My beautiful engagement ring.
Wednesday, January 11th, 2012
Simon and I got engaged last year and I have not been able to stop staring at my left hand and the perfect 11.46-carat, yellow sapphire ring that has adorned it for the past few months.
Working within the jewellery industry, the pressure was on to find the perfect ring. In initial discussions with our chosen designer, Sassalina founder and Creative Director, Sarah Freeman, we were determined to focus on the design of the ring rather than the stone.
Working out a story for the piece, to include romantic notions of my union with Simon, became over-complicated and contrived but Sarah’s patient and supportive approach gave us the opportunity to explore the avenues we needed.
Then one day she rang me to say that she had some stones she had selected with me in mind and would Simon and I like to join her for a glass of champagne at her home in Balham so that she could talk us through them.
We happily obliged and, looking back now, I was in no way prepared for the delightful experience that followed. A confection of precious stones; yellow and blue diamonds, chocolate coloured spinels, mossy sapphires and delicious emeralds awaited us.
Sarah is a fellow of the Gemmological Association of Great Britain, which involves passing rigorous exams and having a very scientific brain. The amazing thing about Sarah though is that despite being able to source the most beautiful stones and having the ability to discuss minutiae of how it came into being, Sarah intuitively understands people, and is quick to associate stones with personalities and desires.
When presented with the beautiful, bold sapphire that now glints happily on my ring finger, my initial reaction was: ‘Am I allowed it?’, quickly followed by: ‘Am I brave enough?’
In order to answer the first question, she assured us that it was within our budget – Sarah never puts us in the position where we feel stretched beyond what we initially discussed. And, in response to the second question, it did take a little soul searching, but in the end I did decide I was brave enough and on the days when I do not feel as brave as I did then, it just takes a quick glance down at my left hand to fill me with the fierce fire that emanates from its yellow centre.
Here she is…
If you would like to get in touch with Sarah her email address is sarah@sassalina.com
Category: Interesting Projects
