Remodelling your engagement ring isnt rude, just ask Meghan Markle styles change, as do finan

The grand total? Fifteen and counting. This is, after all, a romance for the ages. Posh’s array of engagement rings includes the original marquise-cut diamond on a yellow gold band that Becks proposed with in 1998, the whopping emerald-cut diamond she started sporting in 2003 (her first major “upgrade”) and the even more whopping cushion-cut emerald set in a diamond spiral she started to wear in 2007.

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If you don’t have the reported US$40 million to hand required to build a similar collection of engagement rings, there are still ways you can have the next best thing: a refreshed ring. You wouldn’t be alone, either. Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, changed her engagement ring, swapping the yellow gold band for a slim micro-pavé one, while Mary, Crown Princess of Denmark, added two diamonds to the engagement ring Prince Frederik proposed with in 2003, to represent the couple’s four children.

Remodelling engagement rings has long been a way for couples to mark the milestones of a life together. “I have clients who have remodelled rings over the years, and this [remodelling] will be the next iteration,” says British jeweller Jessie Thomas.

“Equally there are people who have upgraded rings over the years due to financial changes, and now want to combine these into one piece. Style changes, as does someone’s financial situation and lifestyle and they want a ring to reflect this. The original engagement ring is always appreciated but there is an understanding that something new is needed to reflect the current situation.”

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Most clients, she says, have a clear idea of what they want to do with the ring next.

“With remodelling, I am usually approached by people who have seen a design I have already made and would like to use their original engagement ring stone as the centre of the new piece. Usually this takes the form of moving the original stone from a very thin band and claw combo to a heavier, more interesting piece often with the diamond set flush down: an easier piece to wear every day,” she says, adding that often clients will add additional stones to upgrade the ring, or even add a new showstopping centrepiece next to the original gem.

Far from sleighting the original gesture, fellow British jeweller Liv Luttrell argues there is often a deep personal connection between couples who remodel an engagement ring.

“It always feels like a privilege to be invited to work with family stones,” she says. “In my experience, by the time a client or couple visit the studio, they have had conversations about reworking a design and are feeling ready to go on the journey of designing a new piece.

“It is of course always really important for me to handle the views of a couple working together sensitively as it’s so important that they both feel connected to the design. Redesigning an heirloom engagement ring can add a different dimension to this. I ensure that I spend time unpacking the aims of the clients, and if they want to use any aspects of the original design in the new one. People are often surprised by the subtle nods you can make between two very different styles, “she says, “reflecting some aspects of the original design in a new one. This is helpful if the original design represents a beloved relative.”

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As an example, Luttrell mentions that she often works with clients to reset family gemstones and diamonds into customised versions of her Edition ring: “Vintage stones add another dimension to a design. The shapes are different to modern styles with the oldest cuts proportioned to look their best in the candlelight that they would have originally been seen in. I love the mix of contemporary design balanced by the depth and heritage of these unique stones.”

Still, there are questions you should be asking when considering upgrading or remodelling your engagement ring.

Lucy Crowther, founder of Minka Jewels, says it’s important to work with a jeweller who truly understands the stones in your ring and what can be done with them.

“It is a real honour to remake an engagement ring. However, you must be incredibly careful when un-setting the stones and, of course, resetting them,” she says. “We like to think quite practically when it comes to jewellery, and having come from a background in gemmology, we think about the hardness of the stone and its durability. This definitely plays a part in the design.

“We do, of course, like to source our stones as there is something so wonderful about pairing a client and a gemstone – it is a very personal choice and one that we love to play a big part in by sourcing a variety of stones and educating them along the way about the different qualities”.

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