Celebrity Life

To those whose whirlwind romance looks likely to become permanent, we've put together everything they'll need to know about that all-important token of everlasting love – the engagement ring.

If we didn’t know this already, 2021 definitely proved a certain point – that nothing can get in the way of love, not even a pandemic that knows no end. People may reschedule their weddings to 2022, even 2023, but proposals and engagements are still very much happening.

And with every proposal, there’s the ultimate prop: the ring to symbolise eternal love and commitment. It doesn’t have to be a diamond, but it sure needs to be something you know your partner will cherish. Whether you’re dropping hints to your partner about the ring of your dreams, or even shopping together for it, we’ve gathered all the advice from our favourite bridal jewellers to narrow down the top engagement-ring trends that we believe are here to stay.

Read on to discover all the engagement ring trends.

Trend 1: Keeping it Classic

The diamond engagement ring will forever remain a classic, even if it isn’t technically traditional – diamonds only became synonymous with bridal jewellery when copywriter Frances Gerety coined the phrase “A Diamond is Forever” for a 1947 De Beers campaign. Nonetheless, white diamonds remain a popular choice and numerous jewellery brands purport to offer the best of them.

For example, Graff, the king of diamonds, takes its diamond selection process extremely seriously, having spent generations perfecting the journey of a stone from mine to boutique, ensuring on the way that the cut, the setting and the craftsmanship behind each jewel are flawless. Diamonds are graded by the 4Cs, a universal standard set by the Gemmological Institute of America (GIA) that refers to a diamond’s cut, colour, clarity and carat weight. At Graff, the diamonds are cut and polished to be perfect balanced with symmetrical mirror-like facets to display the optimum scintillation; you’ll also find that in terms of colour, Graff only uses diamonds ranging between D and G – the rarest and most sought-after grades.

At Hearts on Fire, cut is the most important of the 4Cs. A round, brilliant-cut diamond is arguably the most sparkling and radiant, as it displays the highest number of facets within to reflect light, and this is also the cut that Hearts on Fire exclusively specialises in.

Trend 2: Going for Fancy Shapes

Today, however, there’s definitely a rise in popularity for fancy shapes. Clients who go to Angie Marei in New York, aren’t looking for round brilliant-cut diamonds.. The Dominican-Egyptian designer takes inspiration from Ancient Egyptian decorative arts, architecture and the anti-traditional elegance of the Art Deco era to bring each piece a unique story. Her Ayla Bridal Collection for example, is inspired by the majestic open curves and fluidity of Arabic calligraphy and decorative arts, with a serpentine design that’s a spiritual symbol of rebirth, transformation, eternity and immortality.

“Most of my clients are requesting unique cuts over the traditional round brilliant cuts,” Marei tells us. “For example, our Ayla Engagement Ring featuring a marquise-cut diamond is in high demand now. They love the ultra-feminine look of the marquise shape. We’re also getting a lot of requests for pear and oval-cut diamonds.”

Similarly, De Beers has noticed the trend for fancy cuts, and has extended its offering of fancy-cut and fancy-colour solitaire diamond rings this year, offering its clients full control of their individual expressions. Marquise-cut, a modification of the round brilliant that maximises carat weight and gives the illusion of longer and slimmer fingers, dates back to the 1700s. According to legend, Louise XV of France requested a diamond cut to resemble the perfectly-shaped mouth of his mistress, the Marquise de Pompadour.

Heart-shaped diamonds are also making a comeback among hopeless romantics. Their popularity dates back to the 16th century, when Mary Queen of Scots gave Queen Elizabeth a heart-shaped diamond ring as a gift of friendship.

Trend 3: Design-Forward

London-based designer Liv Luttrell, who excels in creating bespoke engagement rings for her clients, says she’s “found a real interest in dramatic design-led pieces.

“I’ve been exploring geometric shapes paired with detailed settings and simple curving architectural-inspired lines,” says Luttrell. “The challenge I relish is to take a bold brief and bring it to life, where the final design has the right balance of quality, uniqueness and timeless elegance that will be wearable for a lifetime.”

