Cate & Tom

It’s the perfect way to honor a very special diamond to us and a beautiful symbol of our families coming together into something new.

What made you decide to create a bespoke ring?

When Tom talked to my parents and his dad about the possibility that we might get engaged, they each offered up diamonds for him to use in a ring --- my parents offered a diamond broach and watch of my grandmother's, and Tom's dad offered his late mum's engagement ring. Tom knew this was a super special opportunity to create a ring that really symbolized the intertwining of two lives and families and he got me on board so that we could come up with something together that really felt like "us". For a long time, we didn't really have a vision for what we might want --- the shapes and sizes of the stones were such that we knew there would have to be some asymmetry and we were nervous that we could get it very wrong, so a bespoke ring by an experienced designer felt like the only option. When we saw Irena's designs in a jewelry shop, it was the first time we could "see" it --- organic, flowing, and delicate was exactly what we wanted to bring together our small stones of different sizes and shapes into something really beautiful and special.

What was your favourite part of the process?

Because we went in a bit unsure of what we wanted, Irena sent us a lot of different possible stone arrangements (she was very patient with us!!) The first iteration had some beautiful designs but I was having so much trouble settling on something that I felt confident was the right one --- I would go back and forth between a few quite different options and loved them all but didn't ever feel confident I was picking the right one. But when I told Irena what my favorites were and which aspects I liked best she sent another iteration. When I saw the design we ended up choosing there was a bit of a "when you know, you know" moment. It was such a relief and made me feel so comforted and happy that we would be able to make something that fit all aspects of the brief (including a diamond from my grandmother, one from Tom's mum, and sapphires to mirror my mom's and sister's engagement ring) and that I knew I felt so confident about loving. As someone with a bit of decision anxiety, this moment is when the excitement could fully kick in!

How did you feel when you first saw the finished ring?

I had seen so many renders, had tried on the wax version, had visualized it on my finger so many times that I thought I knew exactly what it would look like, but it took my breath away seeing the full thing realized --- so much more delicate (and sparkly!) in real life than in a photo, I couldn't stop staring at it! 2 weeks later, I still can't!

I'd also love to hear your proposal story, if you're happy to share it.

Once the design was finalized Tom took me out of the process - so I knew a proposal was coming but wasn't quite sure on timing. We were visiting Tom's family in Burnley and he told me we were going to meet his best friend's mom, Jane, for a walk in the Lake District - somehow he picked just the right lie that I wouldn't question it. When we got to the Lake District, we went for a walk on our own before Jane was meant to arrive and Tom found a secluded spot for us to sit and chat by the lake towards the end, where he got down on a knee and asked me to marry him. Jane was never coming! And he'd somehow secretly packed a bag for us to stay the weekend just the two of us before going back to Burnley to celebrate with his family and FaceTime mine.

If your family diamond has a story behind it, I'd love to hear that too.

I never got to meet Tom's mum, so it's really special to me that I get to carry something so meaningful to her with me all the time. With me being from the US and Tom being from here in the UK, the ring symbolizingbothof our families coming together and my connection with my mom, sister and grandmother is also important to me. I'm still amazed that we were able to come up with something I love and think is beautiful that's also doing all that emotional work every time I look at it.