If these last several years have taught us anything about jewelry, it’s that the pieces with meaning are treasured the most. Whether those jewels might spell something out literally or remind us of a moment or feeling in a more abstract way, to possess a tangible representation of things most dear to us is the ultimate prize.
That is precisely why the second generation of Robinson Pelham‘s Love Is All Around collection (which was introduced in 2021) is so obsession-worthy. The brand’s design prowess ensures the finished pieces are killer to behold, but the custom-cut diamonds, used in shorthand for a number of phrases, sure don’t hurt.
“Eye Die 4 U, new in 2023, is part of our second-generation Love Is All Around collection,” brand directors Vanessa Chilton and Zoe Benyon tell JCK via email. “We fell in love with a bespoke design we did for a customer’s engagement ring and decided to evolve it into a collection which spelled messages out in diamonds, rainbow sapphires, and tsavorites.
“We have used natural diamonds, cut in Israel especially for us,” Chilton and Benyon’s email says. “Some of the diamond shapes are not original—the heart, marquise, and half-moon—but we use them in an original way to represent words: The marquise, which resembles an eye, which reads as I; the heart to represent love; the half-moon, which appears as the letter U, to be read as you. Coffin-shape diamonds are usually used as shoulder stones in a ring, but we have used them in their literal sense—to die. Lightning-bolt diamonds are very rare, as they need to be cut from a larger piece of rough, and the bolt represents struck. The number-4-shape diamond is bespoke and reads as for.”
They explain: “The shapes of the rings are more like an octagonal signet ring: Some are plain gold with fluted edges, and some are nonfluted but fully pavé-set. The simple and bold messages are all on the face of the ring—rather than going all the way around the finger—spelled out in bespoke-cut shaped diamonds.”
“Short punchy messages work best,” Chilton and Benyon’s email says. “For example: Love Struck, a diamond heart and lighting bolt; Love U, a diamond heart and U shape; and the most overtly emotional, Eye Die 4 U, a diamond marquise, a diamond coffin, a diamond 4, and a diamond U. A perfect merge of Egyptian hieroglyphs (symbols) and Gothic romanticism (emotions). We have also introduced black diamonds to the Eye Die 4 U ring to maximize the true Gothic romantic nature of the ring. These are jewels with attitude and emotion.”
The collection is available online, with prices ranging from about $3,575 to $15,070.
“Great jewelry should be about more than just the stones; it should also be about design and, most importantly, emotion. This collection is a meeting point of all three key ingredients. Our messages in diamonds look playful and elegant but deliver meaningful emotions. The rings and pendants are for men and women.”
Top: Eye Die 4 U signet ring in 18k yellow gold with 0.9 ct. t.w. white and black diamonds, £11,160 ($14,240); Robinson Pelham
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