Intricate design is on the mind of Harry Winston’s designers, too. Inspired by the intricate details and elements of a bespoke wedding gown, the house has applied the same mindset and artistry to its new Bridal Couture collection of rings. Each ring highlights the various diamond cuts with signature elements that recall the wedding-day ensemble – such as the corset lacing of a couture gown, married with a pear-shaped diamond centre stone, or an emerald-cut diamond contrasting with the delicate open-weave fabric of Chantilly lace. For a more avant-garde take on an engagement ring, there’s also an exquisite ring designed with two marquise-shaped diamonds of approximately the same carat weight, resting asymmetrically side-by-side on a diamond and platinum band.

Trend 4: Attention to the Ring Band

Jewellery designer Rachel Boston has noticed a trend for more unusual band styles. “At the moment, we’re seeing a lot of interest in more unusual band styles, with people leaning towards wider statement bands,” she says.
“A chunky band is a perfect way to turn something that would otherwise be a much more classic-looking engagement ring into a piece with a really unique character,” says Boston. “Split bands are a popular choice as well, and much easier to wear and pair with a wedding band than you’d think. We’re also seeing a draw towards intricate, Art-Deco inspired halos.”

For popular British fine-jewellery brand Annoushka, which introduced its first bridal collection this year, it’s all about the ring jacket. Called Love & Commitment, the collection ranges from simple solitaires and delicate three-stone designs to more extravagant fine stone rings. What’s super interesting is the diamond ring jacket that clients can pair with an engagement ring. Available in yellow or white gold, the interchangeable ring jacket slides snugly around the solitaire ring for extra oomph and pizzaz. The ring jacket functions perfectly as a wedding band, or could even be added as a milestone gift in years to come.

Trend 5: Making a Statement with Colour

Every couple is different, and every proposal is unique. There’s definitely a growing number of people looking for something different – and coloured stones have never been more popular. According to London-based jeweller Michelle Oh, “We’re seeing a huge and growing demand for coloured stones to be used in engagement rings these days. Gone are the days when someone just wants a round brilliant-cut white diamond solitaire for an engagement ring.”

People today are looking for uniqueness. “More and more people try to be different and steer away from silhouettes and shapes that feel too commonplace,” says Oh. “I think this is all part of the zeitgeist of wanting to express individuality and uniqueness.”

Colour is an extremely personal way to display this sense of individuality, she adds. “Even those who still want some diamonds on their ring will opt for less traditional-looking diamonds, such as champagne or grey diamonds, or maybe an unusual cut or shape, to get that different look in their diamond ring.”

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With crystal healing all the rage, it got us thinking: does the same apply to our daily jewellery – the diamonds and other precious stones that we wear? To find the answer, we talk to Tania Bardhan, spa director at the Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong, and Kaye Dong, founder of The New Moon wellness concept

Crystal healing utilises semi-precious stones such as quartz, agate, amethysts and moonstones to bring different energies into our environment. It’s the same for precious stones, the diamonds, rubies, sapphires and emeralds that we incorporate into our daily jewellery wear.

“Semi-precious and precious stones absorb and radiate energy in the same way as crystals,” says Tania Bardhan, who has more than 20 years of experience in the spa industry and is currently the spa director at the Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong. “Hence, ancient astrologers prescribed these stones to people to balance their energy pattern and bring about more harmony in their lives, sometimes also prescribing them to ward off accidents and mishaps.”

This practice still exists today among even the biggest jewellery houses. There’s a plethora of talisman and protection jewellery – De Beers’ Talisman collection features diamonds in both their rough and polished forms to create kaleidoscopic medallions, earrings and stacking rings that are designed to make you look and feel good. Diamonds are said to impart fearlessness, invincibility and fortitude, making it an incredibly powerful stone for leadership and enlightenment.

Cartier's Love collection includes pieces studded with sapphires, amethysts, spinels and aquamarines. Dior’s lucky-charm jewellery, the Rose des Vents, is also enriched with mother-of-pearl or coloured stone bases on which the eight-point lucky star is set.

In fact, Kaye Dong, a creative entrepreneur and founder of The New Moon wellness concept, says that different stones possess their own superpowers. “Many of the stones with the highest vibrations are typically quite rare,” she says. “Precious stones, such as diamonds, sapphires, emeralds and rubies, promote incredible power and hold deep properties due to their rarity and brilliance.”

