We made each other engagement rings

Perhaps the most daunting but rewarding creative project I've ever embarked on was designing a engagement ring for my fiancé.

When we were talking about getting engaged, we discussed how cool it would be if we both had a ring to show for it.

It's not standard for men to have an engagement ring, but we really liked the idea of both of us having a symbol of such important moment.

So, we decided that we would each design each other a ring.

We worked with Four Words, a company in Auckland that specialises in custom jewellery, using primarily lab-grown gemstones.

It feels prudent to add in here that this post is not an ad. Rather, it's to share my appreciation for how fun this creative process was and for the skilled professionals who brought our ideas to life.

And, I should also add that ring designing for your significant other is not exactly the cheapest endeavour. But we liked that Four Words' ethical ethos meant the resulting product wasn't going to cost the earth but was still of high quality.

My fiancé went first. All I really gave him was a steer on what colours I wanted (green, my favourite). Then I was in the dark about everything else until the day he proposed to me with it.

It's safe to say we both learned a lot about jewellery in this process. And I love this is a key tenet Four Words has, to educate their clients along the way so they leave feeling both empowered and in love with what they have created.

Reggie knew I didn't want something traditional, nor something big or chunky.

But colour and symbolism was important to me. He learned that ponamu was typically too soft to go in a ring, but there were emeralds or green sapphires that would speak to my love of green.

He and the Four Words team took into consideration that I'm quite active so would need a stone that could handle that - hence, the stronger green sapphires worked better than an emerald.

The result is an asymmetrical cluster of a green sapphire, three diamonds and a small amethyst that marks his birthstone and my zodiac sign.

His ring left me completely floored - it is sparkly and gorgeous and I can't stop looking at it every time I wear it. It is the most beautiful piece of jewellery I own, even more so because I know Reggie designed it for me.

My turn

Then, it was my turn. We wanted his ring to be a partner to mine, but it was still important that it was unique in its own way.

I have never seen Reggie wear any jewellery other than a watch. And as stated here, I'm rather good with words but have next to no experience with art or design.

So to say I was nervous was an understatement.

But, the design process was one of the most fascinating experiences I've ever embarked on.

The most difficult part was deciding on what I wanted the ring to look like. Because to begin with, I had absolutely no idea.

We started by looking at different types of rings online. I used these, plus the colours from my own ring as a base. The Four Words team got to work, bringing these ideas to life as a set of sketches.

As beautiful though they were, nothing in that set spoke to me. This was hard to reconcile, even harder to pass that feedback on. I don't think I was expecting the process to be easy, but it was strange to say, 'these aren't right' when you still didn't know what you were looking for.

But the Four Words team were incredibly patient and encouraged me to go back to the drawing board.

I disappeared inside my head for a few weeks, at first to no avail. Later, I realised I had been overthinking it. The questions I needed to ask myself were a lot simpler.

Love, loyalty and friendship

The first one was what does Reggie like? And the second was what are some ways I can symbolise our heritage and relationship?

After that, it felt like the vision became a lot clearer. I know Reggie likes patterns and textures. I know that some of our heritage can be traced back to Ireland and Wales.

The latter reminded me of the Celtic claddagh ring my aunt gifted to me many years ago. This sent me on a deep dive of Celtic symbols and how I could use these as the pattern element, and to signify our heritage and our relationship.

The one in Reggie's ring, the Serch Bythol knot, harks back to both Ireland and Wales and symbolises love, loyalty and friendship.

The green sapphires and the diamonds match my ring, but I swapped the amethyst for aquamarine, which signifies my birthstone.

I remember nearly shrieking with delight in the office when the second set of four sketches came through.

Now, it was hard to choose because they all looked so good. Some careful sense checking with close friends and family helped me land on the design that eventually became the ring.

And throughout it all, the Four Words team were amazing. They were patient, communicative and so supportive.

It completely blows my mind the way they were able to take the absolute brain dump of words and random screenshots from me and turn it into a ring that I was proud to give to my fiancé.