I always feel the magnitude of the project when I am working on an engagement ring without the person’s partner knowing. This is increased tenfold when it is for the partner of one of my best friends, in the middle of a global pandemic.

Most people will agree that 2020 was an unprecedented year but Georgia and George also welcomed their first baby into the midst of things in July. At the same time, George was secretly starting to plan a proposal.

George had a vintage ring with five Old European cut diamonds -  I always like to work with vintage stones if they are available - but having five stones of a similar size was not giving the unique design he was after. We went through various cuts and stones to find something more dynamic to add to the existing stones and he was repeatedly drawn to pear-shaped diamonds. He also did not want anything that was too ‘blingy’ so we started looking at salt and pepper diamonds, grey diamonds and sapphires.

Eventually we settled on a beautiful, large, grey-blue pear-shaped sapphire with lots of small inclusions which made a lovely contrast to the diamonds and echoed Georgia’s eyes. Finally her sister was enlisted to help with the covert research and information gathering.

The result is a cool-toned bouquet of sapphires and diamonds. The grey-blue pear-shaped sapphire is set at an angle with a mix of diamonds and tiny deep blue sapphires on either side in 18ct white gold,

The proposal took place between the lockdowns on a yacht in the beautiful city of Rimini, Italy. I was on edge all day worrying whether the design was right and if George would drop the ring into the marina and I couldn’t express my excitement when I received the ‘ping’ of a photo coming through…