Rachel Boston’s one-off engagement rings play with offbeat design codes

British jewellery designer Rachel Boston is marking ten years of her eponymous jewellery brand with a collection of ten unique engagement rings. Characterised by both unique cuts and antique stones, the collection stays faithful to Boston’s offbeat design aesthetic.

‘I wanted to have an opportunity to showcase how far the brand has grown over the past decade,’ Boston says. ‘From starting the business creating silver pieces, mainly for wholesale, to designing mounts for these incredible large and unique diamonds – it was a celebration of how much we've learned and honed our skills over the last ten years. I'm very grateful to have found my niche as a more alternative engagement ring designer. This collection was about celebrating the journey and the joy that comes along with it, allowing myself the freedom to create slightly more extravagant pieces than usual to show off the incredible diamonds I am now lucky enough to work with.’

The engagement rings play with geometrical codes, cutting unexpected silhouettes, positing diamonds on their side or balancing them off-centre or on ribbons of platinum or yellow gold. Yellow diamonds are juxtaposed against bands studded with white diamonds; in other pieces, the precious stones take centre stage when encased in hypnotising coils of yellow gold.

‘The collection highlights existing design details that Rachel Boston has become known for,’ Boston adds. ‘Variations on our knife-edge band are visible throughout the pieces, whether on the “Astarte” ring with its multiple knife-edge chunky band, or on the “Suadela” ring, where we quite literally turned the knife-edge on its side to create a beautiful ridged band with a really distinctive graphic quality to it. Double and triple bands also feature heavily. We wanted to highlight Rachel Boston's signature art-deco inspired aesthetic but make it bolder and more playful for the occasion.’

A collection of unusual diamonds sowed the seeds for the collection, sourced in collaboration with a London-based diamond dealer. Their unusual forms presented opportunities for bolder designs, a tantalising taste of what we can expect from the brand in the future.

‘As some of the designs were so bold, there was a bit of a leap of faith required with certain styles,’ says Boston. ‘We held our breath seeing some of the bolder pieces come to life, but otherwise, it was generally quite an exciting and organic process. My mounters and setters are brilliantly talented people, which helps make the process enjoyable and smooth.’

INFORMATION

rachelboston.co.uk