Pear Diamond Riposato Ring

Meet Elise Friedman herself, the founder and lead designer of the atelier. An American-New Zealander now living in London, her studies of architecture, philosophy, and jewellery led her to found her own brand to put the principles she has assimilated into practice.

Each Elise Friedman piece is conceived in ancient traditions of jewellery design whilst offering a fresh, contemporary, and philosophical approach. Discover our process for creating wearable art, drawing upon inspiration as varied as indigenous art to the Bauhaus school.

All Elise Friedman pieces are sculpted by personally selected artisans, and only the finest materials go into realising every creation. Our pieces are forged from 18 carat gold in London, worked on by some of the most talented goldsmiths and gem setters in the city.

Elise’s designs are brought into the world adhering to the highest ethical standards of the 21st century jewellery trade. The gold we use is always recycled to prevent the despoiling of the natural world, and all gemstones in our work are sourced in conformity with ethical best practices.

Considered to be the ultimate token of love, the diamond has long been associated with feelings of eternity, invincibility and power. A naturally occurring substance so hard that Romans believed it would accompany the dead on their journey through the afterlife, the diamond’s power and allure is traced back to its immense strength, and the associated symbolism of eternal love.

White diamonds are seen as both the standard and the ultimate stone of choice for engagement rings. Their lack of colour makes them easy to wear on any skin tone, and the availability of different cuts, shapes and sizes means you can make unique and unexpected choices in design - it’s not just about the round solitaire.

All the diamonds used by our Designers are responsibly sourced through well established suppliers and trusted relationships. Always ask your Designer about the provenance of diamonds if this is important to you.

Diamonds are valued on their brilliance and beauty, based on the system of the 4 Cs - colour, cut, clarity and carat weight, and we always suggest choosing a diamond that has been selected for you by a trusted jeweller - even an untrained eye will be able to spot the most desirable diamond amongst a line-up of a few to compare, with the help of an expert.

For more detailed information on the 4 Cs and which factors are actually the most important, please take a look at our Guide to the 4 Cs.

Diamonds are traditionally the birthstone of April. See all diamond rings here.

Pear cut diamonds, or drop diamonds, are teardrop shaped - with a sharp tip at one end and a rounded base. As with the oval diamond, the shape can elongate the fingers, and is a more unusual choice for an engagement ring than a princess cut or round diamond. Featuring the multiple short facets of a brilliant cut but with a less common shape than a round diamond, the pear cut diamond is a super sparkly choice. The pointed end can be quite fragile, despite diamonds being a very hard substance, so make sure it's set well and the tip is protected.

Once considered old-fashioned, pear cut diamonds are having a resurgence in popularity due to innovative and exciting designers creating bold, large-scale solitaire designs with unique settings.

See all pear cut diamond rings here.

Principal Pear Diamond of .30ct

Gold is a naturally occurring metal with a warm, glowing finish when polished, and remains the most popular choice for engagement rings due to its natural beauty and hard-wearing strength.

Pure 24k gold is naturally a soft material, and considered too soft to create jewellery with, so it is mixed with small amounts of other metals to create an alloy.

As well as increasing the durability of the gold, adding alloys can also change the colour of the gold to produce rose or white gold, for example.

18k yellow gold is made up of 75% pure gold, and 25% alloy, which would usually include silver and copper.

18k rose gold is made up of 75% pure gold, 22.2% copper, and 9.2% silver.

18k white gold is made up of 75% pure gold and 25% palladium or platinum.