With such potent powers emanating from our jewellery, we should be mindful of the energies in the stones before we wear them. “While choosing a gemstone to wear, we must let our instincts guide us,” says Bardhan. “A simple way is to do some grounding breathwork and then see which crystal draws us in or calls out the most to us. It could be the most attractive colour in our eyes or just a gut feeling that’s hard to explain.”

Another method that Bardhan swears by is to sleep with the gemstone under the pillow for the night. “If the sleep is disturbed by nightmares, the gemstone is considered unsuitable to wear,” she says. Dong adds, “Our precious jewellery shouldn’t only be cleansed before we wear them – it’s also very important to clean and charge them regularly.

We wear our gems and jewels on our skin for prolonged periods of time and because they’re exposed to all the various energies we surround ourselves with on a daily basis, it’s important to clean and charge them, so we remove any negative energies that may have been absorbed over time and allow for the stone’s properties to shine at its brightest. You could do this by laying out your jewellery on naturally charging crystals, such as clear quartz or selenite, to ensure your jewellery always maintain high vibrations. “When we care for our jewels and stones, we care for ourselves.”

So, whether you’ve inherited a piece of heirloom gemstone jewellery, or acquired a new piece at auction or on the pre- owned market, it’s a good idea to repolish and resurface it. For new pieces, when you’re the first owner, Bardhan simply prescribes “holding the gemstone under running water and then letting it sit on a piece of muslin in the moonlight for a few hours”, which she says will do the trick. Bardhan adds, “As you start wearing your gemstone jewellery regularly, it gets charged with your energy and truly becomes your crystal.”

Dong’s favourite ritual is to perform the cleansing and supercharging during the full moon, when the energy is particularly powerful. “I lay out my crystals and precious stones to bathe under the moonlight, smudge them with sage and palo santo, and set intentions from a place of gratitude.

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Model and artist Afa Lee is equally at home in front of a canvas or a camera. We meet her on set and at a gallery cafe, where we talk at length about solitude, Yayoi Kusama and Hieronymus Bosch.

Afa Lee talks with equal ease about Rembrandt and Dali as she does about Vuitton and Dior, just as she can expound at length about the odd parallels between Japanese Ukiyo-e art and that of the Baroque period, both of which began around the same time – in the late 17th century. We, for our part, offer polite nods that feign comprehension. Let’s start at the beginning.

Afa Lee, Model and Artist

Where did you study art? 

I didn’t study fine art but design. I have my BA Honours in Visual Communication from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. I was an art director in an advertising agency for a few years after graduation, then I quit and became a full-time illustrator, then more recently a visual artist. 

Describe your art. 

When I try to explain my style of work to others, I say it’s kind of disturbing but with a candy coating. But when people describe my work, they see it as sweet, creepy and scary at the same time. Actually, there was a period when my work was much more explicit and unsettling. Like many artists, I’d gone through different stages and styles - but the themes I circumnavigated ended up being more or less the same: always about solitude, distance among people, our longing for connecting with each other, fear and all desires. I paint about feminism, too. I like to stare at all the undercurrents behind the veil.

Who are your favourite artists? 

I like Salvador Dalí, Hieronymus Bosch, Francis Bacon, Louise Bourgeois, Yayoi Kusama and Ukiyo-e art. They all inspire my work. I like art that expresses consciousness and the deep fear of humanity by way of distorted human forms. 

If you could go to any gallery anywhere, where would we find you? 

My favourite galleries are the Uffizi in Florence, the Saatchi Gallery and Tate Modern in London, and The Power Station of Art in Shanghai. And it’s always been on my bucket list to visit the Salvador Dalí Museum in Barcelona.

What challenges do you face as an artist in a commercial city like Hong Kong? 

It’s said that Hong Kong is a place for trading in art but not art itself. I’d have agreed with that in the past, but no longer. Commercial, short-sighted, money-minded, lack of cultural vibes are easy and lazy expressions carried over from the past, but they don’t reflect contemporary Hong Kong – the vibe in recent years has changed completely. People here have started to realise the importance of humanity in a city, and are thus starting to appreciate art and culture as a means of recording and healing. All the shocks or difficult times that we’ve experienced have nurtured and provided content for our creations.

