This has to have been one of my favourite projects, not least because Aileen chose to model her engagement ring on my own! She'd spotted my ring a few years back on the old website and when Derek proposed I got a little email to see whether we could meet. She tried mine and was smitten from the first, but to be 100% sure I sent them off for a little potter round town to try some other styles. It's a risky business, but you only get to choose your engagement ring once and in my opinion it's important to get it right. Happily they came back more certain than ever that this was the ring and so I sourced this lovely spready emerald cut diamond for them.

Handmaking a palladium solitaire engagement ring

This ring is remarkably simple being made from just the one bar of metal, but as is often the way, simple designs are terribly unforgiving of inaccuracy. The palladium bar was initially rolled slimmer at the ends leaving a good centimeter untouched in the middle where the diamond was to fit. With the ring turned up, the crude join was cut through and soldered before hammering the ring round. It was then run through the mill again spreading the metal and creating the required depth for the setting. Next the sides were filed flat and the tapering profile established. Metal was removed to create a seat for the diamond and the mount polished before finally setting the stone.

And there you have it, a palladium emerald cut diamond solitaire engagement ring with room for a wedding ring to sit flush against it.

Three and a half years later I still get a thrill when I look down at my finger and see my little emerald cut twinkling back up at me - I hope Aileen does too!