Celebrating 30 Years of Marriage: Shawn & Rischelle’s Ring Story
Having a career in the jewelry industry since 1994, it will be no surprise that Shawn and Rischelle have had a few different rings to celebrate their love story. Most have been exchanged, but her original engagement and wedding ring is still loved and is adorned with a pearl, one of Rischelle’s favorite gems. Back when Shawn and Rischelle fell in love and began the search for their engagement ring, the shopping experience was quite different than it is today. Custom was expensive and out of reach for most young lovers, options for gold color was whatever the current designers of the day chose, and center stone options were minimal at best. When Shawn and Rischelle started FORGE Jewelry Works, they set out to change all of that and for the past 10 years they have been helping couples create their one-of-a-kind pices, custoizing every part and piece to help celebrate their love stories. When 2023 approached, Shawn and Rischelle knew it was finally time to create their own custom piece to celebrate their 30-year anniversary.
Here’s their ring story, some form, some function:
Center stone: Emerald cut diamond - Rischelle loves the clean lines of the emerald cut stone and the way it can catch the light to make rainbows. It has an art deco vintage feel which Rischelle adores. She loves that the emerald cut stone can makes her fingers look longer due to its elongated shape. And last, it is harder to chip than other cuts and since Rischelle is an “all hands” kind of person, she liked this feature as well!
Gold color: 14K yellow gold - Rischelle loves all colors of gold, but was drawn to yellow gold for this ring, and loved that it is a throw it back to her original yellow gold ring. They both loved the contrast of the white diamonds against the yellow color. Over the years, Rischelle has learned that mixing and matching gold colors looks great, it doesn’t have to be an either/or thing.
Shank: Euro shank - You will notice that Shawn and Rischelle chose the wide, square-looking base for their ring, known as a Euro shank. After 30 years of having rings twist around her finger, Rischelle knew that a euro shank was right for this new design because it helps to keep the ring upright. Shawn also suggested that they both widen and thicken the shank along the base to give it added weight to also help. Rischelle LOVES both these features – they even keep her ring upright when her fingers get cold (which can reduce your finger by a ¼ size or more), plus she loves the way it looks too!
Crown and prongs: Split 4 prong crown with double claw prongs - This gives added protection to the center stone and both Shawn and Rischelle love the look of the claw prong.
Love Story Design Features:
- 4 diamonds on the shank represent their 4 children
- Follow those 4 diamonds up the shank to the small hidden halo and there are 4 more diamonds, one to represent each of their spouses (present and future)
- Follow the “children diamonds” up the split shank with milgrain (another vintage style Rischelle adores), up to the larger hidden halo where those diamonds represent all their grandchildren (present and future). This split shank also adds structural integrity for the center stone.
- The under gallery (part beneath the stone) features Shawn and Rischelle’s personal logo. They have used this intertwined S and R since they fell in love in high school. It has been on every love letter, hangs on their wall in the home, and was even power washed onto their driveway. This particular one was hand drawn by Rischelle and then Shawn used his amazing skills to import it into the 3D design software to add to their ring.
- On the bottom of the inside shank, there a laser engraved paw print. Shawn and Rischelle are dog lovers and have had a dog since their first year of marriage. This represents all their dogs, past, present, and future. It has been said “if dogs don’t go to heaven, I don’t want to be there.” Of course, how couldn’t they?
Shawn and Rischelle put a lot of thought, and many months, into this ring and it went through a few versions (including one with a hidden Yoda) before it felt just right. In Rischelle’s words, “I loved every part of the process! Back when Shawn and I were first engaged, designing my own ring wasn’t an option. I love that every part of my ring tells a piece of our story. It means the world to me!”
