Tiara and Crown Engagement and Wedding Ring Set

November 2006
18 karat yellow gold, diamond, rubies

This unusual engagement ring is done in 18-karat yellow gold and set with a diamond and two rubies. I normally like to have a fairly lengthy consultation with my customers before designing, but after my initial telephone conversation with the groom-to-be this idea just popped into my head (fortunately, he liked it).

The concept behind the tiara is that while dating and through their engagement, my customer's beloved is his princess. But when he marries her, she becomes his queen, so the wedding band fits the engagement ring like a puzzle piece and the set becomes a full crown.

Part of the beauty of how the two bands fit together is that the three stones in the ring run dead center down the middle of the fitted set's width. The choice of the fleur-de-lis as the center spire of the tiara is a nod to the French influence in the bride's Haitian ancestry, and the side flourishes of the fleur-de-lis helped to inform the wave designs that form the side details of the ring (here again with the crown attached).