Engagement Rings With Real Star Power

Those in the public eye tend to opt for designs a little more unusual than the standard four-claw solitaire. Luckily, eagle-eyed jewellery designers keep an eye on what’s going on in LaLa Land and find ways to interpret these creations, which means you can choose a design that truly reflects the jewellery tastes of the one you’re marrying.

Take Emily Ratajkowski’s incredible double diamond design. She obviously couldn’t decide which cut of diamond she liked the best so chose two – one princess cut, the other pear and both enormous (the ring is an estimated five carats). Messika has created a similar style – the white gold and diamond My Twin. However, rather than the two stones set against each other, there’s a sultry flash of skin and a pavé-set surround to make the central two diamonds appear larger.

Double stones are evidently having a moment because Ariana Grande has paired her oval-cut diamond with a pretty pearl, something Mikimoto has been inspired to reflect with its sumptuous Les Petales Place Vendome Akoya Pearl and Pavé Diamond ring. It’s an opulent piece perfect for a pop princess.

Over the last couple of years oval stones have been growing in popularity, the naturally elongated shape makes the hand look more elegant and the stone looks larger than a round cut of similar carat. It makes for a more reserved style than you’d expect either Travis Barker or Justin Bieber to choose, unless you count the size of the respective stones that is. Although both Kourtney Kardashian and Hailey Bieber’s diamonds, being oval, are more unusual than the standard princess-cut solitaire, it is a single stone with simple band, yellow gold in Hailey’s case and pavé set in Kourtney’s, which is a traditional engagement design. Mappin & Webb has given its version of this modern classic a contemporary twist by setting its Oval Cut Diamond Solitaire on a lustrously polished platinum band. Or you can go full Kardashian and opt for pavé instead. You could even add a Mappin & Webb Diamond Oval Cut Half Eternity ring as a wedding band for an even more sparkling stack.

On the face of it Beyoncé, Amal Clooney, and the new Mrs Brooklyn Beckham, Nicola Peltz, have very little in common. Until you take a look at their engagement rings. They are all fans of an emerald cut. Amal Clooney’s ring is the fine-jewellery embodiment of the woman herself. The combination of the substantial emerald stone flanked by tapered baguettes in a platinum setting exudes a certain aloof glamour, while the lack of rounded shapes shows that this woman, like the ring, is to be taken seriously. Beyonce’s is less subtle. Given Jay-Z’s own penchant for decking out his watches in diamonds, the ring he proposed with was never going to be pared back. Beyonce was asked to be Mrs Carter with a 24-ct diamond, while Brooklyn Beckham opted for a similar stone on a pavé-set band, but he opted for just five carats. Mappin & Webb has emerald-cut engagement rings of which Messers Clooney, Carter, and Beckham would approve. There’s the simple, refined beauty of its Constance Platinum Emerald Cut design with its minimal setting and pavé band; you can up the carats and the shimmer with Amelia, featuring a beautiful central stone, which is haloed with smaller ones that then flow on to the band; or you go all out with the three-stone Amelia. As the name suggest this has a large central diamond flanked by two smaller ones, all of which are surrounded in stones on a band that’s been pavé set. It is an absolutely sensational ring, to which even Mrs Carter would say, “Yes!”.

Diamonds are the stone most associated with love, but they don’t always have to be the default. As both Penelope Cruz and Kate Middleton have proven, a sapphire with diamond surround makes for an interesting yet sophisticated alternative to a solitaire, which Mappin & Webb has translated into two gorgeous designs. One has a central oval stone surround by a starburst halo of diamonds on a platinum band, the other a sophisticated cushion-cut sapphire surrounded by a delicate bezel of diamonds and a stone-set band. Although diamond get top romantic billing, sapphire is also a stone associated with abundance, blessings, and gifts. All of which are surely ingredients for a long and happy marriage.