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we love: the round solitaire engagement ring

If your personal style is classic, you might love a round solitaire engagement ring. They never go out of style, and they look good with any style of clothes or accessories. They’re kind of the little black dress of diamonds.

Queen Elizabeth II received one from Prince Phillip, with a 3 carat diamond from his mother’s tiara. Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden wears a simple round brilliant diamond solitaire engagement ring set in white gold, very similar to our solitaire styles here.

Over and over, we’re seeing stylish celebrities and our own clients return to the classic simplicity of a round solitaire, and we do love designing them.

Lovely Kerry Washington wears a round diamond, and so does heavy metal heiress Kelly Osbourne. Jennifer Love Hewitt, Alexis Bledel and Carey Mulligan are a few more of the recently engaged stars making round solitaires hot again.

Have you seen any amazing round solitaires lately? If you have one of your own, share it!

Our featured image is the Tess Round Set.

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How to Kiss a girl & signature jewelry

wanderlust [ˈwɒndəˌlʌst] n. a great desire to travel and rove about.

This week, we’re feeling eclectic and adventurous. We want a break from routine. It’s the height of summer, yet we’re getting that unmistakable little flutter of activity and excitement that comes with fall. Here are a few things to start your weekend off with the spirit of adventure. Let’s travel and rove about!

Have you read this super romantic Missed Connection that’s making the rounds?

Madonna’s diet. She does not mess around.

Need a hug, after reading that? Puppy rooms are a thing.

Do you watch The Newsroom? Have you ever noticed Mackenzie’s signature gold necklace? We love the idea of personal, signature jewelry that you wear everywhere, and that’s just what this NY Magazine article and slideshow are about.

And yes, there’s a Jeff Cooper version!

Birkenstocks are trendy now? We’re not falling for it. Would you wear them?

Want to be more productive or more creative? (We know, who doesn’t?) Here’s an interesting article on the effect of order and disorder on creative work.

How to kiss a girl.

Summer white, uber-chic french women and a kohl-rimmed eye are so timeless.

What else is timeless? Kindness.

The perfect, effortless dinner? Don’t mind if we do.

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ask jeff cooper: the halo engagement ring trend

We predicted that halo rings would be big this year, and how right we were!

When we wrote about the adorable and lovely Alexis Bledel’s engagement to Vincent Kartheiser here, she wasn’t yet wearing a ring.

Now she’s stepped out in a vintage-inspired octogonal halo style, similar to our Tate Octet Ring.

Halo rings got some attention on TV when Catherine Giudici accepted ‘Bachelor’ Sean Lowe’s proposal with a square halo ring similar to Tallulah. ‘Bachelorette’ Emily Maynard wears a halo engagement ring, too.

The singer Brandy, Jessica Biel, Jennifer Aniston, Olivia Wilde and Kate Middleton are but a few of the stunning celebrity brides who light up the room in halo rings.

Name a few more? Natalie Portman, Jennifer Hudson, Giuliana Rancic, Kelly Clarkson, Gwyneth Paltrow… it’s easier to name who’s not wearing a sparkly halo!

What say you? Are you on board with the halo trend?

The featured image is our Heather Engagement Ring.

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New Sean Parker Wedding Pictures

We like to think we’ve seen it all when it comes to romantic gestures, but social media mogul Sean Parker took it to an entirely new level with his over-the-top Big Sur wedding.

Parker, who was played by Justin Timberlake in The Social Network, personally oversaw the most lavish wedding we think we’ve ever seen. We reported the event here, but we just had to share the pictures and details of this elaborate fantasy wedding.

Vanity Fair has just released new pictures, and although we do tend to favor refined simplicity in our own style, the effect was pretty much magical. To create a Tolkien themed wedding in the woods, the couple spent $4.5 million for the wooded alone. Here are some quick details about the festivities:

Lord of the Rings costume designer Ngila Dickson designed costumes for each of the 364 guests.

Guests entered through a 20 foot gate.

Lounging beds and dining chairs were covered with miles of white fur.

The cake was nine feet tall.

Guest included Emma Watson, Olivia Munn, Sting, LArs Ulrich from Metallica and founders of MTV, Wikipedia, Zynga, Twitter, Facebook and the like.

Wedding inspirations included old growth forests, Disney, Lord of the Rings, and the invitation to the 1953 coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.

Bunnies were provided for guests to cuddle.

Set designers made bridges, a ruined stone castle, a 10-foot Celtic cross, and two broken Roman columns for the altar.

Traditional Irish singer Loreena McKennitt performed with a seven-piece band on a 50-foot stage.

And that’s not all. Here’s an except from Vanity Fair:

“The newlyweds dined on salmon with beets and Napa cabbage (entrée choices: porchetta, chicken, or venison) while perched upon a 10-foot sofa-throne, their feet nestled in a bearskin rug. After dark, lights illuminated the hillsides. Sting erupted a cappella in an impromptu version of his song “I Was Brought to My Senses.” Celtic musicians played on. Then the P.A. boomed disco and rock until dawn. At five A.M. guests guzzled leftover bottles of $500-plus wine from Napa Valley’s Harlan Estate. (The following night, stragglers gathered around an inflatable outdoor screen to watch the bloody “Red Wedding” episode of Game of Thrones.)”

