Embrace - Casten's most loving design

A hug consists of two arms, gently holding that which is most cherished – a mother cradling her child, a scholar with their precious books, or a spouse holding dear the precious love gifted on that special day when two become one. Thus, the design of this ring is, in many ways, perfect for illustrating how much the wearer cherishes something or someone.

But in my mind, there's actually a small story behind the design – especially the wedding rings:

Once upon a time there was a ring

This ring was so full of joy that it cracked.

Finally, it could no longer contain its excitement: the crack burst open… and out tumbled joy, symbolised by the merrily gleaming gemstones

Especially when it comes to wedding rings, this narrative is a very beautiful way to connect his and her rings by telling the story of their original love together, which matured and eventually manifested in the great promise: To be together until death do us part.

I have created many, many versions of the Embrace design – as “I-rings”, engagement rings, and wedding rings, and so far no two versions have been exactly alike. Some like a symmetrical and compact design with many bubbles, holding one or more diamonds diagonally in a row. Others prefer a more open version, which allows a glimpse down to the skin underneath.

Some wish for a legendary asymmetrical edition, while others again prefer the arms of the embrace to end in elegant curls. My clients mostly choose for the arms to hold precious stones, often diamonds, but some also choose to supplement these with a flower or a heart.

The beauty (beyond the obvious) of the Embrace design is that it's so incredibly versatile because its arms can wrap around so much and in so many different ways – and yet, this design starts in exactly the same way: with a rod of metal, which is rolled and filed before it is carefully shaped into two curved arms.

In addition, the design has proven to be wonderfully practical: it can hold quite a lot of different details, but as they are all housed within the arms down on the finger and not built on top of the actual ring band, the ring does not rise very high above the finger. This means it doesn't snag on jumpers, hurt those you love, and also allows you to wear gloves in the winter (highly appreciated here in Scandinavia, not least).

A small curious detail:

The original name of the design was “Split”, which seemed logical based on the small story attached to it. However, it was completely wrong for this design, especially when the ring was to function as an engagement or wedding ring, the task of which is to bind two lovers together, to be called “Split”. Therefore, we took another look at the design and went back to why it was so charming: the arms that embrace beauty. That is why the name of one of Cåsten's most cherished and popular designs became EMBRACE.