Ballantyne Magazine covers news, events, real estate, restaurants, shopping, health, schools and business in the upscale Ballantyne Area of Charlotte, NC.
Issue link: https://ballantynemagazine.epubxp.com/i/48068
BALLANTYNE | feature wearing at Wimbledon and on the first day of their trip to Canada. Diamonds Direct at SouthPark helps a growing number of couples who want to keep a family engagement ring but in a different form. Amy Neilson received her mother's engagement diamond after her father died two years ago. She decided to combine that diamond with the one her husband gave her, and add a final gem to finish the ring. Keeping with the family significance, Neilson decided on a sapphire, a reminder of her grandmother's deep blue eyes. "My grandmother was a special person to everyone in the family," she remembers. "She loved her family, and loved to cook. She lived a simple life, and was a deep, good person." Diamonds Direct provided both Above: Designer Karen Mouillé (left), owner of MARK Diamond Studio, consults with client Louise Parsons. Right, Middle: Mouillé and Marcelo Makar, a master bench jeweler, review a drawing of a ring. Right, Bottom: Makar programs the vertical lathe that creates the wax model. fortunate enough to inherit jewels, why not make them wearable, and enjoy them?" Engagement Ring Makeovers a Trend Giving new life to a treasured family engagement ring is becoming trendy — especially after Prince William bestowed his mother Diana's sapphire engagement ring to his intended bride, Kate Middleton, a gesture widely viewed as a moving tribute to his late mother. Upon their marriage, he gifted Diana's matching diamond and sapphire studs to Kate. She then had them redesigned into drop earrings, which she was seen 44 BALLANTYNE MAGAZINE Giving new life to a treasured family engagement ring is becoming trendy, especially after Prince William bestowed his mother Diana's sapphire engagement ring to his intended bride, Kate Middleton. the setting and sapphire. Neilson plans to keep the ring in her family, passing it down to her three children. "I feel like I am carrying a piece of my father and my mother on my hand, and my grandmother. It's a reminder of all the wonderful things they did together," she says. Such jewelry, in other words, takes on a greater meaning than just precious metal and stones. Every time Sue Jones wears the teardrop necklace created from her mother's special ring, she appreciates it for far more than just its sparkling silver. "It isn't just jewelry — it reminds you of the legacy and memories that can be passed down," she says. WINTER 2011-2012