It’s not often I get hung up on the style of an engagement ring. But when I do, I get pretty obsessed. When the bold, gold beauty of the gypsy ring stretched as far as the eye could see, I was putty in its chunky hands (my 10th anniversary saw my original setting redesigned in such a way). Now I find myself once again drawn to a bewitching aesthetic, one that may just keep me under its spell for the next 10 years—when it might (?) be okay to reset again (or when my dream comes true of having the budget to be like Victoria Beckham, and I just start collecting engagement rings).

It’s not a trending style per se—not a theme that has flooded my inbox or been the talk of the industry as of late. But when I saw the featured ring by A.M. Thorne, I couldn’t shake the feeling that it’s either on the verge, or very much should be, an oft-requested style. I find myself hungry for more in this vein, rings that have a similar intention but could never be precisely the same, for their artful layouts would have to differ slightly according to their creators.

These cluster-style rings—and even that description doesn’t feel right, as cluster brings to mind a more tightly gathered group of gemstones, where these are arranged in a very intentional, often asymmetric, scattered way (Ashley Thorne, designer of the featured ring at top, referred to it as a “grand cluster” when I wrote to her drooling over it)—may not have the mass market demand as say, the halo style of the past 20 years. But for those brides and grooms yearning for a more individualistic piece (and it seems that newer generations of shoppers are steering that way in many cases), this could be it.

There’s a very custom feel to designs like these. As if a customer had a collection of gemstones and wanted to put them all in one piece, arranged in a way that’s refreshing yet timeless—something so personal no one else could have one quite like it. Premade, it has the lure of a special find that can’t be passed up. But it’s wonderful inspiration for a bespoke creation, if a client happens to find themselves with a collection of gemstones.

This is far and away a different aesthetic than the bold, chunky rings that have dominated the market as of late—the aforementioned gypsy and the signets that many, including me, have fallen so hard for. I don’t believe this to be any indication that we’re steering away from that direction, though I think this reminds us of the varieties and voices that contribute to the engagement ring sector, letting the engaged-to-be know that although we may find ourselves pulled in one direction, influenced by what we see online and even in-store, there’s no end to how unique (or at least unique feeling) an engagement ring can be. I suppose it would go against the grain to hope for a full-blown trend of this exact style, but I can’t help but wish and wait for more.

Top: Molly cluster engagement ring in 14k yellow gold with diamonds, price on request (made to order); A.M. Thorne

Brittany Siminitz

JCK Contributing Editor