Art units, collectors and even auction houses have started looking out for Hong Kong talent, which is a huge encouragement to local artists. I’m happy that I’ve been an in-house artist with JPS Gallery since last year. It’s a new space, but they’re energetic and aggressive and, most importantly, they have the vision to promote and support Hong Kong artists, which I appreciate a lot. The best way to support artists in Hong Kong is to help us make a living, so we can continue to create. I know I’m lucky, I can live on my art and keep doing what I want to do.

What’s been the oddest request you’ve had to paint? 

Someone I hated very much once asked me to draw him in the form of Yokai Monsters [a late-’60s trilogy of Japanese horror and fantasy films written by Tetsuro Yoshida]. Back in those days, I kept drawing my friends in the form of monsters, based on their personalities and characteristics. And I showed that work in an exhibition. For some reason, I couldn’t refuse his request but it was really hard for me to draw someone I had no feelings at all for – it was like lying to myself. I felt that work was so insincere, so fake. I hated it. It was terrible, full of hesitation and guilt. Eventually, I found some excuse and didn’t show it in my exhibition.

Who’s your ideal buyer? 

Tony Leung [bursts out laughing], because he visited our booth at Art Central in May earlier this year, but he left five minutes before I arrived, so I missed him. I hope one day he can collect one of my pieces because he’s been my idol for so many years.

What are you working on, and what’s coming up next for you? 

I’ve been quite busy this year. Soon after my solo exhibition in December last year, I joined two group shows at Belowground, Landmark – co-presented by Belowground and JPS Gallery – and also Art Central in May. I’m currently preparing for my solo show, which will take place in Tokyo at the end of the year.  

Where can we see or buy your work?  

To see my work, you can simply search my Instagram account (@afa_annfa) or my website. People who want to buy my art can contact JPS Gallery. And if we can all travel again soon, my first solo exhibition in Japan is in the works. Here’s hoping for a better 2022.

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Ooh, we're digging the breeze. The pastel sunsets. The beauty of walking out of an office building and not being absurdly, immediately, utterly drenched in sweat. Is it too soon to cheer on this splendid weather? We certainly don't think so — and we're marking the occasion by lighting a candle or two to welcome this new season.

Penhaligon's

A set of 4 votive candles (HK$670)

Released as part of their festive collection, step into Penhaligon's fragrance factory where candles flicker in fours.

The set includes 35g candles with earthly, blissful scents that include Maduro Leaf, Comoros Pearl, Anbar Stone and Roanoke Ivy.

Shop here

WOODCO

Casanova (HK$380) 

Founded by a local mother-and-daughter duo, WOODCO features hand poured, small batch coconut wax candles. They've been making a name for themselves with various collaborations since their launch.

Their fall series sees scents that are toasty, spicy and warm; excellent for night time rituals.

Shop here

Loewe

Candlestick shaped candle, various scents (HK$900)

Nothing says "best dinner host" like having a centrepiece with candles shaped like... well, candlesticks.

For the Spanish luxury fashion house's first-ever homeware collection, they've snared our favourite, most nostalgic garden bouquets to complement any dinner setting. Scents include Tomato Leaves, Juniper Berry, Coriander and even Liquorice.

Shop here

Rituals

The Ritual of Sakura (HK$225)

Oh, boy, do we have a soft spot for anything cherry blossom-themed. The Ritual of Sakura home collection also includes fragrance sticks and refills, with their new packaging being more sustainable and easier to recycle.

For us, the delicate marriage of blossoms and rice milk is the ultimate fragrance for a chilly afternoon.

Shop here

Boy Smells

Cedar Stack (HK$330)

Eco-friendly and cruelty-free brand Boy Smells is here to refresh your home essentials with a 'genderful' attitude.

Cedar Stack, their best-selling scent, carries notes of cedar chips and dried tobacco, interwoven with notes of peppercorn and dried ginger — close your eyes, and you could almost imagine yourself in a dreamy cabin far, far away.

Shop here

BeCandle

Vase Candle: BeCandle x The Grey Green (HK$2,500)

For the realists of the world; the practical minds with a keen aesthetic; the worldly, passionate souls who seek something a little other.

This stainless steel vessel showcases two sides, literally and figuratively. You'll be able to choose from two types of fragrances — The Foggy Dew, an iris and cardamom concoction, or After Rain, a lighter raspberry and basil mix. Perfect for gifting, or as a dramatic focal point in the apartment.

Shop here

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