We have a slightly professional obsession with celebrity engagement rings. Not because of the celebrity but because of what an extraordinary ring can tell you about the person wearing it, the person who chose it, and what they believe jewellery is actually for.
Zooey Deschanel's ring from Jonathan Scott is one that we keep coming back to. It is bold, whimsical, nature-inspired, and completely unlike the conventional solitaire. It is also - at around £42,900 for the original Van Cleef and Arpels version, well out of reach for most people.
But the spirit of it? That is absolutely achievable. And with lab grown diamonds and gemstones, it can be done for a fraction of the price, without contributing to the environmental and ethical issues that come with mined stones.
Here is what makes the ring so special, and how we would recreate it.
The Ring - What Makes It So Distinctive
Zooey's ring is the Folie des Prés design from Van Cleef and Arpels - a jewellery house known for its extraordinary nature-inspired craftsmanship. In 18k white gold, it features three flowers with petals set in pink and purple sapphires, with round brilliant diamonds throughout totalling 1.31ct and seven sapphires totalling 2.72ct.
The result is a ring that looks like something that grew rather than something that was designed. It has a completely different energy to the architectural precision of a modern solitaire - softer, more romantic, more individual. It is the kind of ring you choose when you know exactly who you are and have no interest in wearing what everyone else is wearing.
What we love most about this ring is that it tells you everything about Zooey Deschanel before you even know who she is. That is what great jewellery does.
The original uses mined diamonds and mined sapphires. At Ethica we would recreate this using lab grown diamonds and lab grown or Chatham gemstone sapphires stones that are chemically and physically identical to their mined equivalents, with none of the environmental or ethical cost. The price difference is considerable. The beauty is not.
The Van Cleef and Arpels original is set with mined diamonds and mined sapphires. At the price point of £42,900, the markup is extraordinary - the vast majority of that cost is brand heritage, not stone quality.
A lab grown recreation using stones of equivalent or superior quality to the original would cost a fraction of that figure. Lab grown diamonds have the same chemical structure, optical properties, and hardness as mined diamonds. Lab grown sapphires are equally vivid, equally durable, and fully traceable from grower to setting.
The coloured gemstone mining industry in particular has almost no traceability infrastructure and is associated with some of the worst labour practices in any extractive industry. Choosing lab grown sapphires is not a compromise. It is a genuinely better choice.
Our Designs Inspired by Zooey's Ring
If the floral, nature-inspired aesthetic of Zooey's ring speaks to you, here are the Ethica pieces that capture the same spirit:
What About the Coloured Stones?
The sapphires in Zooey's ring are a huge part of what makes it so distinctive. That soft pink and purple palette against white gold is an extraordinary combination - warm, feminine, and completely individual.
At Ethica we offer a range of premium lab grown coloured gemstones including sapphires in blue, pink, yellow, and padparadscha tones, as well as lab grown emeralds and rubies. Any of our designs can be customised with coloured stones and our coloured moissanite range also includes some extraordinary peachy, lavender, and champagne tones that would sit beautifully within a floral design.
The honest truth is that a recreation of Zooey's ring with lab grown pink sapphires and lab grown diamonds would look at least as beautiful as the original. And you would know exactly where every stone came from.
What About a Completely Bespoke Recreation?
We have been making bespoke floral and nature-inspired rings since 2016 long before this particular style became as widely sought after as it is now. If you have seen Zooey's ring and want something that captures the same spirit but is entirely your own, our bespoke service is exactly the right place to start.
We work with you from a brief, which can be as simple as a photograph and a feeling - through CAD design, stone selection, and finished piece. The result is a ring that does not exist anywhere else in the world.
That, we think, is worth considerably more than a brand name.
The Avril
A flurry of round and marquise shaped lab grown gemstones totalling 1.55 carats adorn this extraordinary ring for a look that is delicate and bold at once. Versatile enough to wear as a standalone ring, a wedding band, or a right hand statement piece. The Avril captures the same sense of organic movement as Zooey's ring — stones arranged as if they grew there rather than were placed.
The Eesha
Marquise cut lab grown diamonds arranged like petals along whimsical vines of precious metal, with an oval cut centre stone held in an elegant claw prong setting. If you looked at the Zooey ring and thought about the vine work and the organic framing as much as the flowers themselves, the Eesha is the one for you.
The Nadia
The Nadia is an oval cut lab grown diamond engagement ring with a beautifully considered shoulder detail alternating marquise and round brilliant diamonds arranged along the thin band in a rhythm of sparkle that draws the eye naturally towards the centre stone.
The Azahara
Fluid and elegant, the Azahara features dainty vines and lustrous leaves of precious metal set with lab grown diamonds that envelop the band and embrace the round brilliant centre stone. Named Azahara - blossom in Arabic. It earns that name entirely.
Enquire about a bespoke floral ring →
Get in touch with our team at ethicadiamonds.com or book a free consultation - in person in Newquay or virtually from anywhere in the UK.
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