A Tale of Two Gems

‘Toi et Moi’ or two stone rings are rings that feature two centre stones on one band, these can be two diamonds or a diamond and a coloured stone or any combination of coloured stones.

Dating back to at least the 18^th Century; ‘the romantic era’, these rings symbolised love and a unity of two souls, two becoming one.

Famously the French Emperor Napoleon proposed to his much-beloved partner Josephine, Queen of Italy in 1796 with a yellow gold Toi et Moi engagement ring made from a pear cut Blue Sapphire and matching pear cut Diamond. Their marriage was based on love and passion rather than political gain which was unusual during the time for individuals of high social status and was looked unfavourably upon. This lead the Toi et Moi ring to become a testament to their love story, and solidified romantic connotations it’s still associated with today.

The style continued to gain popularity during 19th century, the Victorian era, in particular, saw a surge in their popularity, and in the early 20th century the clean lines and geometric designs of the Art Deco style lent themselves well to the Toi et Moi.

More recently the former Queen of Denmark, Ariana Grande and Kylie Jenner have all helped to keep the design current and Emily Ratajkowski famously broke up her two stone engagement ring to make two ‘divorce rings’.

So if you want to get more bang for your bucks and sport two feature stones instead of one feast your eyes on lots 131, 218, 263, 268 & 269 in our upcoming auction of October 23^rd.