EVENT DESCRIPTION
L’ÉCOLE Asia Pacific, School of Jewelry Arts announces the launch of The Engagement Ring: A Love Story, a new course dedicated to one of jewelry’s most enduring and emotionally charged forms. Closely aligned with L’ÉCOLE’s mission to explore jewelry through history, gemstones, and craftsmanship, the engagement ring offers a rich and engaging lens through which these disciplines converge.
The course uniquely brings together all three of the School’s core pillars – art history, gemology, and atelier practice – each explored in dedicated classes led by an art historian, a jeweler, and gemologist. Participants will explore the evolution of metals and gemstones – from early bands fashioned in pewter or glass to rings set with diamonds, rubies, and other precious stones. Historic ring forms such as gimmel, toi et moi, solitaire, and marguerite designs are examined alongside long-held beliefs, including the vena amoris, the imagined vein said to connect the ring finger to the heart.
The course also considers engagement rings within broader cultural, religious, and legal contexts, as well as their role as objects of value and resilience in times of hardship. Chinese wedding traditions are also discussed, including practices common in Hong Kong such as the ceremonial exchange of gold jewelry.
Designed for jewelry enthusiasts and professionals alike, The Engagement Ring: A Love Story offers in-depth insight into the historical, cultural, and material dimensions of the engagement ring – a precious object that continues to hold significant personal and collective meaning across cultures.
Through this course, L’ÉCOLE Asia Pacific, School of Jewelry Arts opens yet another chapter in the ongoing study of jewelry culture and the wider field of jewelry studies.
Teachers: 3 teachers including an art historian, a gemologist and a jeweler
Participants: 10 participants
Available in English