Wow.

Cheers to the happy and imaginative couple. We hope their lives together are as exciting as their wedding!

See all the pictures here.

blueberry shortcake & a vineyard wedding

“Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.” — Buddha

This week we’re savoring the moment. There’s so much to notice and appreciate when we let go the past and the future and live now.

Have a beautiful weekend, everyone! We hope our favorite links inspire you like they did us.

Want to honeymoon somewhere really different? Or just thinking cool thoughts? These pictures of Iceland are from a dream.

We love this outfit: adult, sophisticated, fashionable, and the hair keeps it young and breezy.

Want summer to last forever? We recommend.

The ultimate summer lunch: Caesar salad!

Blueberry shortcake! (It’s healthy because of the blueberries.)

Flowers that pop, huge skies and wine, at this Modern Vineyard Wedding. Cool invites, right?

Featured photo by Mateusz Kot, via Moment Junkie.

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Allison Hannigan & The Anniversary Ring

There’s more than one occasion to buy (or receive) a fabulous engagement ring!

Push presents are really popular, as are mother’s presents. But an anniversary ring says he would marry you all over again, and who doesn’t want to hear that?

Alyson Hannigan got a giant round solitaire engagement ring from her hubby Alexis Denisof to celebrate ten years together.

The actress tweeted, “My hubby @AlexisDenisof surprised me with the most romantic day of my life yesterday! Which included another proposal & ring! I said YES!”

The happy couple was originally married on October 11, 2003 in Palm Springs. They are set to renew their vows later this year with their kids along.

Want to see what a Jeff Cooper round solitaire looks like? Here’s Chloe, a round solitaire from our Classic Collection.

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We love: ring holders & catch alls

For a charming engagement gift, we love ring holders and catch-alls.

The significance of having a special place to keep your wedding ring is often overlooked, but we love the sense of ceremony a ring holder brings.

Taking off your wedding rings becomes a sweet little ritual when you take a second to keep in in a place of it’s own, apart from clutter.

Here are a few that caught our eye.

The whimsical, umbrella shaped ring holder.

The romantic message ring holder.

The magical, feminine ring holder.

Here’s a cool one, handcrafted in Brooklyn.

And a few for the men (or women who like things a bit less frilly).

The rugged stag ring holder.

And a sophisticated catch-all.

If you’ve seen any you love, please share in the comments!

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Image, The Hayley Wedding Set.

 

We love: Pét-Nat & cool typography

This week it’s all about the novel, the new, the unexpected. We want to see something (and show you something) we’ve never seen before.

So here’s to a weekend filled with adventure and exploration!

Thinking of decorating with typography? Check this out.

Thinking of finding your signature scent? Go here.

Thinking of letting your inner child come out and play? Here’s how to do it fashionably.

Thinking of blurring the lines between indoors and outdoors? Check out these fantasy bathrooms! So dreamy.

Have you had Pét-Nat? It’s French, a bit like Champagne, and as lovers all all things bubbly we need to try it ASAP!

There’s a nice interactive feature in the NY Times on summer drinks. The gin and tonic with grapefruit looks especially refreshing.

Do you always rely on a recipe when cooking? Here’s a self-help cookbook to help you break free.

This is cool. Wouldn’t you love to try it with a family member?

What have you discovered lately?

Featured photo via Sean Taylor Photography.

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Engagement Ring Trend: Mixed Metal Wedding Rings

White gold and platinum settings will always be popular, but we’re seeing adventurous brides (and grooms) gravitating toward mixed metals for a cool, personalized look.

It’s not just edgy fashionistas and bohemians! In the tradition of classic beauty Audrey Hepburn and her stack of mix and match wedding bands, modern brides are mixing metals, and it looks totally chic.

Keira Knightley surprised everyone with her wedding outfit, then surprised us again, by combining an understated two-carat solitaire diamond in a platinum setting with a simple yellow gold wedding band.

Kate Middleton also dared to mix metals. As the world knows, Prince William proposed with Princess Diana’s blue sapphire ring set on a platinum band. Her wedding ring is a simple yellow gold band fashioned from a nugget of Welsh gold, a royal tradition.

Some brides feel that mixed metal wedding sets free up more options for mixing metals in all your jewelry and accessories, but most brides stick with (and love) a matched set.

This year we designed some of our wedding sets with rose gold accents for a mixed metal look within a perfectly matched set. The featured image above is the Larissa Rose Set, from our Laurel Collection.

What say you? Love it or leave it?

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Halle Berry & Olivier Martinez Married

Gorgeous international couple Halle Berry and Olivier Martinez were married at Chateau des Conde in Vallery, France in a rather intimate gathering of family and friends. We wrote about Halle’s extraordinary and bold yellow gold and emerald engagement ring here. But of course this is our vision for a ring befitting her beauty and elegance.

The bride and groom exchanged vows in a civil ceremony performed by a local mayor, followed by a religious ceremony. The chateau venue is, shall we say, epic. Check it out here.

Martinez’s brother Vincent and mother Rosemarie were among the 60 guests who celebrated the union with dinner, dancing and fireworks.

The couple is expecting a son later this year.

We wish them all the best in their life together!

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