Did you know that the iconic Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, otherwise known as Jackie O, had a hand in designing her also iconic engagement ring from former President John Kennedy? Actually, it would be more accurate to say she "re-designed" it.
In 1953, Senator John Kennedy and Jacqueline Bouvier made a splash when they got engaged–they were destined to become American Royalty from the get-go! Even before the paparazzi became what it is today, these two were watched, particularly Jackie O, who quickly became a fashion icon in every sense of the word. It's understandable though...she was the epitome of classic elegance!
After sharing their announcement with the press, reporters wanted to see the ring, but there was no ring to be found. It appeared that the couple had looked at lots and lots of rings but none of them fit the bill.
After more searching, the super couple finally found a ring at the famous jewelry store, Van Cleef & Arpels in New York. The ring was gorgeous with a distinctly vintage Art Deco feel. It was a bypass jewel design with a 2.84-carat emerald-cut emerald and a 2.88-carat emerald-cut diamond with baguette diamonds and emeralds down the shank.
Here is a picture of the ring before she re-designed it:
What's interesting is that there are no pictures of her specifically showing the ring off like most brides are eager to do. When she was photographed, she almost seemed to hide the engagement ring. Also, women wore gloves frequently at that time so it would naturally be covered as well. And when there were pictures, they showed her only wearing a gold wedding band.
These actions could lead you to believe that she didn't like the ring that much or maybe that she thought it was "too much", but the steps she took later reveal otherwise.
Sometime in the early 1960's, the First Lady decided to redesign her ring! She took it back to Van Cleef & Arpels for an amazing transformation: The sleek baguettes were replaced with more formal marquise shape diamonds and were fashioned into laurel wreath shape holding the two main stones. Round brilliant-cut diamonds ran down the front half of the shank. It was quite a make-over! In fact, an additional 2.12 carats of marquise and round cut diamonds were added. The final result was almost 8 carats of diamonds and emeralds.
Here is the ring after the redesign:
Photo Getty Images
After the fresh redesign of her ring, she continued to wear it discreetly. Today, the jewel is kept at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston and is occasionally showcased.
Now listen, you don't have to be American Royalty like the Kennedy's to design your own engagement ring. We would love to help you create the perfect engagement ring!
We here at Mullen Bros. carry an incredible variety of beautiful diamond engagement rings of all styles. But sometimes, no matter how many rings there are to choose from, none of them connect with you. There is where custom design comes in!
We can create your dream ring from scratch or or take your existing diamonds or colored stones and create the perfect custom piece of jewelry.
There are lots of reasons individuals choose to design or re-design their own engagement ring. No matter your reason, we can help!
There are a few different methods we can use to create your dream engagement ring...
Modification is taking an existing design from one of our designers and modifying it to meet your needs. These types of customizations can often be done by the designer and sometimes will be free of charge.
One of the most common methods of custom designing a ring is using computer-aided design, or CAD, for short.
We have an amazing state of the art program in our store that allows us to customize, with your help, hundreds of different ring styles from our inventory. It's a fun process that allows us to work closely with you to customize that perfect ring! And, since we don't have to outsource the designing of your ring, there's no extra cost to you. That is a win-win, right?
This may be the perfect way for you to create a ring with several different sizes or shapes of family diamonds, or allow you to have complete control over the design of your ring.
Sometimes a ring design is so unique that we have to start from scratch and design from the ground up , so to speak. These designs often start as a thought in your mind which we will then sketch on paper and work to bring to reality just the way YOU imagined it! From there, we can utilize one of the two most common methods: wax carving and high level CAD designing. It's an amazing process and we LOVE to work with customers on this level.
For more information on these customization processes, look here, call Bob at 508.673.2251, or book an online consultation. We can't wait to hear from YOU!
And in honor of Jackie O's ring, here are a few of our favorite bypass engagement ring designs!
We're honored that Mullen Bros. Jewelers ranks #1 in overall customer ratings among all jewelry stores in Southeastern Massachusetts and we will continue to take care of our neighbors and friends, one jewel at a time.
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