When it comes to engagement rings, it can feel like the same few forms and flourishes cycle in and out of style eternally—think half-pavé shanks and diamond halos.
But De Beers is hoping to shake up the category—while also bringing attention to its Botswana-mined diamonds—with a multidesigner collaboration entitled Ten/Ten.
The global diamond producer has challenged 10 independent fine jewelry designers to create a “reimagined” engagement ring, using sustainably sourced, natural diamonds from Botswana. Each ring design will feature a diamond smaller than 1 ct. that was mined, cut, and polished in Botswana and that bears the inscription “Botswana Ten/Ten.” Prices for styles will be accessible, primarily between $3,000–$4,000.
Only 10 pieces of each engagement design will be produced, comprising a very limited collection of 100 rings in total. The styles, which De Beers is keeping under lock and key (not even the media gets to preview them), will be sold exclusively on Blue Nile in January 2021.
The Ten/Ten designer brands, all of which are female-owned, are Almasika, Aurora Lopez Mejia, Bea Bongiasca, Harwell Godfrey, Lola Fenhirst, Marla Aaron, Michelle Fantaci, Platt Boutique, Pamela Love, and WWAKE.
The program was conceived to support independent designers and to “tell the story of Botswana diamonds, a natural resource on which the country’s economy is primarily dependent,” according to a company statement. For designers, selling on a major engagement ring site such as Blue Nile brings increased exposure, and presumably sales.
Photo © De Beers.
