The story behind the Hex Engagement Ring

Designed to celebrate love, each ring in our Ceremonial collection is made-to-order, especially for you in our Auckland atelier.

One of our most beloved styles, the Hex Engagement Ring was first released in 2013 and since then, has become a Meadowlark icon. An approximate 0.82ct round brilliant stone is surrounded by a hexagon halo of 1mm diamonds with a fine band pavé set to halfway. “Back then we had hexagon shaped boxes – so it felt very Meadowlark to bring in this shape to an engagement ring,” says Claire Hammon, our Creative Director. “I think it’s the simple, timeless form that continues to draw people to the design and the stone options we offer make each one feel unique.”

The process of designing and making their own wedding rings inspired our designers, Claire Hammon & Greg Fromont to release a collection of Ceremonial rings in 2013.

Discover the process behind the iconic Hex Engagement Ring…

Applying claws to the setting. To begin, Lukas, our Sample Jeweller cuts six pieces of metal wire for claws and solders (joins) these to the setting.

Filing the band. He then moves on to tidying up the band to prepare it for soldering.

Sizing on a ring bar. To increase the size of the band, it is hammered down a mandrel.

Stamping the logo & metal type. The interior of the band is ready to be stamped with the ‘MLK’ logo and ‘9ct’ stamp.

Clipping claws. Before soldering the setting to the band, Lukas finishes off the setting by clipping the claws to a uniform length.

Checking the fit of the setting on the band. He then sands and files the base to ensure it fits snugly on top of the band.

A final polish.

After soldering the setting to the band, Lukas does a final polish before passing the Hex Engagement Ring on to our in-house Stone Setter, Simon for diamond setting.

Counting diamonds. 43 diamonds are required for the Hex Engagement Ring, including one centre stone and 42 surrounding diamonds.

Preparing the setting. First, Simon prepares the shoulder setting, creating an indent for the small diamonds to sit snugly between the beads.

Shoulder diamonds in place. Simon places the diamonds down one shoulder (side of the band), ensuring the ‘table’ or top of each diamond is sitting flat and aligned, before pushing the beads over each stone.

To finish the shoulder setting, Simon ‘beads’ the ends of each claw to get a ‘ball’ finish and then ‘bright cuts’ along each side of the setting to give a polished look.

After setting the hexagon halo of diamonds, it’s time to set the centre stone. Once set, Simon finishes the claws holding the centre stone in place – clipping and filing the edges.