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When Carrie Symonds stepped out for an International Women’s Day reception earlier this month, all eyes were set firmly upon the Bobby Dazzler of a ring which graced her fourth finger on her left hand.
The occasion marked the first time that 31-year-old Symonds was pictured in public after taking to her Instagram account to announce her engagement to Prime Minister Boris Johnson (and that the couple were expecting their first child together.)
Shortly after the reception, Symonds attended a Six Nations jaunt to Twickenham where her newly-acquired engagement ring stole the show once more.
The ring, believed to be an antique, features a large emerald surrounded by diamonds on a gold band. While traditionally engagement rings have featured a diamond, the trend for coloured gemstones in engagement rings has slowly been on the rise since Prince William proposed to the Duchess of Cambridge with Princess Diana’s sapphire and diamond ring back in 2010.
Princess Diana’s ring, which was designed by then-crown jeweller Garrard, consisted of 14 solitaire diamonds surrounding a 12-carat oval blue Ceylon sapphire set in 18-karat white gold.
According to figures from global fashion search platform Lyst, searches for coloured stones have been growing in popularity by 10 per cent year on year. The search platform also found that “emerald” is one of the most commonly used search terms alongside engagement rings.
Laura Lambert is the founder of West London jeweller Fenton & Co. which specialises in creating bespoke rings using coloured gemstones.
“Women love emeralds, I don’t know what it is about them, but we seem to see them and just fall in love,” 30-year-old Lambert notes. “But men have a colour bias, where they absolutely love blue stones. I don’t know if that is because of the Duchess of Cambridge’s sapphire ring, or Meghan Markle’s aquamarine ring – which she wore to her wedding reception – but they come in and just say ‘I’d like a blue stone.’”
Max Ullmann runs A.R Lurrmann, the Hatton Garden jewellery shop which his great-grandfather founded in 1900. He notes that the Duchess of Cambridge’s ‘cluster’ style ring (a central stone surrounded by diamonds) is his most sought after style.
“The Duchess of Cambridge’s ring is referenced a lot by shoppers, that style – with the central, coloured stone and the diamonds surrounding it – is our most popular style by far,” he notes.
His is a sentiment shared by bespoke engagement ring designer Emma Clarkson-Webb, who has also noticed it in the requests she receives.
She says, “The Duchess of Cambridge has had a massive influence on people choosing a halo design with a coloured centre stone: it’s a very popular style.”
While coloured stones may be on the rise now, for years, a diamond has been the go-to staple of an engagement ring.
From their hardiness (diamonds are a 10 on the MOH hardness scale which gems are measured on) to their durability and neutrality, diamonds have always been seen as a fool-proof option. So why the rise in coloured stones which aren’t as durable or neutral?
“The big thing playing towards the rise of the coloured gemstone is individuality,” Lambert explains. “We’ve moved away from the 1950’s culture of ‘Keeping up with the Joneses’ to a culture of expressing yourself and being more of an individual.”
It takes just a quick glance at history to note that coloured gemstones have a more prominent history than diamonds do. Lambert explains, “gemstones were used in the earliest engagement rings. Diamonds were ‘discovered’ much later, but the Romans were using sapphires in their engagement rings.”
Lambert – who has a blue sapphire engagement ring – was made aware of the flippant attitude adopted by some in regard to their diamond engagement rings, when she had lunch with a friend who got engaged around the same time as her. She advised her friend to get her ring seen to by an expert, after noticing its diamond rattling in its setting, but her friend admonished her advice, stating “It’s fine – the ring has insurance!”
“I thought it was the weirdest thing – she’d obviously noticed that the ring was a commodity and that it could get replaced overnight with zero visual difference if she lost it,” Lambert says. “Most diamonds that are sold end up looking quite similar whereas I love knowing that you couldn’t just pull another coloured stone off the shelf that looks the same.”
Lambert’s engagement ring, by contrast, is a “one-of-a-kind” sapphire, which is also insured, but is irreplaceable owing to its rarity and the sentiment that her fiancé purchased it with. It’s this precise sentimental value which coloured gemstones possess which Lambert believes sets them apart.
Sentimental value indeed, as coloured gemstones are thought to be loaded with symbolism. According to the Gem Society an emerald represents wit, eloquence and foresight, while a sapphire is said to symbolise power, strength and kindness.
The Romans believed that the ring finger of the left hand has a special vein, which runs directly to the heart – they dubbed it the vein of love. By then choosing certain coloured gemstones – and their hidden meanings – they believed you were inviting different energies into your life.
“The symbolic meanings of gemstones is why they were the popular choice for so long,” Lambert states. “It gives you a lot more to play with than diamonds, as you can spell out hidden messages with coloured gemstones.”
Purchasing coloured gemstones is not only more affordable than buying diamonds, but also easier. Lambert explains that the process of buying coloured bling is “less complicated than buying a diamond because there is no 4 C’s scale.”
“With diamonds it can be a little bit vulgar, about the size and the carat of the ring, whereas with coloured gemstones you can love a shade of yellow, or blue, or green,” she adds.
Both Ullmann and Lambert advise those considering purchasing coloured gemstone rings to deal with a trustworthy and honest expert, as Lambert says “people often don’t know what ‘good’ likes like when they come to us, because the Internet is full of myths.”
Ultimately though, an engagement ring boils down to romance and lifelong promise to one another.
“Having a story behind a beautiful piece of jewellery is what creates romance, and that’s what coloured gemstones offer,” Lambert summarises.
What’s not to love?
