Akimbo Rings Hit All the Right Angles
Photographed & Directed by: Mark Lim
Styled by: Herin Choi
A little tilt goes a long way. Designers are setting diamonds askew for a look that feels entirely new.
Crazy in Love isn’t just a chart-topping hit from Beyoncé. The idea is real—but you know that. Just think back to how you got butterflies in your stomach when you first met your true love. The sight of your paramour still takes your breath away. In short, you are a little off-kilter in the best of all possible ways. And now you are looking for an engagement ring to represent your romance.
Well, designers are on to this feeling as a metaphor in jewelry. It’s a tricky thing to do, but they have managed by turning diamonds a bit to the left or a bit to the right in engagement ring settings. In other words, the gems are off-kilter. Creating a pretty perfect design for what all the emotions feel like.
Where did this trend start? Honestly, no one is sure exactly. It’s a rarity for a jewelry trend not to have a historical precedent. Yet there isn’t one. Sure, you might be able to find an example or two from the distant past, but good luck searching…
RINGS, KWIAT, OLIVER BLANDI, KWIAT • CATSUITS RICHARD QUINN FROM ALBRIGHT FASHION LIBRARY
Things Are Getting Off-Kilter
The contemporary market, however, is a different story. When the Style Collective behind this Trend Report got together and batted around the idea of the setting, just about everyone named a different label where they saw it first. The idea has definitely been in the air.
It was, for a time, also on the third finger of the left hand of uber-influencer Emily Ratajkowski. Mind you, this is not saying she was the first to wear a diamond set at an angle. The model-actress was perhaps just the most high-profile person to ever do it. The ring she conceived in 2018 with her now ex-husband, movie producer Sebastian Bear-McClard (and an assist from jewelry designer Alison Lou) had a princess-cut diamond with a pear-shaped diamond set a little askew.
Two Stones Started Tilting
The Emrata jewel got a lot of attention at the time the couple was engaged, and it’s still a subject of fascination. The ring helped catapult two-stone diamond rings (also referred to as Toi et Moi designs) to the forefront of fashion. The angle on the pear shape in Ratajkowski’s ring was also clearly a point of interest because the mode has been popping up in two-stone rings for the last few years.
Jewelry houses and countless designers are putting their own spin on diamond bangles. Today’s stylish options signify friendship, love, milestones, and status. New signature designs, including Tiffany & Co.’s Lock, Pomellato’s Together, and Louis Vuitton’s Empreinte, are as recognizable as a status handbag: You can identify it from across the room.
RING ANA KHOURI • TOP ACNE STUDIOS FROM NORDSTROM
Then the Solitaire Got in on It
In the celebrity world of engagements, Ariana Grande’s husband, Dalton Gomez, proposed with a custom-made Solow & Co Toi et Moi ring in 2020 featuring a stunning oval-shaped diamond set at an angle alongside a pearl. And there is Megan Fox’s engagement ring. At the end of 2021, Machine Gun Kelly worked with designer Stephen Webster on the jewel featuring a pear-shaped diamond and a pear-shaped emerald tilted towards each other.
While this trio of celebrity engagement rings is all two-stone designs, the new wave is solitaires. The solo gem makes the slant of the single stone the primary focus. After that, each designer puts their own signature style on the concept.
RINGS ARIELLE RATNER, REZA, WILLIAM GOLDBERG • EARRINGS AND BRACELETS STEPHANIE GOTTLIEB
Now We’re Calling It Akimbo
So, you must be wondering: what’s this new look called? Well, it didn’t really have a name. Explaining the design as stones set “akimbo” resonated with pretty much everyone in the Style Collective immediately. One of the definitions of the word akimbo is “to one side” or “askew,” which is exactly how these solitaires are positioned. Either way, the style is here to stay.
According to Broken English’s Laura Freedman, “The akimbo style is a fresh way to make a solitaire feel special.” Jewelry editor extraordinaire Jill Newman adds, “I expect we will see more women reset their classic engagement rings, turning their stones slightly askew to create akimbo rings.”
“I expect we will see more women reset their classic engagement rings, turning their stones slightly askew to create akimbo rings.”
LAURA FREEDMAN, BROKEN ENGLISH
The Akimbo Ring Edit
Eva Fehren
Hemmerle
Jade Trau
Jenna Katz
Jessica McCormack
Nadine Aysoy
Oliver Blandi
Photographer/Director: Mark Lim
Stylist: Herin Choi
Hair: Edward Lampley
Makeup: Allie Smith
Manicurist: Mamie Onishi
Models: Astrid, Coco, Daniil, Hey Yeon Yoo, Katie Johnson, Sonia
Creative Director: Lizzy Oppenheimer
Creative Production: Petty Cash Production
Director of Photography: Carl Knight
Sound Op: Boris Krichevsky
Photo Assistants: Hector De Jesus, Adam Kim, Mike Pardo
Digital Tech: Yu Hsing Lin
Fashion Assistants: Jasmine Fontaina, Sevn Rodriguez