Do you want a personalized or custom-made jewel, but you don't have a specific project in mind?
Our jewelry designers are here to help you formulate your desires, however vague, and work with you to create the ideal piece of jewelry.
A custom jewelry project is a beautiful adventure!
Let us guide you and discover our already made-to-measure creations.
Envie d’un bijou personnalisé ou sur-mesure, mais vous n’avez pas un projet précis en tête ?
Nos designeuses bijoux sont là pour vous aider à formuler vos envies, même floues, et à réaliser avec vous le bijou idéal.
Un projet de bijou sur-mesure est une belle aventure !
Laissez-vous guider et découvrez nos créations sur-mesure déjà réalisées.
Why give an engagement ring ? Why is the solitaire the most popular type of engagement ring? And why are diamonds so popular?
The tradition of engagement, as we know it today, has only really spread since the 1950's. According to some sources, it dates back to Roman antiquity.
Archaeological research has shown that the first engagement rings (simple rings not adorned with stones) date back to the 4th century BC. They were made of bone, ivory, bronze or iron. And... did you know? These rings often had an engraving inside! This could have been elaborate, or simply a love note. So it's been 24 centuries since men and women exchanged rings.
The discovery of gold changed all that: the iron ring was worn at home, while a gold ring was worn outside the home. In the ruins of Pompeii (79 A.D.), engagement rings made of this precious metal were unearthed.
Around the year 850, Pope Nicholas I formalized the notion of engagement, stating that an engagement ring symbolized the intention to marry. Given only by the man to his future wife, it represented a financial sacrifice, and was most often made of gold.
In the Middle Ages, engagement rings were adorned with sapphires and rubies, but this was not yet a widespread practice. The fashion for stone-set engagement rings came, like many fashions, from a powerful man. The Archduke Maximilian of Austria was the originator, with the diamond-set ring he gave to Marie de Bourgogne. A far cry from the solitaire so popular today, the ring was set with diamonds representing the letter "M".
According to the GIA (Gemmological Institute of America), stone-cutting techniques of the time made them appear dull, almost black. It was only the diamond's high resistance to fire and steel that made it a desirable stone, symbolizing durability. To compensate for the low brilliance of the stones, jewelers created ornamental settings, with rose and fleur-de-lys motifs for example.
The 16th century saw the appearance of "fede" rings (or "gimmel rings" in English). If the name doesn't ring a bell, you've probably seen them before, as they're still popular today, and immediately recognizable by their motif of two hands clasping.
Thanks to Shakespeare, who refers to it on numerous occasions, we know that around 1600, silver "posy rings" were frequently given as engagement gifts. Inside, short love poems were engraved.
Sources: The Jewellery Edito / The British Museum
The discovery of diamond deposits in Brazil, then in Africa, profoundly altered traditions. The precious stone became more accessible. Around 1840, engagement rings appeared in the United States. Diamonds were most often used to surround a center stone. On the other side of the Atlantic, the Victorian era was marked by rings with elaborate floral motifs. These were adorned with diamonds, but also often with colored stones.
The Industrial Revolution also brought great advances in the way stones were cut and polished. Diamonds then revealed all their brilliance, beginning to eclipse other stones. From then on, they were used as centerpieces.
Tiffany's famous 6-claw solitaire, launched in 1886, in which the diamond is magnificently highlighted and takes all the light, completes the story.
" A diamond is forever": advertising campaigns by De Beers - which has discovered a major mining deposit in southern Africa - make the diamond engagement ring a must-have.
In the 1940s, Hollywood stars, true influencers before their time, flaunted their diamonds, propelling them to the rank of gem stars. Who doesn't know "Diamonds are a girl's best friend", hummed by Marylin Monroe?
Thus, from the 1950s onwards, the custom we know today became widespread: to offer an engagement ring to propose marriage.
The trend we're seeing is a renewed interest in colored stones, after decades of diamond hegemony, and at Paulette à Bicyclette, we're delighted.
When you choose an engagement ring, you become part of a centuries-old ritual, but you're free to choose a model that suits you, whether with or without stones, for men or women.
