When the American rapper Machine Gun Kelly first asked British designer Stephen Webster to make him an engagement ring, the brief he provided was, well, brief.
“He had given me [something] almost like a lyric, ‘We met under a banyan tree,’ ” Webster recalled earlier this year, after news of the 18k white gold ring, a two-stone design featuring a pear-shape Colombian emerald and pear-shape antique-cut diamond in what is known as a toi et moi setting, made headlines. (Kelly, whose real name is Colson Baker, proposed to actress Megan Fox with it in January.)
The ring project was done. Webster, however, wasn’t done with emeralds. He approached the emerald mining company Muzo shortly after the Tucson gem shows and, using its stones, created a capsule collection of eight designs that were introduced last month at Las Vegas Jewelry Week.
Taking inspiration from the darkly glamorous ring he designed for Kelly and Fox, Webster created the Thorn Embrace collection, featuring a thorn motif that’s signature to his work. The range brims with statement pieces executed in 18k white gold, emeralds, and diamonds.
These include the Forbidden Fruit earrings featuring 2.12 carats white diamond pavé, 1.52 carats round emeralds, and 14.26 carats faceted oval Muzo emeralds; the Forbidden Fruit collar necklace set with 2.49 carats white diamond pavé and 17.62 carats oval Muzo emerald cabochons; and the Entangled Band ring centered on a 2.28 carat Muzo emerald accented by white diamond pavé.
The capsule also includes three pieces—earrings, a pendant, and a ring—that belong to a new Skyline range that features Muzo emeralds framed by stylized diamond halos.
Gabbi Harvey, head of business development for Muzo, says the relationship with Webster couldn’t have worked out better. “He’s such a great ambassador for colored stones,” she tells JCK.
Top: Entangled Band ring in 18k white gold with 2.28 ct. Muzo emerald and 0.68 ct. t.w. white diamond pavé, $49,300; Stephen Webster
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