I was in Portland a few weeks ago to work on a show that I'm curating at the Museum of Contemporary Craft. While I was there, I ran into my dear friend Liz, who I hadn't seen since she had gotten engaged last spring. I knew all about the engagement--she and her beau, Matt are a perfect couple--but I hadn't heard about her AMAZING ENGAGEMENT RING!
The ring is a pretty jaw-dropping work of extreme craft. It sports the biggest cubic zirconium the couple could afford (that's a lot of cubic zirconium!) set in silver by Portland jeweler Colin Kippen. Kippen's rings are typically understated affairs that draw their inspiration from volcanic rocks and craggy stones, but this one marries (sorry, bad pun intended) his aesthetic to the world of big bling.
I love this image of the ring as Matt presented it to Liz--this is the wax model before it was cast in silver.
Here's the ring on the finger of the bride-to-be, along with a matching band that helps support the massive ring on Liz's finger (and stands in for the big kahuna when she needs to get her hands dirty in the studio). Once again, I love the matching of the handmade aesthetic with the gigantic, bloodless "diamond". A marriage made in heaven, just like Liz and Matt's.
LINK to Colin's website
