As jewelry professional, the aspect I love most about what I do is the opportunity to build joyful moments. That precious and wonderful experience of helping people select a special gift or symbol of love - to be adorned and cherished for a lifetime. To be part of something that will evoke happy memories for years to come and be integral to the intimate legacy and heritage of a family.

When the person you are helping is someone you love – the experience is even more rich and exciting.

Thus it was when my older brother asked me to create an engagement ring for his sweetheart, Kerry.

I love Kerry – she’s the sister I never had – so I knew exactly what she wanted: a sapphire engagement ring! Classic and elegant – the center stone I chose was an emerald cut cerulean beauty. Paired with slightly smaller emerald cut diamond side stones, hand fabricated in platinum, it was a completely custom made ring designed to cradle each gem for a perfect result. When it was finished and ready I delivered it to my very anxious and elated sibling; I was as excited as he was for the pending proposal!

In a few weeks (which to me felt like forever!) I received an elated call from my soon-to-be sister-in-law! Needless to say – she absolutely adored her beautiful ring; it was perfect! She also had a very curious story to share…

When she showed off her new sapphire engagement ring to her family, her mother remarked:

“Why, it looks just like your Great Aunt’s ring! She had a sapphire engagement ring as well. It was her ‘signature piece’ and it was absolutely stunning! I wish you had known her – she had the most exceptional taste in jewelry, just like you!”

In falling in love with an “alternative engagement ring” – Kerry had actually revived a classic!

An Alternative to Convention – but not to Tradition.

While diamonds have been the dominant choice for engagement rings for most of the past century, beautiful colored gemstones have a much longer, more established, history. For millennia, colorful gems have been associated with particular benevolent qualities in myth and folklore. In many cultures, it is still customary for a gem-set ring to be given as a pledge of commitment – with the added intent of bestowing a stone’s positive and protective properties upon the wearer.

While increased availability of diamonds from the mid 19^th to the early 20^th century fueled their rise in betrothal jewelry, it was not uncommon for a bride to select a sapphire, ruby, or an emerald as her engagement ring of choice. For well-heeled and sophisticated brides of the Art Deco period, rare colored gemstones in exquisitely made settings were particularly appealing.

Colored Gemstone engagement rings are an anomaly in most jewelry stores but at Soho Gem they are our passion! Rare and beautiful sapphires in a breathtaking rainbow of colors, lush vivid emeralds, exquisite rubies and fine spinel – our infatuation with these exceptional gems knows no limits; and neither should you!

It’s time to break with convention and honor tradition. It’s time for YOUR one-of-a-kind sapphire engagement ring … or emerald…. or ruby…

It’s time to shine – in color!