavens. Open. They opened themselves up to each other immediately when they met. Old as the earth. A connection that only comes that quickly to old souls who have known each other before. And "steadfast and everlasting" is the perfect pledge of the groom's love and commitment—there is no better way to describe him better, as a partner or a father or a U.S. Marine in Iraq, in spite of the many adversities he's been through. As he protected his country, so does he protect his relationships with his daughter and wife and his entire extended ohana (family).

The centerpiece of the ring is a beautiful .91 carat rectangular brilliant diamond that had been in the groom's family for a while, but they wanted the ring to be even more of a sparkler. We supplemented the center stone with two trapezoid moissanites and two triangle moissanites, to draw the glitter of the center stone out towards the 18K palladium white gold shank of the ring. Seen from the top, the combination gives the illusion of one large stone wrapping around the top of the bride's finger.

And finally, some video of the ring for extra sparkle: