So here’s a very different blog feature for all of you (and I’m thinking, guys especially!) who are hatching a secret plan to ask a BIG question this Christmas! It’s from our friends at Lily Arkwright, who you’ll have seen on the blog before: they specialise in sustainable and bespoke engagement and wedding rings and we’re proud to support and help share the joys of lab diamonds and moissanite jewellery with them! Find out EXACTLY how your bespoke ring will be made – it’s techy and interesting stuff!

A guest article by Durham Rose // Header image by Katrina Matthews Photography (wedding from our archives)

An engagement ring means so much. It doesn’t just say ‘I love you, I want to be with you,’ it’s also a declaration of knowledge: ‘I know you.’ Because an engagement ring should be worn forever, it needs to reflect the wearer’s personality. It needs to be something that they would choose themselves, given the chance. And yet it should also hold something of the giver. Finding all of that ‘off the peg’ is a big ask, which is why so many people – including Prince Harry – are now deciding to design their own bespoke engagement ring.

Did your other half propose at Christmas? I imagine a few of you are smiling! It’s the busiest time of the year for engagements, and I suspect at least one of my friends will have a ring on her finger come Boxing Day! I’m really excited for her – I hope it happens, I really do!!! There are guys out there right now hunting for the perfect engagement ring… and that’s why I thought it would be the perfect time to share the wonderfully inspiring story of Durham Rose.